Your Health Team

Dr. Tolbert Wilkinson

M.D.

Originally from North Carolina, Dr. Tolbert Wilkinson attended Wake Forest University in that state and graduated Magna Cum Laude in premedical studies with a Phi Beta Kappa key and awards for outstanding performance in College Theater, Social, and fraternity work. Since his father and two uncles are physicians and one brother was chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Massachusetts and another brother in private practice of surgery, Dr. Wilkinson was directed into premedical studies by family tradition. Each attended Duke University Medical School and interned there. During his junior year, plastic surgery was introduced as part of his curriculum and quickly became his prime interest. After internship and an additional year of residency in general surgery with a strong emphasis on plastic surgery, he transferred to the Emory University program at Grady Hospital in Atlanta to complete qualifications for board certification in general surgery. This prerequisite for plastic surgery training was completed in 1967. Two years of plastic surgery residency training at St. Louis University were followed by two years as a staff plastic surgeon in the United States Air Force at Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi. After rejecting several offers for academic positions, Dr. Wilkinson chose to be Chairman of the Division of Plastic Surgery at the University of Texas Center in San Antonio in 1971. Numerous scientific articles on general reconstruction were published at that time in conjunction with a successful residency-training program under his direction. Several of the young men he trained are in private practice in this area. Dr. Wilkinson left the full time faculty in 1973 and established a private practice, which primarily concentrated on the developing field of aesthetic surgery. Expansion became necessary in 1978 and established an office surgical center incorporating the concepts of total patient care with operating rooms, postsurgical cleansing, instruction, skin care, and the spa program techniques. Dr. Wilkinson has continued to lecture and publish in major plastic surgery journals on subjects in aesthetic surgery, including pioneering work in the “limited” abdominoplasty, malar implants, lip enhancement, submental surgery for the aging neck, platysma surgery in young adults, breast reconstruction, and breast cosmetic surgery and in suction assisted fat removal. He has served as faculty member, instructor, and program chairman of meetings of the International Society of Clinical Plastic Surgeons, the British and French Aesthetic Surgery Societies, Los Angeles, New York, Florida, Monterrey, and Missouri Plastic Surgery Societies, and as “Maestro” for the International Symposium in Guadalajara as well as national symposia sponsored by the Plastic Surgery Educational Foundation and the Lypolysis Societies. Dr. Wilkinson was selected to be on the faculty of the first advanced course in suction assisted lipectomy and the ASPER international symposia on new procedures in plastic surgery. He edits a journal of techniques titled “Technical Forum” which is distributed to over 600 plastic surgeons. His original tattoo removal technique is followed in 5 countries and 15 states as well as San Antonio. In addition to medical writings, Dr. Wilkinson was a contributing editor for POLO Magazine and had undertaken a number of safety related projects for the United States Polo Association including drug control and on-field emergency care procedures. He was a founder of the American Medical Equestrian Association and served as its first president. He is currently a member of the International Society for Clinical Plastic Surgery, the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, the Texas Society of Plastic Surgery, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and other related organizations. For over 30 years until now, Dr. Wilkinson has limited his practice to cosmetic surgery and breast reconstruction. Dr. Wilkinson’s three textbooks are still in print. Dr. Wilkinson retired from private practice in June 2014, after more than 40 years in practice. In September 2014, Dr. Wilkinson successfully completed training in skilled wound care with Skilled Facility Health Care Solutions, Inc. in California and was actively employed by them for over 2 years. He joins TeleMedVIP to provide ongoing primary care concierge services and continue his commitment to the medical field.