Focus on Faculty with Ryan Mirchel, MD

Ryan Mirchel, MD, clinical instructor, is one of the newest faculty in the Oral and Maxillofacial Division in the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine Department of Surgery, arriving at the beginning of August. He began his training at the Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry at the University of the Pacific in San Francisco, where he earned a DDS degree. He completed his MD as well as a general surgery internship at the University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas, where he also finalized his residency training in oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMS) at Parkland Memorial Hospital.

Mirchel is a clinical instructor of surgery at the UC Medical Center, with appointments to provide surgical and educational services in OMS to the Cincinnati Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center as well as Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. 

His clinical interests include temporomandibular joint surgery, facial trauma and reconstructive surgery, dental implant and grafting surgery, minimally invasive and endoscopic maxillofacial surgery, as well as orthognathic and functional cosmetic surgery.

What brought you to UC?

"I came to UC for the program. Before I got the chance to interview here, I'd never been to Cincinnati before. I've never spent a significant amount of time in the Midwest. Just like where I went to dental school and where I went to residency, I choose my path based on where the best programs are. UC is definitely one of the best places to be if you're an oral surgeon.

"There's already world class faculty here. Dr. Erik Evans is from a long line of famous oral surgeons. His dad, Bill, is one of the biggest names in the specialty. His dad trained him. Dr. Deepak Krishnan is one of the biggest names in the specialty worldwide, not just nationwide. It's the same story with Dr. Robert Marciani, he is a legend. 

"I interviewed all over the country, looking for a good center to work in and after visiting UC, there was pretty much no question I was going to work here." 

Was there anything in particular that attracted you to UC?

"I like comprehensive care, which is hard to find as a surgeon and I think our specialty having the dental and medical background gives us a chance to do comprehensive care for the facial trauma patient. I'm interested in problems with the teeth, problems with the bones, fractures, and repairing all of that as well as all of their soft tissue problems as well.

Do you have a favorite area of practice?

"I consider myself a facial orthopedic surgeon. I mostly work with the bones and facial trauma surgery. I focus in surgery of the jaw joints, temporomandibular joints, all the way up and to replacement, as well as working with titanium joints.

"Facial trauma patient cases can get very complex and their management needs are complicated. It's nice to have a trained background where you can manage all their dental problems, all their bone problems, or if they have nerve damage. I'm trained to manage sensory nerve damage as well.

"There's a ton of opportunity here for the particular interests I want to pursue clinically. From a research perspective, it's a good size residency program, the residents here are fantastic."

Can you share something about your personal life and interests?

"I moved here with my fiancée who is a graduate student in the UC Department of Psychology. She works with prescription drug addiction in adolescents. We met in Dallas, this is the first time she's ever gone anywhere else.

"We don't have any pets yet, but I'm an avid outdoorsman, I love fishing, hunting, hiking and camping. I'm a pretty big baseball fan, and while I like the Mariners, I try to hook into anywhere I'm living. My goal is to lay down roots here, so I might have to switch over to the Reds. I'm super excited about the sports teams here."