Moms are particular and passionate about the provider they pick when their children need reconstructive surgery.

“I cried when I found out he was leaving Columbia,” said Katilin Wilcox of Unionville, MO.  She was speaking of Blessing Health plastic and reconstructive surgeon Arshad Muzaffar, MD. Dr. Muzaffar moved his practice recently from Columbia, Missouri and the University of Missouri Health Care to Quincy and Blessing Health.  He has and will continue to care for two of Kaitlin’s sons who have cleft lips and palates.

“It was such a relief to us when we found out that insurance would allow us to continue to follow Dr. Muzaffar to Quincy,” she continued. “We were not interested in finding another surgeon.”

Kaitlin was initially impressed with seeing before and after pictures of Dr. Muzaffar’s cleft lip and palate patients. Upon meeting him, she was equally as impressed with his knowledge and the way he shares it and educates the families in his care. Kaitlin willingly makes the more than 240-mile roundtrip to Quincy for her sons’ appointments with Dr. Muzaffar.

Treatment of cleft lip and palate generally requires a series of procedures as the young patient grows and develops. The complexity of this care creates a strong and deep bond between provider, patient and family.

“He’s wonderful, kind, and good at what he does,” Kaitlin said of Dr. Muzaffar. “I have confidence in him and give him a 10-out-of-10 recommendation.”

Dr. Muzaffar is quick to share that the care he provides is team-based. 

“We have an established team that has been doing cleft care for many, many years,” the doctor said.

The team includes a speech language pathologist and orthodontist with whom Dr. Muzaffar has worked for nearly 20 years.

As for the doctor himself:

  • He is a graduate of Yale University Medical School,
  • completed a fellowship at the University of Washington and Seattle Children’s Hospital in Craniofacial and Pediatric Plastic Surgery,
  • completed a fellowship in Hand/Pediatric Hand Surgery and Microsurgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, and
  • is American Board of Plastic Surgery certified.

His interest in pediatric reconstructive surgery is a passion. As the son of a surgeon, and a track and cross-country athlete in college, Dr. Muzaffar thought he would be an orthopedic surgeon as a way to combine his interests in sports and surgery.

However, an experience in medical school changed his life.

“I saw a photograph of a child with cleft lip and palate – before and after surgery. It captured my imagination,” Dr. Muzaffar said. “The more I learned about plastic and reconstructive surgery the more I found it interested, excited and stimulated me.”

Dr. Muzaffar performs a number of craniofacial (head and face) procedures for children. To see a list of those procedures go to blessinghealth.org/plasticsurgery. One of the conditions you will find there is Pierre Robin Sequence, in which the lower jaw is smaller than normal and positioned further back in the mouth that normal. Pierre Robin Sequence causes breathing and feeding difficulties. 

Brenda Wood watched her newborn granddaughter Faith suffer with this condition, struggling to eat and unable to breath when lying on her back.

“It was heartbreaking,” Brenda said of little Faith’s struggles.

Today, almost a year after her birth and surgery by Dr. Muzaffar in Columbia, Faith thrives.

“You wouldn’t even know she had the condition if you saw her today,” Brenda exclaimed. “She looks perfect.”

Later this summer, Brenda and Faith will make the nearly 340-mile round trip from their home in Iberia, Missouri, to Quincy so Dr. Muzaffar can repair Faith’s cleft palate.

“We would travel wherever we had to travel to see Dr. Muzaffar,” Brenda said. “That’s how much we think of him.”

Dr. Muzaffar is grateful for these strong and deep relationships and welcomes new pediatric patients and their families from everywhere and anywhere who are in need of reconstructive surgery for head and facial issues.

“Parents and guardians want their children cared for by a team who has done this for a long time and has demonstrated, excellent results,” he concluded.

Dr. Muzaffar also provides plastic and reconstructive surgery for adults. Go to blessinghealth.org/plasticsurgery for more information on all the care he provides.