James R. Payne, M.D.

James Richard Payne was born in Gainesville, Florida, on July 24, 1953. His father was a history professor at the University of Florida. His mother was the youngest of three children born to a Stanford-trained missionary general surgeon who devoted his entire career to the medical care of the poor Mayan Indians of Guatemala. Dr. Payne's family moved to Stockton in the early 1960s, where Dr. Payne attended Lincoln High School. In 1972, he entered the University of the Pacific, where he majored in English and chemistry. While in college, Dr. Payne spent a winter term working in a remote part of the Guatemalan highlands at a missionary clinic. This experience strongly influenced his decision to pursue a career in medicine. In 1980, Dr. Payne graduated from the University of California at San Francisco Medical School, one of the top three medical schools in the country. He then spent two years training in general surgery followed by three years in Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) at the University of Arizona in Tucson. This provided in-depth exposure to the anatomy and surgery of the face and neck. Dr. Payne is Board Certified in ENT. At the University of Louisville, Kentucky, Dr. Payne completed his residency in plastic and reconstructive surgery in 1987. He was chosen out of a class of over 50 young surgeons in multiple specialties as the recipient of the William E. Brohm Award for the Outstanding Graduating Surgical Resident.

Dr. Payne went on to complete a one-year fellowship in microsurgery in Louisville before spending six months studying with experienced cosmetic surgeons, including some nationally recognized figures. He then spent one year training in surgery of the hand and upper extremity in Oakland, California. Including medical school, his formal training in medicine and surgery lasted nearly 14 years. Dr. Payne is Board Certified in Plastic Surgery.

When Dr. Payne began his private practice in Modesto, California, in 1990, it included most areas of plastic and reconstructive surgery. Over time, his practice focused on three areas: face and neck, breast, and body contouring. For established patients Dr. Payne continues to do reconstructive breast surgery, such as breast reduction or breast reconstruction following mastectomy for breast cancer. He will usually provide other plastic surgery services of a non-cosmetic nature as a courtesy to them as well. Otherwise, however, his practice is now exclusively cosmetic in nature.

Education

Lincoln High School: Stockton, California (1967-1971)
University of the Pacific: Stockton, California (1972-1975; entered medical school after three years of college)
University of California at San Francisco Medical School (1976-1980)
General surgery residency at Valley Medical Center: Fresno, California (1980-1982)
ENT residency at the University of Arizona: Tucson, Arizona (1982-1985)
Plastic surgery residency at the University of Louisville: Louisville, Kentucky (1985-1987)
Amelia Brown Frazier Fellowship in Reconstructive Microsurgery at the University of Louisville: Louisville, Kentucky (1987-1988)
Hand and Upper Extremity Surgery Fellowship at Merritt Hospital: Oakland, California (1989)

Special Awards

Recipient of the William E. Brohm Award for Outstanding Graduating Surgery Resident at the University of Louisville. Presented by Dr. Hiram Polk, chairman of the Department of General Surgery and by Dr. Leonard Weiner, chairman of the Plastic Surgery Division, to Dr. Payne upon completion of his residency in plastic surgery.

Board Certification

Otolaryngology (Ear, Nose & Throat) Board Certified: 1985
Plastic Surgery Board Certified: 1992

Professional Society Memberships

American Society of Plastic Surgery
American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery
Fellow American College of Surgeons
California Medical Association
California Society of Plastic Surgeons

Additional Plastic Surgery Experience & Service

Medical mission trips to Mexico, Guatemala, and the Philippines to help impoverished people
Surgeries performed include cleft lip and palate work, reconstructive surgery post-burns, hand and upper extremity surgery, treatment of a variety of tumors, and other reconstructive plastic surgery
Stanislaus County Young Physician Representative to the California Medical Association (1992-1994)
Doctors Medical Center Board of Governors (1998-2002)
Chief of Surgery Department at Doctors Medical Center (2000-2002)
Chief of Surgery at Stanislaus Surgical Hospital (2005-2007)
Emergency Room On-Call Director/Coordinator for Facial Trauma Panel at Modesto Area Hospitals (1999-present)
Participation in various physician committees at Modesto area hospitals.