Dr Robert Whitfield MD

Robert Whitfield, MD is a board-certified plastic surgeon in Austin, Texas specializing in breast implant removal, explant surgery with total capsulectomy, and post-operative recovery through the SHARP Method (Strategic Holistic Accelerated Recovery Program).

He is the author of the largest peri-implant capsule PCR study in medical literature — analyzing 694 consecutive specimens and identifying bacterial contamination in 29% of cases across 103 distinct species, none detectable by standard culture testing. The study was published in Microorganisms in September 2024.

Dr. Whitfield has performed over 2,000 explant procedures with patients from more than 40 states and 15 countries. He testified before the FDA General and Plastic Surgery Devices Panel on breast implant safety and served as Co-Chair of the Task Force for the FDA Breast Implant Hearings in 2019. He is a Past President of the Aesthetic Surgery Education and Research Foundation and a named expert on breast implant illness.