San Francisco
2299 Post St. Suite 207
San Francisco, CA 94115
(415) 530-5335
Los Angeles
1317 5th St #300
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 751-5886
Dev Gurjala, MD, MS, is a board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon at Align Surgical Associates’ San Francisco office, where he specializes in gender-affirming surgery for transgender, nonbinary, and gender-diverse patients. He is known for applying design thinking to some of the most complex challenges in gender-affirming surgery, drawing on a multidisciplinary background in reconstructive microsurgery, engineering design, and wound-healing research.
As the inventor of single-scar phalloplasty and sole provider of this technique, Dr. Gurjala is guided by the belief that innovation should always serve the patient. He is dedicated to creating better surgical options and better outcomes, whether patients are seeking primary surgery or entrusting him with their revision needs.
Explore Surgical Options with Dr. Gurjala
Credentials At A Glance
Education & Training
- Clinical Instructorship – Reconstructive Microsurgery, Stanford University School of Medicine
- Research Fellowship — Laboratory for Wound Repair and Regenerative Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
- Residency — Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
- Master of Science — Engineering Design and Innovation, Northwestern University Segal Design Institute
- Doctor of Medicine (MD) – Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
- Undergraduate – Northwestern University
Professional Affiliations
- World Professional Association for Transgender Health
Credentials
- Board Certification — American Board of Plastic Surgery
- Licensure — Physician’s and Surgeon’s License, Medical Board of California
Training for Complex Gender-Affirming Surgery
Dr. Gurjala’s training connects several disciplines central to complex gender-affirming surgery: plastic and reconstructive surgery, microsurgery, wound healing, and design. He completed his undergraduate degree in neurobiology with a minor in cognitive science, his medical degree, and his integrated plastic and reconstructive surgery residency at Northwestern University, where his training included a high volume of aesthetic and reconstructive cases.
During his residency, Dr. Gurjala also completed a research fellowship at Northwestern’s Laboratory for Wound Repair and Regenerative Medicine, in which he studied wound healing, scar biology, bacterial biofilms, and scar reduction. He further complemented his surgical background with a Master of Science degree in engineering design and innovation from Northwestern University’s Segal Design Institute.
After completing his residency, Dr. Gurjala continued his postgraduate training at Stanford University School of Medicine. His clinical instructorship in reconstructive microsurgery focused on free flap procedures for breast reconstruction, cancer-related care, and extremity reconstruction. These complex procedures require precise tissue transfer, delicate blood-vessel repair, and careful problem-solving in anatomically challenging cases.
A Surgical Career Shaped by Design Thinking
Dr. Gurjala’s engineering and design background gives him a practical framework for surgical problem-solving. In design, the first step is not to assume the answer; it is to study the problem carefully, understand who is affected, and ask whether the existing solution is good enough.
That mindset has shaped some of Dr. Gurjala’s most important work in gender-affirming surgery. In phalloplasty, it led him to question why patients had to accept large, highly visible donor-site scars. In top surgery, it shows up in his attention to scar position, chest contour, and the small details that determine whether a result looks intentional or surgical. In revision work, it helps him look for solutions when the usual repair has failed.
Design thinking for Dr. Gurjala is never abstract. It is a way of making gender-affirming surgery more thoughtful, more precise, and more responsive to what patients actually live with after they leave the operating room.
Innovation With a Purpose
That way of thinking has led Dr. Gurjala to go beyond refining existing techniques to inventing new ones. He is the co-inventor of the mesh suture technology now known as DuraMesh, a nationally adopted innovation that distributes tension and reduces tissue tear-through.
It also informs Dr. Gurjala’s work in gender-affirming surgery, from his pioneering approach to phalloplasty to complex repair and scar-reduction techniques. The bar for every innovation is how it translates to better patient care, whether by reducing scarring, improving function, supporting healing, or protecting a patient’s dignity.
Inventing Single-Scar Phalloplasty
Dr. Gurjala is the inventor of single-scar phalloplasty and is currently the only surgeon in the world offering this advanced technique. He developed the approach after seeing the donor-site scarring that patients were often expected to accept with other phalloplasty techniques.
Traditional phalloplasty commonly involves taking tissue from the forearm or thigh and using a skin graft to cover the donor site, which can create large, visible scars. For some patients, these scars often create functional concerns, discomfort, or privacy concerns because the donor-site pattern may be visibly associated with phalloplasty.
Single-scar phalloplasty was designed to reduce that burden. By adapting established plastic surgery principles such as tissue expansion and pre-lamination, Dr. Gurjala developed a technique that reduces donor-site scarring to a single linear scar on the thigh or abdomen and eliminates the need for a skin graft.
Special Clinical Interests
Dr. Gurjala’s clinical interests reflect the areas where his reconstructive training, design mindset, scar-conscious planning, and patient-centered problem-solving shine through most clearly.
Urethral Fistula and Stricture Repair After Phalloplasty
Dr. Gurjala specializes in complex urethral fistula and stricture repair after phalloplasty, including cases where patients have already undergone multiple unsuccessful repair attempts. His background in plastic surgery and microsurgery allows him to approach these repairs differently, using advanced flap techniques to bring healthy tissue to the repair site rather than repeatedly relying on compromised local tissue.
Phalloplasty Scar Reduction
For patients who have already undergone traditional phalloplasty, Dr. Gurjala also offers phalloplasty scar reduction. Using techniques related to his single-scar phalloplasty approach, such as tissue expansion, he can significantly reduce the surface area of scarring after anterolateral thigh phalloplasty.
Top Surgery (Chest Mastectomy)
Top surgery is often described as straightforward, but Dr. Gurjala sees it as a procedure in which small details can significantly alter the result. His approach to masculinizing chest surgery is shaped by careful attention to scar placement, chest contour, areola size and position, nipple projection, and the natural shadow of the pectoral muscle.
In double-incision top surgery, Dr. Gurjala works to align incisions with the pectoral muscle border so scars sit more naturally within the chest anatomy. He also uses techniques to control scar position, avoid an overly flat or sunken appearance, and support an affirming, natural-looking result.
Breast Augmentation (Chest Feminization)
In feminizing chest surgery, Dr. Gurjala focuses on proportion, placement, and the relationship between the patient’s frame and their current and desired breast shape. He uses implant width, positioning, and technique to support natural-looking cleavage and a cohesive overall contour.
Dr. Gurjala’s planning also accounts for scar placement, breast fold anatomy, and the patient’s existing tissue. When appropriate, he performs subfascial breast augmentation and works to keep scars small and hidden within the breast fold.
He also has extensive experience revising difficult complications, including capsular contracture, scarred breast tissue, areolar malposition, and implant malposition, such as bottoming out and outward displacement.
Facial Feminization Surgery and Revision
Dr. Gurjala also specializes in facial feminization surgery with a considered approach that balances subtlety and impact. He is especially interested in difficult revision work, including rhinoplasty revision for patients with challenging complications or prior surgical concerns.
Research That Advances Scar-Conscious Surgical Care
Dr. Gurjala’s research contributions reflect his broader commitment to surgical refinement, especially in areas where healing, scarring, and tissue behavior affect patient outcomes after surgery.
He has authored and presented work on wound healing, scar biology, surgical innovation, and gender-affirming reconstruction, including research published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Annals of Plastic Surgery, and Wound Repair and Regeneration.
Dr. Gurjala’s research background adds depth to the choices he makes before, during, and after surgery, paying attention not only to the incision itself but also to how scars may affect comfort, visibility, confidence, and long-term satisfaction.
The Human Side of Technical Excellence
Gender-affirming surgery asks patients to make deeply personal decisions about their bodies, identity, and future. Dr. Gurjala approaches those conversations with radical acceptance, nonjudgment, and humility, meeting each person where they are before offering guidance.
Patients often describe him as quiet, thoughtful, sincere, and deeply attentive. He brings warmth and approachability to the consultation room, but he also understands that emotional safety must be matched by surgical rigor. His goal is for patients to feel understood and accepted while knowing their care is guided by technical excellence, careful decision-making, and a deep respect for the trust they place in him.
Selected Honors and Recognition
Dr. Gurjala’s honors and awards reinforce the qualities that shape his surgical work: curiosity, technical creativity, research discipline, and a drive to solve difficult problems. Highlights include:
- Technology Innovation in Plastic Surgery (TIPS) Innovation Challenge Winner — Recognition for his work as co-inventor of a new mesh suture technology.
- Resident Research Awards, Northwestern Annual Plastic Surgery Research Day — Recognition for research involving surgical innovation and wound healing.
- Honorable Mention, Anita Roberts Award for Best Paper — Recognition from the Wound Healing Society for his research on biofilm-impaired wound healing.
- Resident Teacher of the Year — Awarded by the Northwestern Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.
- Best Design Award, Miller Welding Company — Recognition for designing a touchscreen-based user interface for welding machines, reflecting his longstanding interest in design beyond medicine.
Featured Publications
The following publications reflect the research-minded problem-solving that carries through Dr. Gurjala’s surgical work.
- Does Previous Breast Reduction Affect the Outcome of Gender-Affirming Subcutaneous Mastectomy? — Annals of Plastic Surgery, 2018
- World’s First Baby Born Through Natural Insemination by Father With Total Phalloplasty Reconstruction — Annals of Plastic Surgery, 2016
- In Vivo Evaluation of a Novel Mesh Suture Design for Abdominal Wall Closure — Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 2015
- The Pedicled Anterolateral Thigh Flap for Total Penis Reconstruction — Chapter in Grabb’s Encyclopedia of Flaps, 4th ed., Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2015
- Treatment of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Biofilm-Infected Wounds With Clinical Wound Care Strategies — Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 2012
- The Role of the Epidermis and the Mechanism of Action of Occlusive Dressings in Scarring — Wound Repair and Regeneration, 2011
- Development of a Novel, Highly Quantitative In Vivo Model for the Study of Biofilm-Impaired Cutaneous Wound Healing — Wound Repair and Regeneration, 2011
Explore more of Dr. Gurjala’s research contributions and related publications on our Research page.
Beyond the Operating Room
Outside the operating room, Dr. Gurjala is a proud father of two boys and someone who has always loved building, fixing, and tinkering. His interests include auto mechanics, technology, design, neuroscience, music, photography, reading, self-improvement, and running.
Request a Consultation
With Dr. Gurjala
To meet with Dr. Gurjala, request an in-person or virtual consultation using the online form or call Align Surgical Associates at (415) 530-5335. Dr. Gurjala offers gender-affirming facial, chest, body, and bottom surgery for patients at our San Francisco office.