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Boston Doctor Transforms Lives Through Surgery At first glance, Dr. Branko Bojovic's office at Shriners Children's Boston looks like that of any top surgeon: neatly arranged case photos, framed degrees from Harvard and Johns Hopkins, and the faint hum of activity from the pediatric burn unit down the hall. But behind the quiet order lies a career defined by boldness and a drive to rebuild what others thought could not be repaired. As Chief of Plastic, Reconstructive and Laser Surgery at Shriners Boston and Assistant Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Branko Bojovic stands at the forefront of a field that blends science, artistry, and empathy. His specialty in craniofacial and microsurgical reconstruction sits at the intersection of precision and compassion, where the goal is not only to restore function but also to give back identity. Building a Surgeon Bojovic's journey began in New York, where he earned his medical degree at the State University of New York at Buffalo in 2002. He completed a demanding general surgery residency at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center before entering the Harvard Combined Plastic Surgery Program, a rotation through some of the world's most advanced hospitals including Massachusetts General and Boston Children's. He then honed his craft through a fellowship in craniofacial microsurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital and the University of Maryland's R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center. It was at Maryland that Bojovic joined the surgical team that performed one of the world's most comprehensive facial transplants, a groundbreaking operation that helped redefine the limits of reconstructive surgery. "That experience changed the way I thought about what was possible," he later reflected. "It showed me that restoration isn't just physical. It's profoundly emotional." A Calling Beyond the Operating Room While Bojovic's work in Boston makes headlines, his quieter humanitarian efforts have taken him far from the comfort of American hospitals. Over the past decade, he has joined medical missions to countries such as Ukraine and throughout Eastern Europe, where young burn victims often lack access to reconstructive care. In temporary clinics and war-damaged hospitals, he and small teams of specialists perform complex procedures under difficult conditions. They release contractures,

reconstruct eyelids and lips, and restore movement and expression. "These are children who have already survived the unthinkable," he says. "If we can give them back the ability to smile or close their eyes again, it changes everything for them and their families." Those missions, he admits, are among the most meaningful experiences of his career. "It's medicine stripped down to its essence. No prestige, no technology, just people helping people." Leadership and Legacy Back home at Shriners Boston, Bojovic leads one of the world's premier pediatric reconstructive teams. The hospital's mission to treat children regardless of their ability to pay aligns perfectly with his own philosophy of medicine as service. His days are long, often filled with surgeries that last ten hours or more, but he still finds time to teach and mentor young surgeons at Harvard. Colleagues describe him as both innovator and humanitarian, a surgeon who demands excellence while never losing sight of empathy. His research continues to advance tissue transplantation, craniofacial reconstruction, and burn recovery, but his influence extends beyond the operating room. "He's one of those rare physicians who reminds everyone why we got into medicine in the first place," says a colleague at Massachusetts General Hospital. Honors and Humanity In recognition of his medical and humanitarian work, Bojovic was awarded the Order of Karadjordje's Star, one of Serbia's highest civilian honors. He has also been named a Boston Top Doctor several times, though he tends to deflect praise toward his team. "It's never one person," he says. "Every success story here is a team story." The Art of Restoration Whether reconstructing a child's burned face in Kyiv or performing microsurgery in Boston, Dr. Branko Bojovic approaches each case with the same conviction: that restoring a person's face is about restoring their future. "When you operate on the face," he says, "you're working on how someone meets the world, how they're seen, and how they see themselves." In a field that demands both technical mastery and emotional resilience, Bojovic continues to redefine what healing looks like, one face, one patient, and one act of courage at a time.