Bauback Safa, MD

Medical Director, The San Francisco Transgender Institute

Dr. Safa is an internationally renowned reconstructive microsurgeon and hand surgeon at the Buncke Clinic, widely considered to be the birthplace of microsurgery. He graduated from the University of Virginia as an Echols Scholar and then obtained his MD from the Stanford University School of Medicine. He subsequently completed his residency in plastic and reconstructive surgery at Stanford, followed by a fellowship in microsurgery and hand surgery at The Buncke Clinic where he has been on staff since 2007. He is board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery with a certificate of added qualification in Hand Surgery (CAQ). Dr. Safa serves as Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery at both Stanford and UCSF divisions of plastic surgery. He also holds an MBA from the University of California Berkeley.

Dr. Safa lectures extensively throughout the world on complex microsurgical reconstruction, including phalloplasty, complex microsurgical hand reconstruction, replantation, peripheral nerve reconstruction, and super-microsurgery. He is also highly sought after internationally as a surgical educator and has trained hundreds of surgeons around the world in all aspects of microsurgery, peripheral nerve surgery, and hand surgery.

Dr. Safa and his team have performed over 240 phalloplasties over the past four years, representing one of the largest experiences in the world. In keeping with the tradition of Harry Buncke, he continues to train the next generation of microsurgeons at the Buncke Clinic.

  • BA, 1996, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA.
  • MD, 2001, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA.
  • MBA, 2011, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
  • Plastic Surgery Residency, Stanford University School of Medicine
  • Hand and Microsurgery fellowship, The Buncke Clinic
  • Board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS)
  • Certificate of Added Qualification (CAQ) in Surgery of the Hand (ABPS)
  • Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Department of Surgery (Plastic Surgery)
  • Assistant Clinical Professor of Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, Department of Surgery (Plastic Surgery)

Dr. Safa is a member of the following societies:

  • World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH)
  • American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS)
  • American Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery (ASRM)
  • American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH)
  • American Society for Peripheral Nerve (ASPN)
  • American Association for Hand Surgery (AAHS)
  • California Society of Plastic Surgeons (CSPS)
  • American College of Surgeons (ACS)

    • Additional information: www.buncke.org