Chelsea A. Harris
( out of 319 reviews )

Chelsea A. Harris, MD, MS

Languages spoken: English

Clinical Locations

Primary Location

University of Utah Hospital

Plastic Surgery, Area E
50 N Medical Dr
Salt Lake City , UT 84132
801-581-7719
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Chelsea Harris, MD, MS, is a board certified plastic surgeon with a broad-based reconstructive practice. She has a special clinical interest in abdominal wall reconstruction, body contouring, and wound care, and values a multi-disciplinary approach to surgical planning. Additionally, Dr. Harris performs transmasculine chest wall reconstruction ("top surgery") and reconstruction for a variety of traumatic and cancer-related injuries.

Dr. Harris' Clinical Interests Include:

  • Abdominal wall reconstruction
  • Post-bariatric body contouring
  • Post-oncologic reconstruction
  • Wound care
  • Limb salvage

Dr. Harris earned her undergraduate degree from Brown University, her medical degree from the University of Vermont, and completed her General Surgery training at the University of Maryland/Shock Trauma. During her general surgery residency, she completed a two-year T32 research fellowship through University of Michigan’s Center for Health Outcomes and Policy, where she also earned a Masters in Health Services Research. She completed her Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship at Johns Hopkins University.

Dr. Harris' Research Interests Include:

  • Health Services
  • How to better elucidate patient preferences and integrate them into care
  • Building data-driven approaches to evaluate and improve medical culture to better meet the holistic needs of patients and providers
  • Systems-based approaches to patients' complex reconstructive needs, such as those encountered in non-healing wounds, abdominal wall reconstruction, and trauma

Dr. Harris has garnered international recognition through her work with the Cultural Complications Curriculum, a program that guides medical professionals in attending to instances of cultural breakdown with the same rigor they apply to medical or surgical errors. Her research has been supported with intramural and societal grant funding. Dr. Harris is also a leader in leveraging social media for research dissemination, having served as Creative Director at Annals of Surgery and the American Journal of Surgery. Over the course of her training, she has won multiple teaching and professional awards, and was the 2021 recipient of the Association of Women Surgeon’s Hilary Sanfey Outstanding Resident award.

Dr. Harris strives to understand patients' functional and aesthetic goals better so that they can tailor a surgical approach to improve their lives together. She seeks to honor each patient's unique identity and context to craft an approach that is safe, effective, and reflective of their individuality.

In her spare time, Dr. Harris enjoys skiing, ice hockey, broomball, hiking, painting, Broadway musicals, and spending time with family.

Specialties

Board Certification

American Board of Plastic Surgery
American Board of Surgery

Patient Rating

Patients consistently describe Dr. Harris as compassionate, kind, and approachable, with a bedside manner that makes them feel comfortable and heard. Her communication is frequently praised—she explains procedures and options clearly, answers questions thoroughly, and makes herself available for follow-up. Reviewers also note her strong surgical skill and professionalism, reporting excellent outcomes such as improved scarring and limb‑saving care and recommending her to others.

Generated via Patient Reviews

4.9 /5
( out of 319 reviews )

The patient rating score is an average of all responses on our patient experience survey. The rating averages scores for all questions about care from our providers. The scale on which responses are measured is 1 to 5 with 5 being the best score.

Chelsea Harris, MD, MS, is a board certified plastic surgeon with a broad-based reconstructive practice. She has a special clinical interest in abdominal wall reconstruction, body contouring, and wound care, and values a multi-disciplinary approach to surgical planning. Additionally, Dr. Harris performs transmasculine chest wall reconstruction ("top surgery") and reconstruction for a variety of traumatic and cancer-related injuries.

Dr. Harris' Clinical Interests Include:

  • Abdominal wall reconstruction
  • Post-bariatric body contouring
  • Post-oncologic reconstruction
  • Wound care
  • Limb salvage

Dr. Harris earned her undergraduate degree from Brown University, her medical degree from the University of Vermont, and completed her General Surgery training at the University of Maryland/Shock Trauma. During her general surgery residency, she completed a two-year T32 research fellowship through University of Michigan’s Center for Health Outcomes and Policy, where she also earned a Masters in Health Services Research. She completed her Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship at Johns Hopkins University.

Dr. Harris' Research Interests Include:

  • Health Services
  • How to better elucidate patient preferences and integrate them into care
  • Building data-driven approaches to evaluate and improve medical culture to better meet the holistic needs of patients and providers
  • Systems-based approaches to patients' complex reconstructive needs, such as those encountered in non-healing wounds, abdominal wall reconstruction, and trauma

Dr. Harris has garnered international recognition through her work with the Cultural Complications Curriculum, a program that guides medical professionals in attending to instances of cultural breakdown with the same rigor they apply to medical or surgical errors. Her research has been supported with intramural and societal grant funding. Dr. Harris is also a leader in leveraging social media for research dissemination, having served as Creative Director at Annals of Surgery and the American Journal of Surgery. Over the course of her training, she has won multiple teaching and professional awards, and was the 2021 recipient of the Association of Women Surgeon’s Hilary Sanfey Outstanding Resident award.

Dr. Harris strives to understand patients' functional and aesthetic goals better so that they can tailor a surgical approach to improve their lives together. She seeks to honor each patient's unique identity and context to craft an approach that is safe, effective, and reflective of their individuality.

In her spare time, Dr. Harris enjoys skiing, ice hockey, broomball, hiking, painting, Broadway musicals, and spending time with family.

Board Certification and Academic Information

Academic Departments Surgery -Assistant Professor
Academic Divisions Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery
Board Certification
American Board of Plastic Surgery
American Board of Surgery

Education history

Fellowship Plastic Surgery - Johns Hopkins Hospital Fellow
Graduate Training Health and Health Care Research - University of Michigan M.Sc.
Residency General Surgery - University of Maryland School of Medicine Resident
Internship University of Maryland School of Medicine Intern
Professional Medical Medicine - University of Vermont College of Medicine M.D.
Undergraduate Danish Institute for Study Abroad
Undergraduate Human Biology - Brown University B.Sc.

Selected Publications

Journal Article

  1. Dimick JB, Harris C, Barrett M, Kent KC, Sosa JA, Farmer DL (2023). American Surgical Association Presidential Session: Navigating the Collision of Corporate Medicine and Changing Workforce Expectations. Ann Surg, 278(4), 471-478.
  2. Harris CA, Dimick JB, Dossett LA (2020). Cultural Complications: A Novel Strategy to Build a More Inclusive Culture. Ann Surg, 273(3), e97-e99.
  3. Ngaage LM, Harris C, Landford W, Knighton BJ, Stewart T, Ge S, Silverman RP, Slezak S, Rasko YM (2020). Follow the money: Investigating gender disparity in industry payments among senior academics and leaders in plastic surgery. PLoS One, 15(12), e0235058.
  4. Ngaage LM, Ngadimin C, Harris C, Rawes C, Wu Y, Landford W, Slezak S, Rasko YM (2020). The Glass Ceiling in Plastic Surgery: A Propensity-Matched Analysis of the Gender Gap in Career Advancement. Plast Reconstr Surg, 146(3), 690-697.
  5. Harris CA, Evans HL, Telem DA (2020). A Practical Decontamination Framework for COVID-19 Front-line Workers Returning Home. Ann Surg, 272(2), e129-e131.
  6. Ngaage LM, Harris C, Rosen C, Ge S, Kim C, Rada EM, Manahan M, Silverman RP, Slezak S, Rasko YM (2019). Sex Disparity in Academic Rank and Industry Payments to Plastic Surgeons. Ann Plast Surg, 84(2), 201-207.
  7. Ngaage LM, Kim CJ, Harris C, McNichols CH, Ihenatu C, Rosen C, Elegbede A, Gebran S, Liang F, Rada EM, Nam A, Slezak S, Lifchez SD, Rasko YM (2020). Graduate perception of cosmetic surgery training in plastic surgery residency and fellowship programs. Arch Plast Surg, 47(1), 70-77.
  8. Oliphant BW, Harris CA, Cain-Nielsen AH, Goulet JA, Hemmila MR (2019). Not Further Specified: Unclassified Orthopedic Injuries in Trauma Registries, Cause for Concern? J Surg Res, 244, 521-527.
  9. Ngaage LM, Harris C, Gao C, Puthumana J, Crabill GA, Baglien B, Wu Y, Rosen C, Rada EM, Groves M, Sansur CA, Rasko YM (2019). Investigating the Gender Pay Gap in Industry Contributions to Academic Neurosurgeons. World Neurosurg, 130, 516-522.e1.
  10. Wallace BI, Harris CA, Wang L, Liu M, Chen JS, Kuo CF, Chung KC (2019). Impact of Cumulative Corticosteroid Dosage on Preventable Hospitalization among Taiwanese Patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis and Inflammatory Bowel Disease. J Clin Med, 8(5).
  11. Harris CA, Banerjee T, Cramer M, Manz S, Ward ST, Dimick J, Telem DA (2018). Editorial (Spring) Board? Gender Composition in High-impact General Surgery Journals Over 20 Years. Ann Surg, 269(3), 582-588.
  12. Harris CA, Shauver MJ, Nasser JS, Chung KC (2018). The golden year: How functional recovery sets the stage for tendon transfer surgery among patients with tetraplegia-a qualitative analysis. Surgery, 165(2), 365-372.
  13. Harris CA, Shauver MJ, Yuan F, Nasser J, Chung KC (2018). Understanding Patient Preferences in Proximal Interphalangeal Joint Surgery for Osteoarthritis: A Conjoint Analysis. J Hand Surg Am, 43(7), 615-624.e4.
  14. Harris CA, Muller JM, Shauver MJ, Chung KC (2017). Leveraging the Medical Context to Increase Upper Extremity Reconstruction Among Patients With Tetraplegia: A Qualitative Analysis. Arch Phys Med Rehabil, 99(3), 459-467.e1.
  15. Harris CA, Blencowe N, Telem DA (2017). What is in a Pronoun?: Why Gender-fair Language Matters. Ann Surg, 266(6), 932-933.
  16. Harris CA, Muller JM, Shauver MJ, Chung KC (2016). Checkpoints to Progression: Qualitative Analysis of the Personal and Contextual Factors That Influence Selection of Upper Extremity Reconstruction Among Patients With Tetraplegia. J Hand Surg Am, 42(7), 495-505.e11.

Editorial

  1. Baskin AS, Dossett LA, Harris CA (2021). Cultural Complications Curriculum: Applicability to Surgical Oncology Programs and Practices. Ann Surg Oncol, 28(8), 4088-4092.
  2. Harris CA, Dimick JB, Dossett LA (2020). Cultural complications: Why, how, and lessons learned. Am J Surg, 221(3), 609-611.

Letter

  1. Harris CA, Blencowe N, Telem D (2018). Response: "Gender Fair Language Matters?". [Letter to the editor]. Ann Surg, 268(6), e93.