My Philosophy
Facial aesthetic surgery is an art form requiring grace, prudence, science and skill. Rejuvenation can often be beautifully achieved with subtle changes, as long as they are well considered and performed. When patients choose me as their surgeon, I strive to understand their goals and wishes, to most fully bring about the transformation that they desire. I realize that beauty can be revealed by restoring natural curves, softening profiles, and easing the signs of aging using strictly individualized care. Lasting attractiveness after all, is not an assault on the senses but is instead a recognizable sensuality of the cheeks, a harmony of the facial structure and an aura of confidence. This philosophy is certain to characterize interactions with my patients.
After seven years of surgical training at the Cleveland Clinic and the UCLA Medical Center with an unwavering focus on the face and neck, I bring intense concentration to facial aesthetic surgery and rejuvenation. Using only the most advanced and dependable techniques, patients under my care will enjoy lasting, secure and safe results. Every option will be discussed, explored, and explained, so that my patients will feel enabled and empowered to guide their own experience. My goal is to truly understand my patients wishes in order to provide them with an approach and framework for their own innate attractiveness to emerge.
- P. Daniel Knott, MD, FACS
Training and Experience
Dr. Knott has extensive experience on the full spectrum of facial anesthetic operations and treatments as well as all aspects of the reconstruction of traumatic, malignant, and congenital defects of the head and neck. He earned a medical degree at the School of Medicine at the University of California, San Diego and completed a six-year surgical residency at the Cleveland Clinic in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery. Dr. Knott also completed the prestigious fellowship in facial plastic and reconstructive surgery at the UCLA Medical Center. He was a staff surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation for 5 years before he was recruited as the director of Facial Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery at UCSF.
Dr. Knott’s clinical interests include rhinoplasty, treatment of facial aging, treatment of facial paralysis, reconstruction of facial cutaneous malignancies, and free tissue transfer. He also has experience in minimally invasive soft tissue facial augmentation. He is currently helping to develop new protocols for scalp and midface reconstruction and the microvascular treatment of osteonecrosis of the mandible.
Awards and Honors
He has served on multiple national committees, including the new technologies committee of the American Academy of Facial Plastic Surgery. He has won multiple research awards including the Robert Maxwell Byers award from the Head and Neck Society and the Ben Shuster Memorial Award and the Ira Tresely Research Award from the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. He was also named the first runner up for the highest board score obtained on the facial plastic written and oral boards in 2007. At UCSF, Dr. Knott won the Roger Boles teaching award for the Department of Otolaryngology in 2012, and one of the premier teaching awards at UCSF, the Kaiser Teaching Award (Inpatient Setting) in 2013. He also serves as a consultant for Genentech Corporation on their Basal Cell Carcinoma Surgical Advisory Board.
Research and Innovation
Dr. Knott has authored over 30 peer-reviewed papers and serves as a peer reviewer on topics related to facial plastic and reconstructive surgery for multiple national journals, including Head and Neck Surgery, JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery, Laryngoscope, the International Journal of Dermatology, and Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, and has performed extensive research on head and neck transplantation. Dr. Knott has authored six book chapters on facial aesthetic surgery and published a book on the aesthetic use of botox.
Dr. Knott has a particular specialization in artificial tissue and tissue engineering applications. He has extensive experience in creating solutions for the two common issues that affect faces over time - treating the descent of the soft tissues and facial soft tissue atrophy.With this technology, Dr. Knott and other inventors, hold a U.S. Patent for the innovative creation and application of tyramine-based hydrogels which creates synthetic macromolecular network for a wide variety of tissue types. He is also currently working on techniques to optimize the appearance of scars, provide reanimation to patients suffering from facial paralysis, and develop new applications for free tissue transfer.
Selected Publications
Knott PD, Keller GS. "Minimally invasive techniques in facial plastic surgery" in Byrne's Atlas of Facial Plastic Surgery, publication pending.
Revenaugh PC, Knott PD, McBride JM, Fritz MA. Motor Nerve to the Vastus Lateralis. Arch Facial Plast Surg. 2012 Apr 16.
Shipchandler TZ, Waters HH, Knott PD, Fritz MA. Orbitomaxillary reconstruction using the layered fibula osteocutaneous flap. Arch Facial Plast Surg. 2012 Mar-Apr; 14(2):110-5.
Benninger MS, Knott PD. Techniques of Botulinum Toxin Injections in the Head and Neck. Plural Publishing, 2012.
Knott PD, Keller GS, Newman J, Apfelberg DA. A novel bioabsorbable device for facial suspension and rejuvenation. Archives of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 2009;11(2);129-35.
Knott PD, Hutcherson R, Keller GS. "Endoscopic browlifting: Contemporary concepts and conventions" in Surgical Facial Rejuvenation: A roadmap to safe and reliable outcomes, William Truswell, Ed, 2009, Thieme.
Seth R, Nabili V, Fritz MA, Alam DS, Knott PD. Volume-directed facial soft tissue deficit reconstruction. Facial Plast Surg. 2010 Dec; 26(6):494-503.
Nabili V, Knott PD. Advanced lip reconstruction: functional and aesthetic considerations. Facial Plast Surg. 2008 Jan; 24(1):92-104.
Invited Speaking Engagements
"Contemporary Treatment of Facial Basal Cell Carcinoma", American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA, October 18, 2013.
"The Facial Nerve", Surgical Approaches in Facial Trauma and Surgical Demonstration, University of California, San Francisco/Orthopedic Trauma Institute at San Francisco General Hospital, San Francisco, CA, August 25, 2013.
"Midface/Orbital Reconstruction", Pacific Rim Otolaryngology Update Course, Honolulu, HI, February 17, 2013.
"Mohs Facial Reconstruction", Pacific Rim Otolaryngology Update Course, Honolulu, HI, February 16, 2013.
"Surgical Treatment of Nasal Obstruction", 18th Annual Advances in Diagnosis and Treatment of Sleep Apnea and Snoring, San Francisco, CA, February 18, 2012.
"Advances in Microvascular Facial Reconstruction: Pushing the Boundaries", American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Annual Meeting, , Washington, DC, September 6, 2012.
"The anterolateral thigh free flap: technical improvements and enlarged recipient site potential". Otolaryngology video session of the ACS 2011.
Pearls for Optimizing Free Flap Outcomes, AAO-HNS Annual Meeting, Boston, MA September, 2010; Co-presented with Daniel Alam and Michael Fritz.