Ronald Mancini, M.D.

Meet Dr. Mancini

Oculoplastic Surgeon

Prior to relocating to Dallas in 2010 and joining the Department of Ophthalmology at UT Southwestern Medical Center, oculoplastic and cosmetic facial surgeon Ronald Mancini, M.D., practiced in Beverly Hills, one of the most image-conscious communities in the U.S.

“Less is definitely more when it comes to facial cosmetic and reconstructive surgery, especially around the eye,” says Dr. Mancini, an Associate Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology at UT Southwestern. “Whether having surgery to rejuvenate the eye area or to remove an eyelid tumor, patients want natural results achieved in the least invasive way possible.”

Dr. Mancini specializes in minimally invasive plastic surgery around the eye (oculoplastics), orbital surgery, and oculofacial cosmetic surgery.

“I’m an ophthalmologist first and foremost,” says Dr. Mancini, who completed two fellowships in orbital and ophthalmic plastic surgery and cosmetic facial plastic surgery.

"Through the use of minimally invasive surgical techniques requiring smaller incisions, we can now do what previously wasn’t possible in plastic and reconstructive surgery around the eye," he notes.

Treating the full spectrum of problems that can occur around the eye, Dr. Mancini sees patients with orbit trauma and fractures,and a variety of tumors of the eyelids and orbit. He improves patients’ vision with techniques to repair droopy eyelids (ptosis) and performs eyelid and brow surgery to lessen signs of aging (including brow lifts and upper/lower blepharoplasty). In addition, he is an expert at using a technique known as dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR), which he performs endoscopically with no skin incision to bypass an obstructed tear duct.

“No matter what type of surgery I perform, I use the smallest incisions possible to minimize scarring. These include endoscopic procedures with no external incisions,” says Dr. Mancini, who also offers patients nonsurgical options to rejuvenate the eye area.

“Today’s fillers, such as Restylane®, are great at minimizing the loss of volume and elasticity around the eye. Coupled with Botox® or Xeomin®, patients benefit from the convenience of an office visit for periocular rejuvenation, instead of outpatient surgery.”

For Dr. Mancini, working individually with a patient to decide which option is best – surgical or otherwise – is key.

Part of UT Southwestern’s Skull Base Surgery Program, Dr. Mancini teams up with physicians across several specialties to treat patients with the most difficult problems. His colleagues in the program include otolaryngologists (head and neck surgeons), neurosurgeons, neuro-ophthalmologists, neuro-oncologists, radiation oncologists, interventional radiologists, and pathologists.

The combined expertise of the physicians in the Department of Ophthalmology and the Skull Base Surgery Program “is something you’d have only in an academic setting like UT Southwestern,” he says. “That’s what makes this one of the most stimulating places to work, on some of the toughest problems.”

Prior to joining UT Southwestern, Dr. Mancini was an Assistant Clinical Professor at the Jules Stein Eye Institute at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, where he joined the CRISP Foundation surgical team. A humanitarian organization, CRISP (Children’s Rehabilitation Institute and Surgery Program) organizes biannual trips to Central America to assist children with facial deformities such as cleft lips and palates.

Dr. Mancini is also an active participant in the education of residents and fellows in the Department of Ophthalmology. He has mentored second- and third-year ophthalmology residents and is the program director of the ASOPRS oculoplastic surgery fellowship.