When Dr. Leo McCafferty flew from Pittsburgh to Miami last month to accept a lifetime achievement award, the plastic surgeon didn’t need an overnight bag.
Dr. McCafferty was sitting at his Mt. Lebanon home on a virtual board meeting for The Aesthetic Society just a day prior when he learned he was being presented the Distinguished Service Award for advancement and achievement within plastic surgery. Due to COVID-19, it was the first annual meeting he hadn’t attended since joining the society decades ago.
“I was totally shocked. I never expected it,” he said. “I was so taken back, I said to them, ‘I feel like I need to jump on a plane and come down there.’ ” And he did.
There would be no partying on South Beach this time.
Alongside his wife, Susan, Dr. McCafferty accepted the award in front of his friends and peers, shook a few hands, and made it back home that evening.
Although he is best known for his work in Pittsburgh, including as a medical consultant for the Steelers and the U.S. Open Golf Championship at Oakmont, his career began at the University of Miami back in 1985. There he was taken under the wing of Dr. Ralph Millard, a renowned plastic surgeon who received worldwide acclaim for his discovery of a cleft lip repair procedure.
It was during this time that Dr. McCafferty joined The Aesthetic Society, an international group of leading plastic surgeons committed to both peer and patient education. He’s been an active member for more than 30 years.
“It was one of the first scientific meetings I had gone to,” he said. “Everybody was so friendly, and some of these very prominent plastic surgeons that, you know, as a young plastic surgeon you’re kind of in awe of. When they would come up and talk to you like you’re one of them — that made a very lasting impression.”
Now a distinguished member himself, Dr. McCafferty is the one making impressions.
“He’s just one of those people who’s a good soul,” said Dr. Jack Fisher, a former president of The Aesthetic Society, in a phone interview. “I’m sure that one of the reasons he's had such a successful practice is that everyone likes and loves Leo McCafferty.”
Dr. Fisher has known Dr. McCafferty for over 20 years, and said the surgeon’s tenacity to rise the ranks of the Society leadership — and develop the next generation’s — earned him the award.
After working under Dr. Millard, Dr. McCafferty could have set up his own practice in hot spots like Los Angeles or Miami, but instead chose his native Pittsburgh. His wife is from here, too, and at the time their son was about to enter first grade.
“The yellow brick road, there’s no place like home,” he says with a laugh. “We moved back”
He would join the Allegheny County Medical Society to make connections in the region, while also staying active in The Aesthetic Society over the years. At one point in 2012 and 2013, he served as president of both organizations simultaneously — one of the tougher times in his career.
Dr. McCafferty’s work in Pittsburgh extends far beyond the operating table. As a consultant for the Steelers and U.S. Open at Oakmont, he’s offered his talents to top athletes around town, as well as team staff, family members of players, and spectators. Often, he is on call for games in case of slips and falls or more serious injuries such as lacerations and broken noses.
While plastic surgery is often associated with celebrity culture and frivolous augmentations, Dr. McCafferty’s work has a lasting impact on the lives of his patients.
“We treat the abnormal, the accidents, the things that need to be reconstructed,” he says. “But we also treat the unhappy normal — that's where the cosmetic side comes in. But they do interplay.”
He uses the example of a rhinoplasty procedure for a serious nose injury. In this instance, he’s restoring the patient's ability to breathe properly but also reconstructing the nose in a way that complements their features.
“The specialty’s been very gratifying for me,” he adds, “because we do both of those things.”
When he isn’t with patients, Dr. McCafferty tends to his own ailment: Guitar Acquisition Syndrome. The surgeon has around 59 guitars and counting in his private collection.
“For those of us who can’t play, we collect,” he says with a laugh.
His notable axes include an Epiphone Texan signed by Paul McCartney, a Martin 000-28ECB Eric Clapton signature and a ukulele from the 1940s.
“As a plastic surgeon, you’re kind of a craftsman, you enjoy the craft,” he says. “So then I became interested in how these things are built, the different types of wood that are used, and it really became somewhat of an obsession.”
His modesty here is reflected in his thoughts on winning this year’s award.
“There’s a lot of guilt that goes on with accepting an award,” he says, “because most of it is about fun and great friendships — and continuing to keep you on your toes and at the top of your game, in a sense.”
Jesse Bunch: jbunch@post-gazette.com.
First Published: July 5, 2021, 1:15 p.m.
