Dr. Shassan Akbari

Dr. Smyth is chief of the pediatric neurosurgery division at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital and director of the pediatric neurosurgery fellowship program. His specialties include pediatric neurosurgery, with sub-specialization in pediatric epilepsy surgery and craniofacial surgery with an emphasis on minimally invasive techniques. In addition, Dr. Smyth is a professor of neurosurgery in the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Before joining the Johns Hopkins All Children’s medical staff, Dr. Smyth was the Appoline Blair Professor of Neurological Surgery and Pediatrics at St. Louis Children’s Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Dr. Smyth earned his medical degree from the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine. He completed a general surgery internship in the Department of Surgery at the University of California, Irvine. He then completed a residency in the Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of California in San Francisco, where he was chief resident. Dr. Smyth completed a pediatric neurosurgery fellowship at the Children’s Hospital of Alabama, Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Smyth is rated as an Elite provider by MediFind in the treatment of Metopic Ridge. His top areas of expertise are Craniosynostosis, Syringomyelia, Chiari Malformation Type 1, Posterior Fossa Decompression, and Craniectomy.

Dr. S. Alex Rottgers is a pediatric plastic and craniofacial surgeon at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida. He is also an assistant professor in the Johns Hopkins Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Dr. Rottgers received his undergraduate degree in biology and philosophy from Rice University in Houston and his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine, graduating with highest honors. He completed his residency in plastic surgery at the University of Pittsburgh and performed a fellowship in craniofacial surgery at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital. Dr. Rottgers joined the Johns Hopkins faculty in 2015. He currently serves as the Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital Chief of Pediatric Plastic Surgery, Director of the Cleft/Craniofacial Team, and Co-director of the Vascular Anomalies Clinic in St. Petersburg. Dr. Rottgers's research interests include outcomes research of patients with cleft lip and cleft palate, craniosynostosis, and vascular anomalies. He is interested in 3-D surgical planning and modeling of the craniofacial skeleton for treating patients with deformities. Dr. Rottgers is a member of the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association, the American Society of Maxillofacial Surgeons, the American Society of Craniofacial Surgery, and American Academy of Pediatrics. He is now serving as the Vice President of the Florida Cleft Palate/Craniofacial Association. Dr. Rottgers serves as a journal reviewer for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal, and PLOS ONE. He has received numerous awards for his exceptional performance, including the 2018 Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital Best Consulting Physician, the American Cleft Palate/Craniofacial Association Paul Black Junior Investigator Award, and the Baylor College of Medicine L. Leighton Hill Excellence in Pediatrics Award and the S. Carl Harvey Memorial Award for excellence in gross anatomy. Dr. Rottgers is rated as an Experienced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Metopic Ridge. His top areas of expertise are Micrognathia, Baller-Gerold Syndrome, Lambdoid Synostosis, and Craniosynostosis.

Dr. Ruas specializes in plastic surgery and cleft and craniofacial surgery at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital and is the director of plastic surgery resident education. He joined the hospital staff in 1990. He is a clinical professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine. Dr. Ruas earned his medical degree at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and completed general and plastic surgery residencies at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. He completed a fellowship in maxillofacial trauma and microsurgical lower extremity reconstruction at The Maryland Institute of Emergency Medical Systems Services (MIEMSS) and a craniomaxillofacial surgery fellowship under Dr. Fernando Ortiz-Monasterio in Mexico City. Dr. Ruas is fluent in Spanish. Dr. Ruas is rated as an Experienced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Metopic Ridge. His top areas of expertise are Metopic Ridge, Plagiocephaly, and Craniosynostosis.