James Seaward, M.D.

Meet Dr. Seaward

Pediatric Plastic and Craniofacial Surgeon in Dallas and Plano, Texas

Dr. James Seaward is the Chief of Pediatric Plastic Surgery at Children’s Health in Plano and an Associate Professor of Pediatric Plastic and Craniofacial Surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center. He specializes in congenital facial anomalies, including facial differences, cleft lip, and cleft palate. Dr. Seaward sees children in both the Dallas and Plano areas.

Dr. Seaward was drawn to the practice of pediatric plastic surgery because of its potential to improve a child’s life dramatically.

“Repairing a cleft lip completely changes the psychosocial interactions a child will experience throughout his or her lifetime,” Dr. Seaward says. “And repairing a cleft palate gives a child the ability to speak and be understood, building confidence in the child.”

Dr. Seaward’s clinical practice is exclusively pediatric. In addition to congenital facial anomalies and cleft lip and palate surgery, it includes minimally invasive general pediatric plastic surgery, craniofacial surgery, treatment of vascular anomalies, and trauma reconstruction.

Cleft Lip and Palate Multidisciplinary Team Clinic in Dallas and Plano, Texas

“Too many surgeons do both adult and pediatric surgery, treating a small number of pediatric plastic and craniofacial patients outside a formal team setting with no objective evaluation of the level of care they are providing,” he explains.

These complex facial problems need input from more than one surgeon. Children born with a cleft often need several surgeries from birth through adulthood, which requires the involvement of several healthcare providers. At UT Southwestern’s Craniofacial Team Clinic, care can be better coordinated between providers and families.

Dr. Seaward’s patients and their families have access to plastic surgery, oral surgery, ENT, pediatric dentistry, orthodontics, development psychology, speech therapy, and a social worker during one clinic visit.

This approach allows his team – one of the few accredited by the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association in North Texas – to coordinate and optimize the patient’s care together.

Dr. Seaward created a YouTube channel to explain the evaluation, complications, and treatment of cleft lip and palate.

“Children are resilient. They truly do great with what’s thrown at them. The reality is that facial differences can have a huge impact on a child’s interaction with his or her peers. I’m most inspired by how well my patients cope. It’s an honor to help provide a service that can change their appearance and speech and offer a bright future.”

Before joining the UT Southwestern faculty in 2013, Dr. Seaward went to Ghana with Operation Smile, an international medical nonprofit that provides free surgeries to repair cleft lip, cleft palate, and other facial deformities for children around the globe.

“I enjoyed that work because it was a chance to dramatically transform the lives of children who would otherwise face a lifetime of stigmatization,” Dr. Seaward says.

Dr. Seaward believes the future of pediatric plastic surgery will see an increase in limited-access techniques for craniofacial surgery, computer-aided customization of devices and procedures, and objective outcome measurements for congenital craniofacial anomalies and cleft lip and palate surgery.

Dr. Seaward’s current research at UT Southwestern and Children's Health includes:

• Developing an automated cleft speech evaluator
• Exploring the applications of 3D video photography to evaluate dynamic facial asymmetry following cleft lip repair
• Expanding applications of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for cleft-related speech disorders
• Exploring computer-aided design and manufacturing in craniofacial surgery

Personal Note

Outside his practice, Dr. Seaward enjoys spending time with his wife and four children; playing the piano, violin, and trombone; sailing; and taking photographs. He is also an instructor-level skier and a Professional Association of Diving Instructors rescue scuba diver, and he holds a private pilot’s license.