New plastic surgeon at Columbia VA

Columbia VA is thankful to welcome a new plastic surgeon to the ranks. Dr. Gary Culbertson started in July 2024 after a distinguished career spanning 46 years in military and civilian practice.

"Dr. Culbertson is an experienced plastic surgeon with decades of practice history. He is not the first plastic surgeon here, but it has been six years since we had one," said Dr. Nael Alghothani, acting chief of surgery. "There are three major needs for plastic surgery that he will be able to cover for us, including oculoplastic surgery, skin cancer surgery and breast surgery. He will mainly work with breast cancer patients who may need breast reconstruction or patients who need breast reduction. All of these services are currently not available here and are being sent to the community."

Culbertson comes from a military family with a father, brother and several nephews who served in the Air Force. He attended Trinity University in San Antonio on a scholarship and joined the Army after graduating, serving 11 years. He was airborne qualified and earned his flight surgeon wings while working at the Army Institute of Surgical Research Burn Center on Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio.

Culbertson and his family settled in Sumter, South Carolina, in 1994. He built an ambulatory surgery center and specialized in hand and oculoplastic surgery or surgery around the eyes. He was the first surgeon in the area to perform replantation surgery of amputated fingers, nerve grafting; breast, face and upper/lower extremity reconstruction from trauma and cancer.

"I enjoy plastic surgery. I didn't want to retire. I wanted to continue to do it, but I wanted a different pace," he said.

Then VA came along.

The addition of Dr. Culbertson will greatly enhance the plastic surgery treatment needs of Veterans and save precious taxpayer dollars by not having to outsource those services to the community.