Dr. Vu T. Nguyen is currently an Associate Professor in the University of Pittsburgh Department of Plastic Surgery (DOPS). He completed his undergraduate studies at Texas Christian University graduating with University Honors and earned his medical degree from the University of Nebraska. Dr. Nguyen finished the combined residency program in General and Plastic Surgery, in addition to a two-year research fellowship, at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (UPSOM). Following which he completed the clinical fellowship in Microsurgery, Breast, and Aesthetic surgery at the University of Pennsylvania, under the direction of Dr. Joseph Serletti. The focus of his fellowship training centered on the spectrum of microsurgical techniques for breast reconstruction—including SIEA, DIEP, muscle-sparing free TRAM, and gluteal (GAP) free flap procedures. Additional elements of the fellowship included implant-based breast reconstruction and advanced aesthetic procedures.
Dr. Nguyen’s clinical practice includes the full spectrum of reconstructive and aesthetic surgery, with a particular focus on microsurgery and breast reconstruction—including perforator flap techniques, direct-to-implant reconstruction, pre-pectoral reconstruction, oncoplastic surgery, and transgender top surgery. Building on his previous research in the area of vascularized composite allotransplantation (VCA), Dr. Nguyen’s research interests include microsurgical models of VCA, clinical outcomes in breast reconstruction, and a particular focus on graduate surgical education.
Dr. Nguyen joined the academic faculty at the University of Pittsburgh in 2007, and in 2016 was appointed Program Director of the Plastic Surgery Residency Program—one of the oldest, largest, and most respected programs in the nation. He also Co-Chairs the GME WELL Subcommittee, tasked with well-being initiatives across all UPMC training programs, and is a member of the GME DIO Leadership Team.
Dr. Nguyen has served as President and/or Member of the Board of a number of organizations—including the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), the American Council of Educators in Plastic Surgeons (ACAPS), the Northeastern Society of Plastic Surgeons, the Ohio Valley Society of Plastic Surgeons, the Robert H. Ivy Pennsylvania Society of Plastic Surgeons, and the Greater Pittsburgh Plastic Surgery Society. Dr. Nguyen is a Diplomat and Senior Examiner of the American Board of Plastic Surgery and has chaired the Joint ASPS/ACEPS Committee on Ethics/Professionalism, the Joint ACEPS/ASPS Boot Camp Committee, and the ASPS/ACEPS Curriculum Development Committee. His awards include the DOPS Resident Teaching Award, the UPSOM Excellence in Medical Student Research Mentoring Award, the UPSOM Allen Humphrey Excellence in Mentoring Award, the UPSOM Longitudinal Research Project Medical Student Mentoring Merit Award, the DOPS Teacher of the Year Award, and the ACEPS Distinguished Service Award.
Dr. Nguyen is currently an Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh, with appointments at Magee-Women’s Hospital, the Pittsburgh VA Medical Center, Presbyterian-Montefiore Hospitals, and the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.