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Raffi Gurunian

Raffi Gurunian, MD, PhD

Plastic Surgery

Need help scheduling? Call (216) 444-6900

Highlights

Age Groups Seen

  • Adult

Languages

  • Turkish
  • Armenian
  • English

Gender

Male

Locations

  1. Cleveland Clinic Main Campus
    • phone:
    • fax:

Education & Board Certifications

Education

  • Fellowship: Innsbruck University Hospital, 2003
  • Medical Education: Marmara University Faculty of Medicine, 2003
  • Residency: Marmara University Faculty of Medicine, 1997
  • Medical Education: Marmara University Faculty of Medicine, 1991

Board Certifications

  • Plastic Surgery: American Board of Plastic Surgery, 2015

Professional Highlights

  • Director, Maxillofacial Trauma
  • Director, Lower Extremity Reconstruction
  • European Board of Plastic Surgery
  • American Board of Plastic Surgery
  • Professor of Plastic Surgery 

Awards

  • Surp Pirgic Armenian Hospital Foundation Scholar: 1984-1991
  • Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation Scholar: 1984-1991
  • Graduation from Marmara University School of Medicine first in class with the highest grades and Valedictorian (1991)
  • Second place clinical paper “The use of free vascularized fibula bone grafts in mandible reconstruction” in the 16th Turkish Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Congress. Ankara, Turkey, October 1-4 (1994)
  • Best Clinical Paper Award “Bifrontal Approach in Unilateral Coronal Synostosis” in the 17th Turkish Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Congress. Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, September 20-25 (1995)
  • The 2001 Aesthetic Surgery Education and Research Foundation Grant Award with a research project entitled “Histological Evaluation Of Chemical Peels In The Yucatan Minipig.”
  • The Best Scientific Paper Award “The Effect of Pretreatment with Adenovirus-mediated VEGF Therapy On Epigastric Flap Survival: A Time-Response Study” in the 44th Annual Meeting of the Ohio Valley Society for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Toledo, Ohio, June 8-10 (2001)
  • Second place scientific paper award “Phenol-croton Oil Peel: The Science behind the Myths” in the 44th Annual Meeting of the Ohio Valley Society for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Toledo, Ohio, June 8-10 (2001)
  • The 2001 Best Video Award Winner Reproductive Surgery Category “Autotransplantation of an Entire Ovary with Vascular Anastomosis” in American Society for Reproductive Medicine Fifty-seventh Annual Meeting, Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida, October 20-25 (2001)
  • The 2001 Plastic Surgery Educational Foundation Grant Award with a research project entitled “VEGF Gene Therapy To Stimulate Peripheral Nerve Regeneration After Nerve Crush Injury”
  • The 2002 Society for Reproductive Surgeons Prize Paper Award “Transplantation of intact frozen-thawed mammalian ovary with microvascular anastomosis” at American Society for Reproductive Medicine Fifty-eighth Annual Meeting, Washington State Convention Center, Seattle, Washington, October 12-17 (2002)
  • The best poster paper “Der distal gestielte M.abductor hallucis Lappen: eine neue Anwenung”: (The distally-based abductor hallucis muscle flap: a new application). in 40. Jahrestagung Osterreichische Gesellschaft fur Plastische, Ästhetische und Rekonstruktive Chirurgie (The 40th Annual Meeting of Austrian Society for Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery). Salzburg, Austria, October 18-19 (2002)
  • The 2003 Best Video Award Winner Reproductive Surgery Category “Use of Deep Inferior Epigastric Vessels to Vascularize Cryopreserved-thawed Ovarian Grafts” in American Society for Reproductive Medicine Fifty-ninth Annual Meeting, Henry B.Gonzalez Convention Center, San Antonio, Texas, October 11-15 (2003)
  • Acquisition of Green Card in the ‘Alien of Extraordinary Ability’ category through achievements and accomplishments in the medical and surgical career (2005)
  • The best challenge the master case in genitourinary reconstruction category with “Penile replantation in a schizophrenic patient with self inflicted amputation” in the First Mayo Clinic Symposium in Reconstructive Microsurgery, at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, June 4-7, (2009)
  • Outstanding Clinician Award, Denver Health Medical Center (Denver General) (2011)
  • Second place runner-up in best Video Discussion of 2013 Contest for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Journal “The Role of Chronic and Perioperative Glucose Management in High-Risk Surgical Closures: A Case for Tighter Glycemic Control” Video Discussion by Raffi Gurunluoglu, MD
  • Approval by the American Board of Plastic Surgery for admission to the American Board of Plastic Surgery exams, December 3 (2013)
  • Diplomat of the American Board of Plastic Surgery, November 14 (2015)
  • Cleveland Clinic, Department of Plastic Surgery, the first total face transplant in the U.S.A (3rd face transplant at Cleveland Clinic), May 4-5, (2017)

Professional Memberships

The American College of Surgeons; The American Society of Plastic Surgeons; The Plastic Surgery Research Council; The Turkish Society of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons; The Turkish Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery; The International Confederation for Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery (IPRAS); The European Association of Plastic Surgeons (EURAPS); Ohio Valley Society of Plastic Surgeons

Research & Publications

See publications for this provider. (Disclaimer: This search is powered by PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. PubMed is a third-party website with no affiliation with Cleveland Clinic.)

Industry Relationships

Cleveland Clinic physicians and scientists collaborate with industry to advance medical breakthroughs. These partnerships help commercialize discoveries for public benefit while maintaining scientific integrity. To ensure transparency and minimize potential bias, Cleveland Clinic reviews these relationships and publicly discloses when physicians/scientists receive significant compensation for consulting, serve in fiduciary roles, receive royalties, or hold equity interests related to their work. We manage potential conflicts through approval processes, annual reporting, and targeted management plans.

As of 2025-10-02, Dr. Gurunian has reported no financial relationship with industry that is applicable to this listing.

In general, patients should feel free to contact their doctor about any of the relationships and how the relationships are overseen by Cleveland Clinic. To learn more about Cleveland Clinic's policies on collaborations with industry and innovation management, go to our Integrity in Innovation page.

Public Health Service-Reportable Financial Conflicts of Interest. Cleveland Clinic scientists and physicians engage in basic, translational and clinical research activities, working to solve health problems, enhance patient care and improve quality of life for patients. Interactions with industry are essential to bringing the researchers' discoveries to the public, but can present the potential for conflicts of interest related to their research activities. Click here to view a listing of instances where Cleveland Clinic has identified a Public Health Service (PHS)-Reportable Financial Conflict of Interest and has put measures in place to ensure that, to the extent possible, the design, conduct and reporting of the research is free from bias.

* Cleveland Clinic physicians and scientists subscribe to the guidance presented in the PhRMA Code on Interactions with Healthcare Professionals and the AdvaMed Code of Ethics on Interactions with Health Care Professionals. As such, gifts of substantial value are generally prohibited.

Insurances Accepted

Review a list of accepted insurance plans for our Northeast Ohio locations or learn more about purchasing a contracted managed care plan.

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