Dr. John Harris, board-certified plastic surgeon in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, specializes in facelift and skin cancer surgery

Dr Harris’s roots are in the Midwest where he was born and raised in Lincoln, Illinois. The discipline and value of working hard was embedded early-on. Dr. Harris started his journey southward by enrolling at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, where he played on the varsity tennis team and graduated with honors. Dr. Harris graduated from Southern Illinois Medical School where his interest in Plastic surgery developed. While working under world famous cardiac surgeon Dr. Bill De Vries at the University of Utah on a cardiac surgery rotation, Dr. Harris received career directing advice. Dr. De Vries, who had performed the world’s first artificial heart surgery convinced Dr. Harris that plastic surgery was always expanding into new frontiers and offered a bright future.  Dr De Vries worked to get Dr. Harris a plastic surgery rotation in Salt Lake City, which began a lifetime passion for Dr. Harris in the plastic surgery field.

Dr Harris headed north to the Mayo clinic in Rochester Minnesota where he completed a five-year general surgery residency and a two-year plastic surgery residency- becoming board certified in both disciplines. Upon finishing his training, the Mayo clinic asked Dr. Harris to join their plastic surgery staff at the Mayo clinic in Jacksonville, Fl. Striving for excellence, Dr. Harris believed it was best to obtain as much advanced training as possible to prepare himself to provide the best patient care possible.  Dr. Harris undertook a cosmetic surgery fellowship at the Mt Sinai medical center in Miami, and a microsurgery fellowship at the Royal Melbourne Hospital in Australia. Ready for surgical practice, Dr. Harris traveled south to begin his practice life at The Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville Florida.

One of the principles Dr. Harris took from his Mayo training was that surgical expertise is essential to a good patient outcome, and that the best surgeons are those that have performed thousands of the same procedures. In his private practice Dr. Harris has focused on facelift surgery as his area of mastery. Dr. Harris has performed many thousands of facial rejuvenation procedures, but still approaches every single operation with humility and attention, with constant effort to obtain perfection for his patients.

Dr. Harris’s personal philosophy for surgery care mirrors that of the founders of the Mayo Clinic. Charles Mayo said, “The best interest of the patient is the only interest to be considered.” Dr. Harris believes all surgeons are first physicians and are responsible for the total well-being of their patients. Fully understanding the patient’s medical history and personal beliefs is of paramount importance to Dr. Harris, as he strives to achieve the results that he feels his patients deserve. Dr. Harris approaches every patient in the same way, first listening to his patient’s concerns and carefully studying their pattern of aging. Dr. Harris creates a customized surgical plan with his patients’ input, to achieve a successful outcome that both he and his patients are happy with.  Dr. Harris appreciates that the solid foundation of surgical principles and quality patient care that he was afforded in his extensive training translates to better surgical outcomes for his patients.” I am comfortable that I have an artistic eye, but rest well knowing I have worked diligently to obtain surgical skills that my patients can rely upon.”   

Dr Harris brings a sense of optimism to his practice that he shares with his patients every single day.  Dr. Harris sincerely feels that being able to care for his patients is not only life’s calling, but a blessing. “Many physicians consider medical practice to be work. My staff and I truly enjoy our medical practice, and consider it our privilege and our pleasure that we can provide good care for our patients every day.”