Mary Jo Wright, MD, FACS
Dr. Mary Jo Wright is a board-certified breast surgical oncologist and plastic surgeon specializing in breast reconstruction. She joined the Center for Restorative Breast Surgery and the St. Charles Surgical Hospital in November 2020. Dr. Wright brings extensive training and clinical experience to this distinguished group of pioneering surgeons sought out from all over the world for their revolutionary techniques.
Dr. Wright graduated from Vanderbilt University in Nashville and received her medical degree from the St. Louis University School of Medicine in Missouri. She completed an internship and residency in general surgery at LSU Medical Center in New Orleans before serving three fellowships—trauma/critical care at the University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas, breast cancer surgery at Memorial Sloan-Kettering in New York, and plastic and reconstructive surgery at Tulane University Health Sciences Center. Dr. Wright also served in the United States Army Reserve during Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom and served as Commander of the 1st Forward Surgical Team in Iraq in 2003. Later, in 2009, she served as Chief of Surgery of the 945th Forward Surgery Team while on active duty in the United States Army. She resigned from the military with the rank of Colonel.
Following her military service, Dr. Wright worked in private practice in El Paso, Texas, and most recently, Anchorage, Alaska. She has also served as an Associate Professor of Surgery at Tulane Health Sciences Center and LSU Health Sciences Center.
Dr. Wright submitted articles for publication in medical journals, including Journal of Clinical Oncology and Journal of Trauma. She published other papers and educational modules and made presentations at national and international meetings. She is a member of numerous scientific and medical societies, including American Society of Plastic Surgeons, American Society of Breast Surgeons, American Society of Breast Diseases, Society of Surgical Oncologists, Society of Critical Care Medicine, Association for Academic Surgery, American Association for Surgery of Trauma, Association for Surgical Education, New Orleans Surgical Society, an Associate of Women’s Surgeons and a Fellow in the American College of Surgeons. In 2003, Dr. Wright received a Bronze Star Medal and five honorary military coins from the United States Army for her meritorious service. She also received the American Cancer Society Spirit Award.
Education
August 1987 – May 1991 M.D.- St. Louis University School of Medicine, MO
August 1982 – May 1986 B.S.- Vanderbilt University, TN
Postdoctoral Training
July 2009 – June 2011 Fellowship, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Tulane
University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA
July 2005 – June 2006 Fellowship, Breast Cancer Surgery, Memorial Sloan-Kettering, New York, NY
July 1996 – June 1998 Fellowship, Trauma/Critical Care, University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, TX
July 1992 – June 1996 Resident, General Surgery, LSU Medical Center, New Orleans, LA
July 1991 – June 1992 Internship, General Surgery, LSU Medical Center, New Orleans, LA
Certifications
2014 American Board of Plastic Surgery
1998, 2006 – 2018, 2019-2021 American Board of Surgery
1998 American Board of Surgery, Surgical Critical Care
Licensures
February 8, 2018 Medical Board of Alaska – License #126936
November 1996 Medical Board of Texas – License #K1730
May 1992 Medical Board of Louisiana – License #MD09386R
Positions and Appointments
January 2018 –Present Alaska Medical Specialties / Alaska Breast and Cosmetic Center
Private Practice
Anchorage, AK
March 2016 – January 2018 El Paso Integrated Physicians Group, PA
Private Practice
El Paso, TX 79902
October 2015 – March 2016 Dr. Mary Jo Wright, M. D., P. A.
Private Practice
El Paso, TX
September 2012 – October 2015 Evolve Plastic Surgery, PA
Private Practice
El Paso, TX
September 2011 – August 2012 Associate Professor of Surgery, Chief of Breast Surgery
Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center
New Orleans, LA
July 2009 – June 2011 Fellowship, Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery
Tulane University Health Sciences Center
New Orleans, LA
October 2006 – June 2009 Tulane University Hospital and Clinics
New Orleans, LA
October 2006 – June 2009 Chief of the Breast Surgery Service
Tulane University Hospital and clinics
New Orleans, LA
October 2006 – June 2009 Medical Director of the MCLNO Breast Cancer Center
Medical Center of Louisiana, New Orleans
New Orleans, LA
July 2006 – September 2006 Research Fellow, Breast Surgery
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
New York, NY
July 2005 – June 2006 Fellow, Breast Surgery
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
New York, NY
February 2004 – July 2006 Director of MCLNO SICU
Medical Center of Louisiana, New Orleans
New Orleans, LA
April 2003 – June 2009 Associate Professor of Surgery
Tulane University Health and Sciences Center
New Orleans, LA
March 2003 – June 2006 US Army, Active Duty
January 1999 – July 2006 Director, Surgical Critical Care Fellowship
Tulane University Health and Sciences Center
New Orleans, LA
July 1998 – March 2003 Director of Tulane Hospital SICU
Tulane University Hospital and Clinics
New Orleans, LA
Scientific and Medical Societies
2015 American Society of Plastic Surgeons
2006 American Society of Breast Surgeons
2005 American Society of Breast Diseases
2005 Society of Surgical Oncologists
2004 American College of Surgeons Louisiana Committee on Trauma
2003 – 2005 Council Member to the LA Chapter of the ACS
2004 – 2005 President, James D. Rives Surgical Society
2003 Senior Program Chairperson, LA Chapter of American College
of Surgeons Meeting
2002 Co-Chairman of Program Committee, LA Chapter of American
College of Surgeons
2002 Member, Society of Critical Care Medicine
2002 Member, Association for Academic Surgery
2001 Member, American Association for Surgery of Trauma
2001 Fellow, American College of Surgeons
2001 Associate of Women’s Surgeons
1999 Member of the Association for Surgical Education
1999 Member, New Orleans Surgical Society
1999 Member, Orleans Parish Medical Society
1999 Member, Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma
1998 Member, Tulane Surgical Society
1998 Member, Parkland Surgical Society
1996 Member, James D. Rives Surgical Society
Honors & Awards
2007 American Cancer Society Spirit Award
2003 Five Honorary Military Coins
2003 Bronze Star Medal
2001 Member, Louisiana Chapter of the American College of Surgeons
Young Surgeon Representative
1996 Most Outstanding Clinical Resident
1996 Administrative Chief Resident
1995 Most Outstanding Fourth Year Resident
1993 Most Outstanding Second Year Resident
Other Activities
2013 American Board of Surgery Certifying (Oral) Examination
Associate Examiner, Dallas, TX
2004 American Board of Surgery Certifying (Oral) Examination
Associate Examiner, Birmingham, AL
2003 – 2005 Council Member to the LA Chapter of the ACS
2003 Senior Program Chairperson, LA Chapter of American College
Of Surgeons Meeting
2002 Co-Chairman of Program Committee, LA Chapter of American
College of Surgeons
2001 The Sixth Novo Nordisk Symposium on the Treatment of Bleeding & Thrombotic Disorders, Radisson SAS Falconer Hotel, Copenhagen, Denmark
2000 Women’s Health Symposium, LSUHSC, A Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease and Women
1999 Eighty-Fifth Clinical Congress, American College of Surgeons, Trauma Centers and Trauma Systems: Where Are We? The Future of Trauma Surgeons
San Francisco, CA
Publications
A. Journals:
- Wright MJ, Tuberville T, Murphy JT: Human Alveolar Macrophage Responsiveness to LPS Following Thermal and Smoke Inhalation Injury. Crit Care Med. 1998: S26:A50.
- Wright MJ, Murphy JT, Purde G. Hunt J: Human Alveolar Leukocyte Responsiveness Following Thermal Injury and Smoke Inhalation Injury. J Burn Care and Rehab. 1998: S19, No. 1, Part 2:S192.
- Kaplan JL, Wright MJ, Lazarus L, er al: Use of an Unmanned Police Care to Reduce Traffic Speed. J Trauma, July 2000:49(1), 43-46.
- Kaplan JL, Wright MJ, Lazarus L, Congemi N, DuTriel K, Arnold R, Mercante D, Diaz JH, Vrhas MS, Hunt JP. The Use of Decoy Police Cars In Speed Reduction Efforts. J Trauma, 2000:49;43-6.
- Neidlinger NA, Madan AK, Wright MJ. Mecela Diverticulum: A Rare Cause Of Cecal Volvulus. Am Surg. 67(1):41-43, January 2001.
- Tillou A, Kong LS, Raafat A, Wright MJ, McSwain NE Hr: The Challenge of the Transmediastinal Gunshot Wounds. J Trauma. (Submitted: Jan 2001).
- Hunt JP, Wright MJ, Steeb G, Wang Y, Buechter KJ, Meyer AA, Baker CC. Accuracy of Administrative Data I Trauma: Splenic Injuries as an Example. J Trauma. 2000:49;679-88.
- Wynn A, Wise M, Wright MJ, Raafat A, Wang Y, Steeb G, McSwain N, Beuchter KJ, Hunt JP. Accuracy of Administration & Trauma Registry Databases. J Trauma. 2001:51:464-8.
- Jansen DA, Zell SI, Wright MH, Newsome RE. Poor Sternal Wound Healing and the Concomitant Development of a Breast Abscess Following Midline Sternotomy. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, July 2002.
- Scheeringa MS, Wright MJ, Hunt JP, et al. Factors Affecting the Diagnosis and Prediction of PTSD Symptomatology in Child and Adolescents. American Journal of Psychiatry. Accepted.
- Wright MJ, Park J, Fey JV, O’Neill A, Van Zee KJ, Cody HS, Borgen PL, Tan LK, King TA. Perpendicular Inked Versus Tangential Shaved Margins in Breast-Conserving Surgery: Does the Method Matter? Submitted to J Surg Am Coll. August 2006.
- Rastogi P, Anderson SJ, Bear HD, Geyer CE, Kahlenberg MS, robidoux A, Margolese R, Hoehn JL, Vogel VG, Dakhill Sr, Tankus D, King KM, Pajon ER, Wright MJ, Robert J, Paik S, Mamounas ER, Wolmark N. Preoperative Chemotherapy: Updates of National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project Protocols B-18 and B-27. Journal of Clinical Oncology, February 2007:26(5):778-85.
- McLaughlin S, Wright MJ, Morris KT, Giron GL, Sampson MR, Brockway JP, Hurley KE, Riedel ER, Van Zee KJ: Prevalence of Lymphedema in Women with Breast Cancer 5 years after Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy or Axillary Dissection: Objective Measurements. Journal of Clinical Oncology, November 2008:26(32);52 13-19.
- McLaughlin SA, Wright MJ, Morris KT, Sampson MR, Brockway JP, Hurley KE, Riedel ER, Van Zee KJ: Prevalence of Lymphedema in Women with Breast Cancer 5 years after Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy or Axillary Dissection: Patient Perceptions and Precautionary Behaviors. Journal of Clinical Oncology, November 2008:26(323):5220-26.
- Marsden CG, Wright MJ, Pochampalloy R, Rowan BG: Breast Tumor-Initiating Cells Isolated From Patient Core Biopsies for Study of Hormone Action: Methods Mol Biol, 2009:590:363*-75.
B. Other:
- Buechter K, Wright MH, Maher B. Firearm Injuries in Orleans Parish: A 24-Month Perspective. J La State Med Soc. June 1997, Volume 49.
- Wright MJ, Carrico DJ, Minei JP: Re-Evaluation fo Preoperative Fluid Resuscitation in Critically Injured Patients. Complications in Surgery. 1998; Volume 17.
- Raafat A, Wright MJ: Current Management of Pelvic Fractures. So Med J, August 2000:93(8), 760-762.
- Wright MJ, Stanski C. Blunt Pancreatic Trauma: A Difficult Injury. So Med J, April 2000:30(4), 383-385.
- Tailou A, Teplitzky S, Wright MJ, Raafat A: From Traumatic Pneumonia to Pulmonary Contusion. So Med J, (Accepted:2001).
- Wright MJ, Grenn D, Hunt JP, Madan AK, McSwain NE. Surgical Cricothyroidotomy in Trauma Patients. Surgical Cricothyroidotomy. So Med J, (Accepted).
- Stockinger ZT, Wright MJ. Traumatic Rupture of the Diaphragm. Emergency Medicine, in press.
Military Service
February 2009 – May 2009 United States Army Active Duty
Chief of Surgery 945th Forward Surgery Team
July 2007 – August 2013 United States Army Reserve
COL MC
June 2003 – December 2003 Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq
April 2003 – June 2003 Walter Reed Army Medical Center
January 2003 – August 2013 United States Army Reserve
