UP CLOSE | Faculty Make a Difference: UCSF Fresno’s Kent T. Yamaguchi, MD, Honored

As another class graduates from UCSF Fresno  and we welcome new physicians for the start of training, now is an ideal time to credit the faculty who shape these outstanding physicians. Our faculty leave a lasting, positive mark on their trainees, field and community.  Kent T. Yamaguchi, MD, FACS, is one of them. A revered surgeon and mentor to hundreds of students and residents, Dr. Yamaguchi was honored recently for his contributions. The UCSF Medical Alumni Association recognized him with the distinguished 2017 Alumnus of the Year Award. Yamaguchi was born and raised in Fresno on his family’s 40-acre farm. He attended Fresno State and graduated from the UCSF School of Medicine. Advanced training took him to Boston for a fellowship. While he enjoyed the East Coast, he returned home to serve the community where he grew up. He went on to become UCSF Fresno’s first plastic surgeon. His career has spanned decades, including 36 years of dedicated service to UCSF Fresno where he has served in many capacities. Most recently, he served as a clinical professor, specializing in hand and plastic surgery. He stepped down not long ago as chief of plastic surgery to ease into retirement. In addition to his alumni award, to honor Dr. Yamguchi’s work, UCSF Fresno is raising funds to establish an endowed lectureship in his name that will routinely bring nationally recognized experts in plastic surgery to Fresno to enrich the educational experience. UCSF Fresno is the largest physician-training program between Sacramento and Los Angeles. Nearly 700 UCSF core and volunteer faculty at UCSF Fresno train the next generation of physicians, provide patient care, conduct research and give back to the community. Fifty percent of the physicians trained at UCSF Fresno stay in the Central Valley to care for patients, continue their training or teach.

To make a gift: http://www.fresno.ucsf.edu/give/