Christopher Pannucci, MD MS

Special Clinical Interests:

Breast Lift & Reduction, Breast Augmentation, Breast Implant Removal, Body Contouring and Breast Reconstruction

Dr. Pannucci is an experienced, thoughtful, and compassionate surgeon

Dr. Pannucci is a plastic surgeon board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and is a fellowship-trained microvascular reconstructive surgeon. Dr. Pannucci’s clinical interests include aesthetic surgery of the breast and body, breast reconstruction surgery, and general reconstructive surgery. He offers a full range of reconstructive techniques, including microsurgical free tissue transfer and perforator flaps (such as deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flap breast reconstruction). Dr. Pannucci is an experienced microvascular surgeon and has performed hundreds of free flap procedures. He is also an accomplished surgeon educator and sought-after speaker for national meetings in plastic and microvascular surgery.

Dr. Pannucci is a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the Washington Society of Plastic Surgeons, and the Northwest Society of Plastic Surgeons. He also sits on the Editorial Board of the scientific journal Aesthetic Surgery Journal, is a former board member of the Aesthetic Society Education and Research Foundation, is the current Vice President of the Northwest Society of Plastic Surgeons, and locally sits on the physician credentialing committee for Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center.

Education

Dr. Pannucci is a Midwest native and received his Bachelor of Science degree from Indiana University and his Doctor of Medicine degree from Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Pannucci completed an integrated residency in plastic and reconstructive surgery at the University of Michigan. While in Ann Arbor, he also received a Masters degree in Health and Healthcare Research. Dr. Pannucci subsequently completed a clinical fellowship in microvascular reconstruction at the University of Pennsylvania. Before joining Plastic Surgery Northwest, Dr. Pannucci spent six years on faculty at the University of Utah, where he achieved the rank of Associate Professor with the Award of Tenure.

Patient Experience

Dr. Pannucci has a thoughtful, kind, and straightforward bedside manner and is proud to regularly receive “five-star” reviews from happy patients in the Inland Northwest via RealSelf, Google , and others. Many of these are linked in the “Testimonials” section below.

While on faculty at the University of Utah for six years, Dr. Pannucci was regularly ranked in the top 1% of providers for patient satisfaction and experience through Press-Ganey scores—a metric that is derived from patient experience surveys.

Click here to review unedited comments from Dr. Pannucci’s University of Utah patients from 2014 to 2019.

Surgical Mythbusting

Dr. Pannucci has an extensive background in clinical trials and clinically oriented research, and has leveraged these skills for “Surgical Mythbusting”. Using a paradigm similar to the popular television show “Mythbusters”, Dr. Pannucci has identified intriguing questions for patients and surgeons alike—questions that are practical in nature, impact patient’s day-to-day care, and have no clear answer–and examined them using a rigorous framework. He has partnered with biomedical engineer Adam Cyr PhD and ballistics expert Martin Szegedi, PhD to show that breast implants can protect patients against penetrating trauma.  He recently published a seminal manuscript showing that breast implants can decrease force experienced by the chest wall in low speed car accidents, plausibly protecting women against rib fractures and other chest trauma.

National Leader in Patient Safety

Dr. Pannucci is a nationally recognized advocate for patient safety, particularly in the realm of venous thromboembolism (VTE). VTE encompasses deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolus, both of which are life or limb-threatening complications of surgical procedures. Dr. Pannucci’s research over the past fifteen years has worked to identify the optimal paradigm to identify and decrease VTE risk for surgical patients. Dr. Pannucci’s research has been funded by national foundations as well as the federal government. He has previously been the Principal Investigator on 11 clinical trials which examined the optimization of post-operative anti-coagulant drugs in surgical patients to minimize risks of VTE and microvascular thrombosis after free flap surgery. Dr. Pannucci has published over 100 manuscripts, the majority of which examine risk factors and prevention of venous thromboembolism in surgical patients, in the peer-reviewed medical literature. He recently published the second-largest randomized controlled trial ever conducted in the field of plastic surgery.

Click here to view all of Dr. Pannucci’s peer-reviewed publications. Dr. Pannucci is regularly an invited lecturer at national and international academic meetings. Dr. Pannucci is a nationally and internationally recognized expert on venous thromboembolism in plastic surgery patients. He regularly helps to establish specialty-specific guidelines for VTE prevention–including participation in expert consensus panels through the American Heart Association and the American Association of Plastic Surgeons.

Dr. Pannucci’s research efforts have made a notable and important impact on patient safety for plastic surgery patients—an impact that has been recognized by his peers. Dr. Pannucci and his research collaborators have won multiple awards for their research. Most notably, they were recognized with the 2012 James Barrett Brown Award from the American Association of Plastic Surgeons. This annual award is given to the best paper in the field of plastic and reconstructive surgery for the previous calendar year — view the article here. More recently, Dr. Pannucci was awarded the Best Research Paper published in 2019 by the Aesthetic Surgery Journal — the #1 ranked aesthetic surgery journal in the world—view the article here

testimonials

“2020 sucked. Not only did Covid mess up everything, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. When I met Dr. Pannucci, he answered all my questions, and gave me a path forward; without any fluff. Any question I asked, he answered and ensured I understood. Through the bilateral mastectomy to the DIEP reconstruction, he's been an excellent doctor with a fantastic bedside manner. He's truly an artist when it comes to DIEP reconstruction. He and his staff were there through the healing, and issues I had; their texting tool Klara is awesome and often was a great way to communicate "is this normal" because you could easily send pictures. I had a small issue with healing and needed a skin graft, but even that, he ensured was done with the best intention and possible outcome. Dr. Pannucci is kind, considerate, and wants to take the best care of you. I would highly recommend him to anyone in the Spokane area for any sort of breast work.”

Verified patient

“I went and saw Dr. Pannucci to close my stretched ear lobes. They were stretched to 1/2 inch and I had had them like that for 7-8 years and was just frankly tired of them. Dr. Pannucci and his whole team were WONDERFUL from start to finish. Everyone was always very nice! Dr. Pannucci was great about explaining the whole procedure, giving very real expectations, and making sure everything was understood and I didn’t have any questions. Dr. Pannucci did an amazing job and I am so impressed with the results so far. I would DEFINITELY recommend this office and Dr. Pannucci!”

Verified patient

“I could not recommend Dr. Pannucci and his staff enough! Going to see a doctor and speaking about insecurities (or better yet, showing them) is not an easy thing to do and they made my experience seamless. Everyone from the front staff to the MAs and nurses on surgery day made me feel incredibly comfortable from my first consultation to my very last check up six months post operation! My results are out of this world and Dr. Pannucci never let me leave without any and all of my questions being answered. He was the most informative medical professional I have ever encountered without being pushy. He was honest and upfront and absolutely made my dreams a reality! Thank you Dr. Pannucci and staff!!”

Verified patient

“Very friendly staff at PSN! Dr Panucci did an amazing job on the surgery for my son's lipoma. He is very careful and thoughtful with his patients. They were great the whole way through the process and recommend them to anyone in this journey.”

Verified patient

“Dr. Pannucci performed an Abdominoplasty with hernia repair and a Mastopexy for me. Having 4 beautiful children is such a privilege but having an excellent plastic surgeon is a necessity! He has been open and up front with each procedure, answering each and every question thoroughly. He also made it a priority that I was comfortable before and after each surgery, even taking my call after hours on the weekend after surgery. I continue to see him regularly for wrinkle relaxers and am excited to venture into Qwo treatments with him! The office staff are a pleasure and the staff within the surgery center are definitely top notch!!! Dr. Pannucci has helped restore my confidence that was once lost for so long after having children. If you are contemplating any of these life changing surgeries I highly recommend Dr. Pannucci.”

Verified patient

“Dr. Pannucci is the only person I will ever trust for plastic surgery. I got an extended tummy tuck and had my abs repaired from being separated during pregnancy. He answered all my questions and never pressured me to take any pain meds during recovery. (Which was a big thing for me). Recovery was very easy, and my results were beyond amazing. I've recommended him to literally everyone.”

Verified patient

“Dr. Pannucci made me feel at ease from the very beginning. He was caring, made sure I fel comfortable, and was upfront about my total care. He is a top notch doctor. I cannot express with words what an awesome surgeon he is”

Verified patient

“I am a mother of 2, and had done everything I could to get rid of my "mommy pooch". Nothing worked. I started to research tummy tucks and was set up with Dr. Pannucci at Plastic Surgery Northwest. BEST DECISION EVER!!! The entire staff throughout the process were all amazing and I cannot say enough of how amazing I look afterwards!!! Dr. Pannucci took the time to listen to what I wanted (he even took the time to talk with my 4 year old when I had to bring him with me to appts) and we came up with a plan. The process was explained to me throughout, and my pain was controlled from the beginning. I could not be more ecstatic with the results!!! I feel and look amazing!!!!”

Verified patient

“I recently had my three month post op appointment with Dr. Pannucci and I can honestly say I could not be happier. I feel like Dr. Pannucci really took the time to get to know me in order to make appropriate recommendations and get the best result possible. He was extremely kind, and thorough, and professional, and I never felt rushed to make a decision or like my questions weren't important. From the very first phone call, to my consultation, to the procedure itself, and the many follow up visits, I felt valued as a patient and treated courteously by every one of the staff. Thank you Dr. Pannucci and everyone at Plastic Surgery Northwest!”

Verified patient

“I have just completed a full year of care and cannot be more pleased. I have survived breast cancer undergoing double mastectomies and tissue based reconstruction during COVID. My surgeon, Dr. Pannucci, and the entire staff were so professional, personable and helpful at every turn. So grateful”

Verified patient

“Dr. Pannucci is absolutely the best Doctor I've ever had in my life!...When Dr. Pannucci did my Flap Surgery and Breadt Reconstruction, he made my recovery so easy. I did not have any grief over the loss of my breast and no psychological issues. In fact. it's like I was given a start on a new life. I can't explain the feelings but I wish every woman with Breast Cancer could know about Flap Surgery and Dr. Pannuci. My recovery was so easy and everything was so perfect.”

Verified patient

“Dr. Pannucci is always very good about giving me realistic options. He explains the options well and leaves the decision to me without pressure.”

Verified patient

“Dr. Pannucci spent a lot of time with me discussing how I looked and felt and made sure that I was happy with the results and had my questions answered. he did an amazing job with my breast reconstruction and helped make this part of my cancer process much better. I am grateful for his talent and his and his staff s excellent care. Thank you!”

Verified patient

“Dr. Pannucci is an excellent doctor! He explains everything so well and makes you feel so comfortable! He has been so great with reconstructing my breast since been diagnosed with breast cancer. I could not have had a better doctor.”

Verified patient

“Dr. Pannucci spent a long time with me at my post op visit answering all questions that I had. I was very happy with his surgery and the care I received after. he did an amazing job!!”

Verified patient

“Dr. Pannucci is an excellent doctor and surgeon. He has a great manner about him and I am very lucky he was my doctor.”

Verified patient

“Dr. Pannucci is very personable. He has a good bedside demeanor. He smiles from his eyes. That's what's important to me. I'm pleased with my breast cancer surgeries results.”

Verified patient

“Dr. Pannucci went above and beyond for me and my daughter and she says he is the nicest doctor she has ever met and makes her feel important and cared for during this traumatic experience she went through, we couldn't have asked for a better surgeon and are so grateful for all his care and expertise and felt our daughter was getting the best care possible.”

Verified patient
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