Dr. Emily Borsting: Plastic Surgery Research

A beautiful result starts long before the operation. It starts with the quality of the questions: What changed? What matters most to you? Which option fits your anatomy? What are the tradeoffs? How can the plan protect both your health and the result you want?

Emily A. Borsting, MD brings the habits of a researcher to those questions. She attended the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and completed a six-year integrated plastic surgery residency at the University of California, Irvine. She is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. Her published research spans breast surgery, wound healing, surgical education, and facial analysis.

Those credentials matter. Their value is not a grand title or a promise. Their value is a disciplined way to listen, evaluate evidence, plan surgery, and explain why a recommendation fits one patient.

Credentials you can verify

Dr. Borsting earned her medical degree at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. She then completed an integrated plastic and reconstructive surgery residency at the University of California, Irvine. UCI's official resident directory lists her among the program's alumni.

She is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. This is a specific credential. Patients can verify it through the board's official search.

Training creates a foundation. Board certification verifies a defined standard. The consultation is where you learn how a surgeon applies both to your goal.

Research that begins with practical questions

Clinical research is useful when it turns an uncertain part of care into a clearer conversation. Dr. Borsting's published work has addressed questions about healing risk, surgical technique, education, evidence quality, and new ways to study aesthetic outcomes.

Smoking and healing after breast surgery

Dr. Borsting co-authored a large study of smoking and wound complications after breast reduction. The study found a higher likelihood of wound complications among patients who smoked. She also co-authored research about smoking and wound separation after nipple reconstruction.

For a patient, the lesson is concrete. Health history and nicotine exposure are not boxes to check quickly. They can affect the timing and safety discussion before breast or body surgery. A useful consultation makes room for an honest review and a plan that reflects it.

Read the studies in PubMed on smoking and breast reduction and PubMed on smoking and nipple reconstruction.

How technology can study facial change

Dr. Borsting was the first author of a published study that tested a deep-learning model designed to classify rhinoplasty status from photographs. The work explored how a mobile application could apply computer vision to a plastic surgery question.

The important point is not that software can replace judgment. It cannot examine a patient, understand a goal, or create a surgical plan. The research shows a willingness to test a new tool, measure what it can do, and describe its limits.

Read the rhinoplasty deep-learning study on PubMed.

Looking at the quality of published evidence

Dr. Borsting also co-authored a study of publication bias in plastic surgery literature. Publication bias can make positive findings more visible than negative or inconclusive findings. Studying that problem reinforces a simple principle: a strong recommendation should consider the quality and limits of the evidence, not only an appealing headline.

Read the publication-bias study on PubMed.

What a research background can add to consultation

Plastic surgery joins technical decisions with deeply personal goals. Research experience does not make that conversation cold. It can make the conversation more precise.

• Clearer questions: The surgeon can separate the change you want from the procedure you may have heard about.
• Better comparison: Options can be compared by anatomy, tradeoffs, scars, recovery, and long-term care.
• Honest limits: Evidence can guide a recommendation without pretending that an average result predicts your result.
• Individual planning: Your health, proportions, tissue quality, priorities, and daily life stay central to the decision.

This approach is especially useful when there is no single correct answer. Breast implant dimensions, a lift with or without added volume, one combined body procedure or a staged plan, and an injectable or surgical option can all require judgment. The goal is not to offer the longest menu. It is to find the plan that makes sense for you.

Research is evidence, not an outcome promise

A publication list cannot guarantee a surgical result. Neither can a training program, social following, review, or before-and-after photograph. Healing and anatomy vary. Every procedure has limits and risks.

Use academic work as one useful signal. Then ask how the surgeon currently approaches your procedure, where treatment would take place, how anesthesia would be managed, what recovery would require, and how follow-up works if healing needs more attention.

Questions to ask any plastic surgeon

• Are you certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery?
• Where did you complete plastic surgery residency?
• How does your current experience relate to the procedure I am considering?
• Which parts of your recommendation depend on my anatomy?
• What evidence or experience guides this plan?
• What are the main alternatives, risks, scars, and recovery needs?
• Where would treatment take place, and who would provide anesthesia?
• How will you follow my recovery and respond to a concern?

For a complete comparison process, read how to choose the best plastic surgeon for you.

Bring your question to Bend

Dr. Borsting's consultation begins with the change you want to see. She connects that goal to your anatomy, explains the choices that fit, and gives you a direct view of the benefits, limits, and recovery needs.

If you are considering breast, body, face, or aesthetic treatment in Central Oregon, book a consultation with Dr. Borsting. Bring your questions. The right plan should become clearer as the conversation moves forward.