New plastic surgeon will help keep Veteran care at Columbia VA
COLUMBIA, South Carolina –The Columbia VA Health Care System is thankful to welcome a new plastic surgeon to the ranks. Dr. Gary Culbertson started at CVAHCS in July 2024 after a distinguished career spanning 46 years in military and civilian practice.
“Dr. Culbertson is an experienced plastic surgeon with decades of practice history. He is not the first plastic surgeon at CVAHCS, but it has been six years since we had one,” said Dr. Nael Alghothani, the acting chief of surgery. “There are three major needs for plastic surgery that he will be able to cover for us including oculoplastic surgery, skin cancer surgery, and breast surgery. He will mainly work with breast cancer patients who may need breast reconstruction or patients who need breast reduction,” added Alghothani. “All of these services are currently not available here and are being sent to the community.”
Culbertson comes from a military family with a father, brother, and several nephews who served in the U.S. Air Force. After moving around a lot, they settled in Texas. Culbertson attended Trinity University in San Antonio on a scholarship. Then he joined the U.S. Army after graduating. He served a total of 11 years. He was airborne qualified and earned his flight surgeon wings while working at the U.S Army Institute of Surgical Research Burn Center on Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio.
Culbertson and his family settled in Sumter, South Carolina in 1994. He built an ambulatory surgery center and was working a very busy schedule. He specialized in hand and oculoplastic surgery or surgery around the eyes. He was the first surgeon in the Midlands to perform replantation surgery of amputated fingers, nerve grafting, breast, face, and upper/lower extremity reconstruction from trauma and cancer. Also, about 50% of his practice was cosmetic surgeries.
“I had two days of clinic, one day operating at the hospital, one day operating at the ambulatory surgery center, and had to work most Saturdays,” said Culbertson. He was ready for a change. “I enjoy plastic surgery. I didn't want to retire,” he added.” I wanted to continue to do it, but I wanted a different pace.”
Then this VA opportunity came along.
The addition of Dr. Culbertson will greatly enhance the CVAHCS plastic surgery treatment needs of Veterans and save precious taxpayer dollars by not having to outsource those services to the community. “I’m glad to be part of the VA in Columbia,” Culbertson added.