From M.D. NEWS SPECIAL MEDICAL EDITION:

Thomas Geraghty is a fine platic surgeon, but what truly distinguishes him is not merely his ability to erase wrinkles or improve curves. Twenty years ago while the Kansas City native was teaching through Truman Medical Center and Children's Mercy, a friend told him about people with desperate needs in the Dominican Republic, one of the poorest countries in the world. Since that day, Geraghty has been taking regular trips abroad to perform facial reconstructive surgery for those whose poverty would otherwise prevent them from getting appropriate care.

"It's pure medicine - taking care of real people with real needs, and not even thinking about insurance or approval or how much to charge," says Geraghty. "I know it sounds trite to say, but I honestly feel like I ge more out of it than the patients do."

Geraghty has also been involved in trips to Bolivia, Burma and Thailand; and he has scheduled two more trips to the Dominican, and he's performed more than 5,000 reconstructive operations there.

Geraghty admits he occasionally enjoys playing tennis, water-skiing and boating at Table Rock Lake in souther Missouri, "but my main hobby is taking those trips."

A graduate of Bishop Miege High School and KU Medical School, Geraghty says he was drawn to plastic surgery because of the variety. "Every day is different. Every patient brings a unique set of challenges."

An iconoclast at heart, Geraghty says he always preferred taking the road less traveled. Geraghty seems to appreciate variety more than anything else. He loves the opportunity to do cosmetic surgery here in the United States, because it helps him see the wide spectrum of applications to his craft. "Maybe it's not quite an art form, but to erase lines or augment breasts in Kansas City, then only a few days later to rebuild jaws of people living in huts with dirt floors...it's as great a job as I can imagine!"