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Jack P. Gunter, MD

Two-sentence lead. Jack Gunter was the Dallas plastic surgeon who brought the open (external) approach to rhinoplasty into American plastic surgery and founded the Dallas Rhinoplasty Symposium in 1984. He is credited with teaching more than 10,000 surgeons the operation.

Facts on record

Fact Source
Born 1937, died 2017 PRS obituary title "Jack Gunter, M.D., 1937 to 2017"
Chief resident, plastic surgery, University of Michigan, 1979 (when Rohrich was an intern): "I met Jack Gunter at the University of Michigan in 1979 as a plastic surgery intern and he happened to be the chief resident on the plastic surgery service." Rohrich, PRS 2018
Returned to Dallas and started teaching: "he started teaching rhinoplasty to the young plastic surgeons in the United States beginning with the first Dallas Rhinoplasty Course in 1984 with one of his professors and close friend, Dr. Robert Oneal." Rohrich, PRS 2018
Early faculty: "He was joined in Dallas by Drs. Steve Byrd, John Tebbetts, and Robert Sheffield for the first few years. I joined them when I came to Dallas in 1986." Rohrich, PRS 2018
The open approach: "He always focused on bringing the open approach to rhinoplasty into plastic surgery in a new way with what was then called the external approach to rhinoplasty. This had been somewhat popular in facial plastic surgery but was not well appreciated, nor was it done well in plastic surgery before Jack Gunter…" Rohrich, PRS 2018
First PRS paper: "The first such article was published in 1987 on the external approach to secondary rhinoplasty, which was a harbinger of things to come in rhinoplasty." Rohrich, PRS 2018; PubMed PMID 3602167
The Sheen debates: "Those who did not know this Jack knew him only as a rough-and-tumble challenger to Dr. Jack Sheen when they had incredible debates on open rhinoplasty versus closed rhinoplasty." Rohrich, PRS 2018
Reach: "He is directly accountable for having taught over 10,000 plastic and facial plastic surgeons the art and science of rhinoplasty" Rohrich, PRS 2018
Rule he taught: "never leave the operating room until the nose appears as good as it can." Rohrich, PRS 2018
Family: three daughters (Ashley, Page, C. B.); wife Deborah Jane Dawson (married ~1988) with daughters Taylor and Mary Reading; seven grandchildren; sister Vicki; brother Jerry (deceased) Gunter, "A Final Word," printed in PRS 2018
Medical-school roommate: Sam Hamra ("my roommate for 3 years in medical school") Gunter, "A Final Word"
Alumni Achievement Award, Westminster College (photo caption) Rohrich, PRS 2018, Fig. 3
Meeting still honors him: the Jack P. Gunter Distinguished Lecture at the Dallas Rhinoplasty Meeting PR Newswire, 2026

Discrepancy to resolve

Rohrich's memoir dates the first Dallas Rhinoplasty Course to 1984 ("beginning with the first Dallas Rhinoplasty Course in 1984"). Press releases for the 43rd meeting (2026) imply a 1983 start (43rd annual in 2026 → first in 1984 if counted inclusively; 1983 if the count began the following year). The site will state 1984 per the primary source and note the count.

Papers (PubMed esummary, 2026-09-08)

  • Gunter JP, Rohrich RJ. External approach for secondary rhinoplasty. Plast Reconstr Surg. 1987. PMID 3602167. DOI 10.1097/00006534-198708000-00001
  • Gunter JP. The merits of the open approach in rhinoplasty. Plast Reconstr Surg. 1997. PMID 9047209. DOI 10.1097/00006534-199703000-00040 — printed with Sheen JH, "Closed versus open rhinoplasty—and the debate goes on," PMID 9047208
  • Cochran CS, Gunter JP. Secondary rhinoplasty and the use of autogenous rib cartilage grafts. Clin Plast Surg. 2010. PMID 20206752. DOI 10.1016/j.cps.2009.11.001
  • Further Gunter rhinoplasty titles 1987–1997: PMIDs 9207674, 9091939, 8596800, 7708862 (titles in the journal archive).

Textbook

Dallas Rhinoplasty: Nasal Surgery by the Masters — Gunter, Rohrich, Adams (eds.); 4th edition current (dallasrhinoplastyandcosmeticmeeting.com "Dallas Rhinoplasty – 4th Edition"); Chinese translation noted at rhinoplasty-usa.com.

Voice note for the page

The Gunter–Sheen open-vs-closed debates are the central drama of late-20th-century rhinoplasty and are documented by a participant (Rohrich). Quote him; do not paraphrase into our own claims.

Sources