Facial plastic surgeon Russell W. H. Kridel, MD, FACS, has been reelected to a second four-year term of service on the American Medical Association’s (AMA) Council on Science and Public Health. The council plays a critical role in helping physicians and the public by providing balanced scientific evidence for patient care and disease prevention, by writing definitive reports on pressing concerns to practicing physicians and their patients, such as the effects of radiation from x-rays, the safety of landfills, disaster preparedness and health disparities in different ethnic populations.
Dr. Kridel was nominated for reelection by the Texas Medical Association (TMA) and its delegation to the AMA, and endorsed by the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS), the American College of Surgeons, the AMA Section Council on Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and the AMA Section Council on Plastic, Reconstructive and Maxillofacial Surgery.
“Our government and healthcare insurers make medical decisions daily, based not on science, but on economics and politics,” Dr. Kridel says. “Physicians must take a leadership position in promoting science and sound medical principles as the determining factors for patients. Physicians and our AMA, through the work of the Council on Science and Public Health, are recognized as expert resources for scientific information, and can be routinely called upon by the media for correct and unprejudiced medical information. It’s an honor for me to continue to help the council achieve these goals.”
In addition to his Houston practice, Dr. Kridel educates future physicians as a clinical professor in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) Medical School. He is secretary/treasurer of the Harris County Medical Society, a member of the TMA Political Action Committee’s Executive Committee and Board of Directors, and vice president of the TMA Foundation.
He received his medical degree in 1975 at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, completed residencies in general surgery and otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at Baylor College of Medicine, and was board certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology in 1981. In 1984, he became a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and was named fellowship director for the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, a position he holds today. In 1991, he was certified by the American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and became one of its first fellows.
Dr. Kridel is a former president of AAFPRS and served for 10 years as a senior examiner for the American Board of Otolaryngology. He is an examiner and senior advisor for the American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, and has authored more than 60 peer-reviewed journal, book chapter and scientific articles.