Lives of Consequence
Dr. Darrick E. Antell '73
Plastic Surgeon and Interplast and Operation Smile Volunteer
Darrick E. Antell M.D. F.A.C.S. is a diplomate of the American Board of Plastic Surgery and an official spokesperson for the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. He served as an assistant clinical professor of surgery at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons for more than 20 years. In 2014, Antell was appointed as an assistant clinical professor of surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He is also a professor of plastic surgery at the American University of Antigua, having been appointed on July 1, 2010.
Besides having an internationally renowned practice in Manhattan for more than 25 years, Antell is perhaps best known for having operated on more identical siblings (twins) than any other plastic surgeon in the world. His published studies include work on studying different face-lift techniques as well as evaluating the effects of lifestyle choices on aging in identical twins. Most importantly, by eliminating genetic differences between the patients studied, Antell was able to see how environmental factors such as smoking, sun exposure and stress affect the aging process. Ultimately, his groundbreaking study was published with dramatic photos in the Annals of Plastic Surgery in December 1999. The stunning photos confirmed that lifestyle choices demonstrated a more profound effect on physical aging than genetics alone. These findings have most recently been acknowledged by the Smithsonian Institution, and Antell’s work was displayed within the Human Genome Exhibit organized by the National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian and the National Human Genome Research Institute.
Antell’s studies have been widely reported in scientific journals and consumer publications, and broadcast by major national media, such as ABC-TV’s “Good Morning America.” He also has been interviewed on major talk shows including “The Today Show,” “The Early Show” and the ”Tonight Show with Jay Leno.” He is frequently quoted in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and other major news outlets.
At HWS, Antell was a biology major, a member of the Hobart Student Government, Student Court, head Resident Advisor and secretary of Fraternity Kappa Alpha. He went on to earn his D.M.D. from Case Western Reserve University and his M.D. from the Medical University of Ohio at Toledo, making him one of a very small number of board certified plastic surgeons in the entire country who possess dual degrees as a medical doctor and a doctor of medicine in dentistry. This dual training gives Antell a unique combination of expertise of facial anatomy as well as the meticulous skills of dentistry.
Antell completed his surgical training at Stanford University Medical Center and his specialty training in plastic and reconstructive surgery at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center (now called New York-Presbyterian, the University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell) and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan. He was chief resident in plastic surgery at the New York Hospital from 1986 to 1987.
In September 2000, Dr. Randolph Guthrie Jr. entrusted his practice to Antell. Guthrie – who mentored and trained Antell – was past chief of plastic surgery at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and was one of the earliest pioneers of breast reconstruction.