TTUHSC El Paso Welcomes New Plastic Surgeon
Shawn Diamond, M.D., has joined Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso and Texas Tech Physicians of El Paso as a specialist in plastic, hand, microvascular and reconstructive surgery.
He is an assistant professor in the TTUHSC El Paso Department of Surgery/Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Through the university’s clinical practice, TTP El Paso, his services include adult and pediatric hand surgery, replantation, lower extremity limb salvage, amputation care, targeted muscle reinnervation and brachial plexus birth injury. He also serves as the director of the Limb Restoration Program at TTUHSC El Paso.
Dr. Diamond’s specific interest is in caring for children with traumatic injuries of the hand and extremities, as well as those born with hand and extremity congenital deformities. He provides in-patient care at El Paso Children’s Hospital.
His education responsibilities include teaching Foster School of Medicine students and residents in the TTUHSC El Paso General Surgery Residency Program and the combined TTUHSC El Paso/ William Beaumont Army Medical Center Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Program.
“TTUHSC El Paso offers tremendous freedom to be creative, collaborative, entrepreneurial and to build clinical service lines that impact an entire region in need,” said Dr. Diamond. “I came to El Paso – having trained in several major hospital systems, including New York-Presbyterian, Weill Cornell Medicine and Harvard-Massachusetts General Hospital – to serve an area with a physician shortage where I can make a difference.”
Dr. Diamond said what he loves most about plastic surgery is that he’s often working to restore form, function and the patient’s well-being. He calls it “surgery of the soul” because it’s immediately impactful, readily apparent, and demands an eye for form, aesthetics and exacting technical execution.
“The field of plastic surgery is massive,” said Dr. Diamond. “It includes everything from aesthetic surgery, cleft-lip palate, the management of complex wounds and even facial transplantation. I certainly am comfortable caring for patients across the entire spectrum of our wonderful specialty.”
New Birth Injury Clinic for El Paso
Dr. Diamond is collaborating with other surgical specialists to develop a multidisciplinary brachial plexus birth injury clinic – the first of its kind in the region. David Jimenez, M.D., of El Paso Children’s Hospital’s Department of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Gilberto Gonzalez, M.D., orthopaedic surgeon with TTP El Paso, along with members of El Paso Children’s Hospital’s Child Life Services team, will join this multidisciplinary effort.
The clinic hopes to serve patients throughout Texas, New Mexico, Southern Colorado and Arizona.
“I’m looking forward to building and growing the Texas Tech Physicians of El Paso and El Paso Children’s Hospital brachial plexus birth injury program,” said Dr. Diamond. “It will fulfill an academic mission, as I intend to join a consortium of brachial plexus birth injury centers to participate in (research) trials.”
Previously, youngsters and their families had to travel to Denver, Dallas or Phoenix to receive specialized care for complex congenital differences or injuries to the brachial plexus. An El Paso-based clinic will benefit patients in terms of care and cost, because they can easily follow up with their physician and receive supporting services, such as occupational therapy, under the oversight of providers within their home city.
Dr. Diamond hopes by caring for children here in El Paso, the experience of the patient and their families, and ultimately their physical function, will improve.
“Dr. Diamond brings an insurmountable experience that will greatly change the lives of many individuals in our area,” said Alan Tyroch, M.D., professor and chair for the TTUHSC El Paso Department of Surgery. “Shawn is passionate about training the next generation of physicians, and we’re very lucky to have him as part of the Department of Surgery.”
Educational Background
Dr. Diamond grew up in Southern California and graduated magna cum laude from UCLA with a Bachelor of Arts degree in fine arts. He received his Doctorate of Medicine from Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University, where he was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society.
He completed his general surgery residency in Santa Barbara, California, and is certified by the American Board of Surgery. Dr. Diamond joined the Harvard plastic surgery residency program and was awarded the Resident Teacher of the Year Award in 2019 and served on the Plastic Surgery Executive Committee. He completed subspecialty hand and microsurgery training in the combined orthopaedic and plastic surgery fellowship program at the University of California, Irvine.
Texas Tech Physicians of El Paso is the region’s largest multispecialty medical group practice, with over 250 physicians and specialists providing care for the entire family at several locations across El Paso.
Texas Tech Physicians of El Paso offers services from a variety of subspecialty providers, helping local families avoid the expense of traveling outside the city for specialized health care services.