About Dr. Vander Kolk

Dr. Vander Kolk spends the majority of his time in surgery reconstructing children with all types of facial differences. Dr. Vander Kolk completed residencies in General Surgery and Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Michigan Medical Center. He practiced as a fellow in Hand and Microvascular Surgery at the Microsurgery Research Unit, St. Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia and a fellow in Craniofacial Surgery, University of Pennsylvania, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He earned his M.D. from the University of Michigan, School of Medicine, and Business of Medicine degree from Johns Hopkins University. He holds a B.A. from Hope College in Holland, Michigan. Dr. Vander Kolk is board certified in plastic surgery.

In His Own Words
“I’ve been a plastic surgeon since 1986. I got interested in plastic surgery through family friends — two brothers — one of them was a plastic surgeon and the other was a psychologist. I was a psychology major and found I wanted something a little more tangible, something more objective rather then subjective. I spent some time with the plastic surgeon. He was doing surgery at the cleft clinic and I fell in love with the work so I planned to become a doctor.

At medical school I kept an open mind but really, right from the beginning, I was interested in plastic surgery, particularly for children with facial differences or cleft problems. I went back home several times to visit with another plastic surgeon who was a missionary doing a lot of work in India with children with clefts. I did my residency in plastic surgery and wanted to concentrate in clefts so I did a fellowship at the Children's Hospital in Philadelphia, focusing on craniofacial and cleft work. When an opportunity opened up at Hopkins, I knew it was where I wanted to be.

There is a long history of the staff and surgeons here at Hopkins treating children with clefts and I am honored to continue that tradition.”

Professional Societies
• American Board of Plastic Surgery
• American Society of Craniofacial Surgery
   Secretary – Treasurer, 1998 – 2000
   President, 2000 - 2002
• American Cleft Palate and Craniofacial Association
• American College of Surgeons
• American Society of Maxillofacial Surgeons
• American Society of Plastic Surgeons
• American Association of Academic Chairmen of Plastic Surgery
• Baltimore County Medical Society
• Children's Craniofacial Deformities Coalition
• International Society of Craniofacial Surgeons
• John Staige Davis Society
   President 1996 – 1997
• Plastic Surgery Research Council
• Reed O. Dingman Society

Awards and Honors
• Psi Chi Honor Society
• Beta Beta Beta Honor Society
• Best Paper Award. American Society of Maxillofacial Surgeons. “Craniofacial Distraction Osteogenesis: A Review of 3278 Cases” November 4, 2002, San Antonio, Texas.

Visiting Professor
• Lehigh Valley Medical Center, Allentown, PA, October 22, 1988.
• Mexico City Red Cross Hospital, Mexico City, Mexico, November 9–11, 1988.
• “Microsurgical Techniques in Treatment of Earthquake Victims”, NASA: Armenian Space Bridge Project May 24, 1989, MIEMSS.
• Beaumont Hospital, Department of Plastic Surgery, Royal Oak, MI, November 1992.
• St. Vincent's Hospital, Department of Plastic Surgery, Toledo, OH, October 1993.
• Adelaide Craniofacial Center, Adelaide, Australia, November 9-13, 1998.
• Johannesburg General Hospital, Special Invitation of Nelson Mandela, Johannesburg, South Africa, February 13-16, 1999.
• Turkish Society of Plastic Surgery, Ismir, Turkey, October 1-3, 1999.
• Johannesburg General Hospital, Special Invitation of Nelson Mandela, Johannesburg, South Africa, November 23-26, 2000.
• University Hospital, University of Wisconsin, Madison WI, January 16-18, 2001.
• Hospital Doce de Octubre, AO International, Madrid Spain, March 24-25, 2001.
• Akron Childrens Hospital, Akron, OH, May 11-12, 2001.

Inventions
• Synthes Flexible Distractor - Design in progress
• Soft Tissue Anchor / Skin Closure System – Patent search in progress

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