Fathers usually teach their sons how to shave, but they don’t often cover how to splice veins and arteries together. Dr. Greg Buncke, however, learned just that from his father, Dr. Harry Buncke. The two worked the operating table together for more than 20 years, and Greg couldn't have had a better teacher; his father pioneered the concept of microsurgery, which enabled doctors to reattach limbs, replace fingers with toes, and replenish muscles in one part of the body with those from another. The younger Dr. Buncke learned much from the man who the San Francisco Chronicle called the "father of microsurgery.” That experience—along with his own studies at Georgetown, a residency at Stanford, and service as a member of several medical societies—informs his work today as a surgeon at the Plastic Surgery Institute of San Francisco.

Dr. Buncke co-directs the Plastic Surgery Institute of San Francisco alongside Dr. John Owsley, who has more than 40 years of experience in the field. Four other board-certified doctors fill out the rest of the clinic’s staff. The six doctors can claim specialties in different fields—including cosmetic, plastic, and reconstructive surgery—so the list of available treatments is extensive. On the surgical end, they perform face-lifts, chin and cheek implants, nose jobs, tummy tucks, arm lifts, and scar revision. They also oversee less-invasive procedures, as when an in-house aesthetician exfoliates skin with microdermabrasion and peels and plumps wrinkles with injectable fillers. Unlike people with crank-operated cell phones, the doctors have no problems sharing information; all procedures take place only after clients fully understand the process they will undergo.