Meet Dr. Rachel Pferdehirt

Dr. Rachel Pferdehirt is a UCLA-trained plastic surgeon, board certified in general surgery, with fellowship training in reconstructive plastic.

Reconstructive Discipline, Aesthetic Judgment

Dr. Pferdehirt completed her plastic surgery residency at the University of California, Los Angeles, one of the most competitive cosmetic surgery integrated programs, after finishing a full general surgery residency at Inova Fairfax Medical Campus in Virginia. She is board certified by the American Board of Surgery and board eligible in plastic and reconstructive surgery.

Between those two training paths she spent a year as a fellow in limb preservation and wound healing, work that shaped how she thinks about tissue, blood supply, and healing long before an incision is ever made. That background informs everything she does now, from complex reconstruction to elective cosmetic surgery of the face, breast, and body.

Nine Years in the Operating Room

Dr. Pferdehirt's path to plastic surgery began with five years of general surgery at Inova Fairfax, a high-volume trauma and transplant center outside Washington, D.C. She served as administrative chief resident in her final year and led resident education for the medical students rotating through the department.

She then completed a fellowship in limb preservation and wound healing at Inova Health System, treating patients whose wounds would not close, including hyperbaric oxygen therapy and staged soft tissue reconstruction.

At UCLA she trained across the full range of plastic surgery, from microsurgical breast reconstruction to aesthetic surgery of the face and body. Her published work in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery covers covers complex cosmetic surgery techniques, including those for breast lift and augmentation mastopexy.

Comprehensive Aesthetic & Reconstructive Procedures

Dr. Rachel treats all cosmetic cases related to the face, breast and body with the technical precision and aesthetic eye that she developed after years of training. She believes the best outcomes come from an honest conversation first: what a procedure can do, what it cannot, and whether it is the right choice at this point in a patient's life.

Choosing Maine

After training in Pittsburgh, Houston, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles, Dr. Pferdehirt was drawn to Maine by the chance to practice in a close-knit team where she knows her patients by name rather than by case number.

With more than 30 years in practice, Maine Plastic Surgery has cared for and observed the experiences of thousands of cosmetic patients, bringing decades of insight and expertise to every patient we serve. Outside the operating room she is a runner and a reader, and she is looking forward to learning the coast one trailhead and one lobster roll at a time.

Education and Training

University of California, Los Angeles

Resident: Plastic Surgery
Los Angeles, CA

Inova Health System

Fellow: Limb Preservation / Wound Healing
Falls Church, VA

Inova Fairfax Medical Campus

Resident: General Surgery
Falls Church, VA
Administrative Chief Resident (2021 – 2022)
Medical Student Education Resident (2020 – 2021)

Baylor College of Medicine

Doctor of Medicine
Houston, TX
Medical Student Research Track (2014 – 2015)

Carnegie Mellon University

Bachelor of Science, Biological Sciences and Psychology
Pittsburgh, PA
University and College Honors
Focus in Genetics and Neuroscience
Minors: Biomedical Engineering, French and Francophone Studies