Alexander B. Dagum, MD — Academic Profile

  • Professor of Surgery and Orthopaedics
  • Executive Vice Chair of Surgery
  • Chief, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Division
  • Co-Director, Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Center

Board Certifications

Education

Medical School
  • University of Ottawa (1987)
Residency Training
  • Plastic Surgery, University of Toronto
Fellowship Training
  • Hand and Microsurgery, University of Toronto and SUNY-Stony Brook

Affiliated Specialty Center

Clinical Interests/Expertise

  • Reconstructive and aesthetic surgery
  • Nose surgery
  • Cleft lip and cleft palate surgery
  • Treatment of facial fractures; hand surgery (microsurgical repair of bony, soft tissue, and nerve injuries)
  • Reconstructive surgery for burn patients
  • Evaluation and surgical management of chronic wounds (skin grafting and soft tissue flap coverage)
  • Skin cancer, including melanoma surgery and sentinel node biopsy
  • Brachial plexus exploration with sural nerve graft
Alexander B. Dagum, MD

Contact Information

Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
Department of Surgery, Health Sciences Center T19-060
Stony Brook Medicine
Stony Brook, NY 11794-8191
Tel: 631-444-9265
Fax: 631-444-6007

For patient care information, including insurance participation and practice locations, click here.
  • Honors
  • Publications
  • Additional
  • Selected for inclusion in the Castle Connolly Guide, America's Top Doctors, representing the top 1% of physicians in the nation
  • Selected for inclusion in the "Best Doctors" listing of New York Magazine, representing the top 2% of physicians in the New York Metropolitan area
  • Selected for inclusion in Guide to America's Top Plastic Surgeons and Guide to America's Top Surgeons, both published by the Consumers' Research Council of America
  • Selected for inclusion in the Castle Connolly Guide, Top Doctors: New York Metro Area
  • Election as a faculty member to the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Society (2003), Gold Humanism Honor Society (2009), and Omicron Kappa Upsilon Dental Society (2012)
  • Celebrated for his contribution to one of ten "Medical Marvels" featured in New York Magazine ("Factory worker loses hands. Doctors have twelve hours to reattach."; June 19, 2006) for his hands' reattachment surgery
  • Recipient of 2009 Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award
  • > Click here to see abstracts/full text of Dr. Dagum's journal articles presented in reverse chronological order, starting with most recent, on PubMed (National Library of Medicine).
  • Aliano K, Trostler M, Fromm IM, Dagum A, Khan S, Bui D. A comparison of barbed sutures and standard sutures with regard to wound cosmesis in panniculectomy and reduction mammoplasty patients. Plast Surg Int 2016;2016:7590396.
  • Antonyshyn OM, Weinberg MJ, Dagum AB. Use of a new anchoring device for tendon reinsertion in medial canthopexy. Plast Reconstr Surg 1996;98:520-3.
  • Arauz P, DeChello K, Dagum A, Sisto SA, Kao I. Biomechanics and pinch force of the index finger under simulated proximal interphalangeal arthrodesis. J Hand Surg Am 2017;42:658.e1-7.
  • Bhatnagar D, Conkling N, Rafailovich M, Phillips BT, Bui DT, Khan SU, Dagum AB. An in vivo analysis of the effect and duration of treatment with botulinum toxin type A using digital image speckle correlation. Skin Res Technol 2013;19:220-9.
  • Conkling N, Bishawi M, Phillips BT, Bui DT, Khan SU, Dagum AB. Subjective rating of cosmetic treatment with botulinum toxin type A: do existing measures demonstrate interobserver validity? Ann Plast Surg 2012;69:350-5.
  • Dagum AB. Controversy in carpal tunnel. Audio Dig Orthop 1997;20:1-2.
  • Dagum AB. Fingertip amputations: supermicrosurgery and replantation. In: Rozmaryn LM, editor. Fingertip Injuries: Diagnosis, Management and Reconstruction. New York: Springer, 2015: 83-96.
  • Dagum AB. Peripheral nerve regeneration, repair, and grafting. J Hand Ther 1998;11:111-7.
  • Dagum AB. Replantation. In: Trumble TE, Rayan GM, Budoff JE, Baratz ME, Slutsky DJ, editors. Principles of Hand Surgery and Therapy. 3rd ed. Philadelphia: Elsevier, 2017: 531-44.
  • Dagum AB. Replantation: indications and rationale. In: Seitz WH Jr, editor. Fractures and Dislocations of the Hand and Fingers. Rosemont, IL: American Society for Surgery of the Hand, 2013. E-book.
  • Dagum AB, Antonyshyn O, Hearn T. Medial canthopexy: an experimental and biomechanical study. Ann Plast Surg 1995;35:262-5.
  • Dagum AB, Best AK, Schemitsch EH, Mahoney JL, Mahomed MN, Blight KR. Salvage after severe lower-extremity trauma: are the outcomes worth the means? Plast Reconstr Surg 1999;103:1212-20.
  • Dagum AB, Dowd AJ. Simple monitoring technique for muscle flaps. Microsurgery 1995;16:728-9.
  • Dagum AB, Hurst LC. Dupuytren's contracture. In: Herndon JH, editor. Surgical Reconstruction of the Upper Extremity. New York: Appleton and Lange, 1999: 849-58.
  • Dagum AB, Hurst LC, Badelamente M. Peripheral nerve injury, regeneration, and repair. In: Dee R, Hurst LC, Gruber MA, Kottmeier SA, editors. Principles of Orthopaedic Practice. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1997: 1207-14.
  • Dagum AB, Hurst LC, Finzel KC. Scapholunate dissociation: an experimental kinematic study of two types of indirect soft tissue repairs. J Hand Surg 1997;22:714-9.
  • Dagum AB, Mahoney JL. Effect of wrist position on extensor mechanism after disruption separation. J Hand Surg 1994;19:584-9.
  • Dagum AB, Mirza MA. Replantation surgery in the upper extremity. In: Dee R, Hurst LC, Gruber MA, Kottmeier SA, editors. Principles of Orthopaedic Practice. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1997: 1187-92.
  • Dagum AB, Park DJ, Lau KN, Khan SU. Antibiotic-impregnated polymethylmethacrylate beads and cement in the treatment of posttraumatic infections of the frontal sinus. Plast Reconstr Surg 2009;123:193e-4e.
  • Dagum AB, Peters WJ, Neligan PC, Douglas LG. Severe multiple mononeuropathy in patients with major thermal burns. J Burn Care Rehabil 1993;14:440-5.
  • Dagum AB, Sampson SP. Enchondroma protuberans: a case report. J Hand Surg 1998;23:338-41.
  • Dagum AB, Slesarenko Y, Winston L, Tottenham V. Long-term outcome of replantation of proximal-third amputated arm: a worthwhile endeavor. Tech Hand Up Extrem Surg 2007;11:231-5.
  • Dvali LT, Dagum AB, Pang CY, Kerluke LD, Catton P, Pennock P, Mahoney JL. Effect of radiation on skin expansion and skin flap viability in pigs. Plast Reconstr Surg 2000;106:624-9.
  • Fourman MS, Gersch RP, Phillips BT, Nasser A, Rivara A, Verma R, Dagum AB, Rosengart TK, Bui DT. Comparison of laser Doppler and laser-assisted indocyanine green angiography prediction of flap survival in a novel modification of the McFarlane flap. Ann Plast Surg 2015;75:102-7.
  • Fourman MS, McKenna P, Phillips BT, Crawford L, Romanelli F, Lin F, McClain SA, Khan SU, Dagum AB, Singer AJ, Clark RA. ICG angiography predicts burn scarring within 48 h of injury in a porcine vertical progression burn model. Burns 2015;41:1043-8.
  • Fourman MS, Phillips BT, Crawford L, McClain SA, Lin F, Thode HC Jr, Dagum AB, Singer AJ, Clark RA. Indocyanine green dye angiography accurately predicts survival in the zone of ischemia in a burn comb model. Burns 2014;40:940-6.
  • Fourman MS, Phillips BT, Fritz JR, Conkling N, McClain SA, Simon M, Dagum AB. Laser-assisted indocyanine green dye angiography accurately predicts the split-thickness graft timing of integra artificial dermis. Ann Plast Surg 2014;73:150-5.
  • Fritz JR, Phillips BT, Conkling N, Fourman M, Melendez MM, Bhatnagar D, Simon M, Rafailovich M, Dagum AB. Comparison of native porcine skin and a dermal substitute using tensiometry and digital image speckle correlation. Ann Plast Surg 2012;69:462-7.
  • Gersch RP, Fourman MS, Dracea C, Bui DT, Dagum AB. The delay phenomenon: is one surgical delay technique superior? Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open 2017;5:e1519.
  • Gersch RP, Fourman MS, Phillips BT, Nasser A, McClain SA, Khan SU, Dagum AB, Bui DT. AdVEGF-All6A+ preconditioning of murine ischemic skin flaps is comparable to surgical delay. Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open 2015;3:e494.
  • Haimovici L, Papafragkou S, Lee W, Dagum A, Hurst LC. The impact of fiberwire, fiberloop, and locking suture configuration on flexor tendon repairs. Ann Plast Surg 2012;69:468-70.
  • Jacob ZC, Tito MF, Dagum AB. MR imaging-related electrical thermal injury complicated by acute carpal tunnel and compartment syndrome: case report. Radiology 2010;254:846-50.
  • Kao JT, Dagum AB, Mahoney JL, Gardiner GW, Beaton D. The histopathological changes in irradiated vs. nonradiated tissue-expanded skin in the porcine model. Ann Plast Surg 1997;39:287-91.
  • Khanna S, Dagum AB. A critical review of the literature and an evidence-based approach for life-threatening hemorrhage in maxillofacial surgery. Ann Plast Surg 2012;69:474-8.
  • Klein GM, Nasser AE, Phillips BT, Gersch RP, Fourman MS, Lilo SE, Fritz JR, Khan SU, Dagum AB, Bui DT. Is sterile better than aseptic? Comparing the microbiology of acellular dermal matrices. Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open 2016;4:e761.
  • Klein GM, Phillips BT, Dagum AB, Bui DT, Khan SU. Infectious loss of tissue expanders in breast reconstruction: are we treating the right organisms? Ann Plast Surg 2017;78:149-52.
  • Levites HA, Fourman MS, Phillips BT, Fromm IM, Khan SU, Dagum AB, Bui DT. Modeling fade patterns of nipple areola complex tattoos following breast reconstruction. Ann Plast Surg 2014;73 Suppl 2:S153-6.
  • Levites HA, Kaymakcalan OE, Phillips BT, Bilfinger TV, Dagum AB. Sternal wound reconstruction with falciform and omental flaps for chronic sternal osteomyelitis. Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open 2014;2:e233.
  • Melendez MM, Beasley M, Dagum AB, Khan SU. Outcomes of abdominoplasty performed in an office-based surgical setting [abstract]. Plast Reconstr Surg 2008;122:128-9.
  • Melendez MM, Martinez RR, Dagum AB, McClain SA, Simon, M, Arora B, Sobanko J, Zimmerman T, Wetterau M, Muller, D, Xu X, Singer A. Porcine wound healing in full-thickness skin defects using Integra with and without fibrin glue with keratinocytes. Can J Plast Surg 2008;16:147-52.
  • Nasser A, Fourman MS, Gersch RP, Phillips BT, Hsi HK, Khan SU, Gelfand MA, Dagum AB, Bui DT. Utilizing indocyanine green dye angiography to detect simulated flap venous congestion in a novel experimental rat model. J Reconstr Microsurg 2015;31:590-6.
  • Phillips BT, Bishawi M, Dagum AB, Khan SU, Bui DT. A systematic review of antibiotic use and infection in breast reconstruction: what is the evidence? Plast Reconstr Surg 2013;131:1-13.
  • Phillips BT, Fourman MS, Bishawi M, Zegers M, O'Hea BJ, Ganz JC, Huston TL, Dagum AB, Khan SU, Bui DT. Are prophylactic postoperative antibiotics necessary for immediate breast reconstruction? Results of a prospective randomized clinical trial. J Am Coll Surg 2016;222:1116-24.
  • Phillips BT, Lanier ST, Conkling N, Wang ED, Dagum AB, Ganz JC, Khan SU>, Bui DT. Intraoperative perfusion techniques can accurately predict mastectomy skin flap necrosis in breast reconstruction: results of a prospective trial. Plast Reconstr Surg 2012;129:778e-88e.
  • Rodman AJ, Conkling N, Bhatnagar D, Phillips BT, Rafailovich M, Bui DT, Khan SU, Dagum AB. The use of digital image speckle correlation analysis for targeted treatment of upper facial rhytids with botulinum toxin type A [abstract]. Plast Reconstr Surg 2012;130:102.
  • Singer AJ, Arora B, Dagum A, Valentine S, Hollander JE. Development and validation of a novel scar evaluation scale. Plast Reconstr Surg 2007;120:1892-7.
  • Singer AJ, Dagum AB. Current management of acute cutaneous wounds. N Engl J Med 2008;359:1037-46.
  • Slesarenko YA, Dagum AB, Hurst LC. False aneurysm of the superficial palmar arch causing acute carpal tunnel syndrome. Orthopedics 2007;30:493-4.
  • Slesarenko YA, Hurst LC, Dagum AB. Synovial chondromatosis of the distal radioulnar joint. Hand Surg 2004;9:241-3.
  • Slesarenko YA, Sampson SP, Gould ES, Dagum AB. Recurrent enchondroma protuberans: a case report. J Hand Surg 2005;30:1318-21.
  • Sobanko JF, Dagum AB, Davis IC, Kriegel DA. Soft tissue tumors of the hand. 1. Benign. Dermatol Surg 2007;33:651-67.
  • Sobanko JF, Dagum AB, Davis IC, Kriegel DA. Soft tissue tumors of the hand. 2. Malignant. Dermatol Surg 2007;33:771-85.
  • Wang ED, Xu X, Dagum AB. Mirror image trigger thumbs in dichorionic twins: a unique presentation of pediatric trigger thumb. Orthopedics 2012;35:e981-3.
  • > Click here to see abstracts/full text of Dr. Dagum's journal articles presented in reverse chronological order, starting with most recent, on PubMed (National Library of Medicine).