Dr. Kline trained in microsurgery with Dr. Robert Allen, the pioneer of DIEP, SIEA, and GAP perforator flap breast reconstruction, as a plastic surgery resident at LSU. Dr. Kline says when discussing this time, “We knew that [Dr. Allen] was on to something very exciting, but I doubt anyone back then foresaw just how sought after those procedures would become.”
After completing this training, Dr. Kline spent several years in full-time academic surgical practice, beginning at LSU in New Orleans. He then worked at the Medical University of South Carolina, where he performed the first successful DIEP flap in the southeastern United States. He entered private practice in 2000, and the practice rapidly became a regional referral center for complex microsurgical reconstruction. The practice has since evolved to focus almost exclusively on microsurgical breast reconstruction. “Our passion is restoring women’s body image after mastectomy using only their own natural tissue. We and our entire staff feel very privileged to be able to use our skills to help so many people in this way,” explains Dr. Kline.
Dr. Kline is a Charleston native and lives near his childhood home and his parents. He met his wife Elizabeth, a thoracic surgeon, in the operating room. They now have two children: their daughter Bellamy and their son Mahlon.