Dr. Kevin Y. Chao, MD, is a facial cosmetic and dermatologic surgery fellow at 5C in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Board-certified in both dermatology and micrographic dermatologic surgery, he completed his Mohs Micrographic Surgery and Dermatologic Oncology fellowship at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, following dermatology residency at UC San Diego and medical school at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, where he trained as a full David Geffen Medical Scholar. His focus is the fine mechanics of facial surgery: how a flap is designed, how an incision is closed, and how that closure matures over the years that follow.
Dr. Chao's systematic review of suture materials and techniques for cutaneous wound cosmesis, published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, received the 2022 Dermasphere Award for the article most helpful in daily clinic. He was a Tromovitch Award finalist at the American College of Mohs Surgery annual meeting, has co-authored work in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, contributed a chapter to Treatment of Skin Diseases (Elsevier), and serves as a peer reviewer for the journal Dermatologic Surgery. Outside the operating room, he has spent a decade in free dermatology clinics in Los Angeles and San Diego and coordinated a laser tattoo removal program for young adults rebuilding their prospects. At 5C, that combination (surgical craft, research discipline, and unhurried attention) goes toward results that are refined, natural, and unmistakably the patient's own.
Before and After
EDUCATION & TRAINING
- Facial Cosmetic & Dermatologic Surgery Fellowship, 5C, Coeur d'Alene, ID 2026-2027
- Mohs Micrographic Surgery & Dermatologic Oncology Fellowship, University of Alabama at Birmingham (ACGME & ACMS-accredited) 2022-2023
- Dermatology Residency, University of California San Diego 2019-2022
- Internal Medicine Internship, Kaiser Permanente Southern California 2018-2019
- MD, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA — David Geffen Medical Scholar 2014-2018
- BS Physiological Science, University of California Los Angeles, Summa Cum Laude 2010-2014
CERTIFICATIONS & AFFILIATIONS
- Board Certified, American Board of Dermatology
- Board Certified, Micrographic Dermatologic Surgery
- Licensed in Idaho and California
- Peer Reviewer, Dermatologic Surgery (Wolters Kluwer)
- Dermatologic Surgery Instructor for Resident Education, UAB Residency Program
- Member: American College of Mohs Surgery, American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery, American Academy of Dermatology