Dr. Tessa Hadlock, M.D.

The visionary founder of the Hadlock Center for Facial Plastic Surgery, Dr. Tessa Hadlock, is an internationally renowned, distinguished clinician-scientist with vital contributions to otolaryngology and facial plastic and reconstructive surgery.

Dr. Hadlock: Facial Nerve Specialist

With nearly three decades of experience, Dr. Hadlock is a facial nerve specialist in Boston and a Professor of Otology and Laryngology at Harvard Medical School. She served for twenty years as the Director of the Facial Nerve Center at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, before creating the Hadlock Center to more comprehensively address the special needs of her patients.

Education

College: Bowdoin College, Brunswick ME (Summa Cum Laude)
Medical School: Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (HST)
Internship: University of Chicago (General Surgery)
Residency: Harvard/Massachusetts Eye and Ear (Otolaryngology)Yes please!!!
Fellowship: Massachusetts Eye and Ear (Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery)

Board Certifications

Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery
Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery

Facial nerve expert

Dr. Hadlock is a facial paralysis expert in Boston and is deeply committed to enhancing the lives of patients with facial paralysis. She is a pioneer in the field, having introduced and popularized innovative surgical, medical, and physical therapy techniques now embraced by her peers worldwide. She restores smiling to people who lost that ability or were born without it. She helps to restore blinking and other facial movements and has performed close to miraculous improvements for patients who suffer from these conditions.

Dr. Hadlock’s groundbreaking research has advanced methods for regenerating facial nerve function, and she stands as one of the few facial plastic and reconstructive surgeons with National Institutes of Health funding. Dr. Hadlock’s extensive body of work includes numerous clinical outcomes studies and the development of influential tools to gauge the effectiveness of reanimation procedures frequently referenced in international literature.

Groundbreaking facial rejuvenation treatments

In the art of aesthetic enhancements, Dr. Hadlock delivers easy-to-undergo, safe, straightforward interventions that provide subtle, natural-looking outcomes – without anesthesia or sedation. As a facial nerve specialist in Boston, her patients have an extra layer of safety regarding preserving facial function.

Awards, accomplishments, and honors

Dr. Hadlock has been the recipient of many honors and awards over her years in professional practice and is often called “The mother of modern facial nerve surgery.” Her accomplishments have led to the following awards and honors:

Full-chaired professor at Harvard Medical School
First female ENT surgeon at Mass Eye and Ear to achieve the rank of Full Professor
First female fellowship director, American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
Named Boston “Top Doctor” yearly for the past 15 years
Listed for years as a Castle Connelly Top Doctor since 2009
Castle Connolly Exceptional Women in Medicine recipient 2023
Listed in “Exceptional Women in Medicine”
Exceptional Clinician Award from THANC foundation
Boston University Lecturer of the Year
President Emeritus of the International Facial Nerve Society (Sir Charles Bell Society)
Fazzalari-Grousbeck Chair in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck
Surgery, Endowed Professor Harvard Medical School

Educator, mentor, and researcher

Beyond her clinical and research pursuits, Dr. Hadlock shares her wealth of knowledge through mentorship of hundreds of residents and as a preceptor for the clinical fellowship program in facial plastic and reconstructive surgery at Mass. Eye and Ear. For several years before her embarking into private practice, she held the esteemed Fazzalari-Grousbeck Chair in Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, reflecting her dedication to advancing the field and transforming lives through her expertise. Former residents and fellows of hers now populate academic centers around the country and continue to consult with her and the most complex cases.

With a passion for managing facial nerve disorders, Dr. Hadlock devotes her career to improving the lives of patients with facial paralysis. She has innovated and popularized surgical, medical, and physical therapy strategies for these patients, now embraced globally by colleagues in the field. Her work has resulted in over 200 original manuscripts and chapters, and she is the Editor of two textbooks.

Linguist

Dr. Hadlock is fluent in English, French, and Spanish and speaks some Italian and Russian, allowing patients from various backgrounds to be cared for in their own language.

Our Job: Ensuring You’re Happy

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Some Select Publications

Surgical treatment of the periocular complex and improvement of quality of life in patients with facial paralysis. Henstrom DK, Lindsay RW, Cheney ML, Hadlock TA. Arch Facial Plast Surg. 2001 Mar-Apr; 13(2): 125-8.
Good correlation between original and modified House Brackmann facial grading systems. Henstrom DK, Skilbeck CJ, Weinberg J, Knox C, Cheney ML, Hadlock TA. Laryngoscope. 2011 Jan; 121(1): 47-50/
Correction of the nasal base in the flaccidly paralyzed face: an orphaned problem in facial paralysis. Lindsay RW, Smitson C, Edwards C, Cheney ML, Hadlock TA. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2010 Oct; 126(4): 185e-186e.
Assessing outcomes in facial reanimation: evaluation and validation of the SMILE system for measuring lip excusion during smiling. Bray D, Henstrom DK, Cheney ML, Hadlock TA. Arch Facial Plast Surg. 2010 Sept-Oct;12(5):352-4.
The effect of electrical and mechanical stimulation on the regenerating rodent facial nerve. Hadlock T, Lindsay R, Edwards C, Smitson C, Weinberg J, Knox C, Heaton JT. Laryngoscope. 2010 Jun;120(6):1094-102.
Daily facial stimulation to improve recovery after facial nerve repair in rats. Lindsay RW, Heaton JT, Edwards C, Smitson C, Vakharia K, Hadlock TA. Arch Facial Plast Surg. 2010 May-Jun;12(3):180-5.
Upper lip elongation in Mobius syndrome. Lindsay RW, Hadlock TA, Cheney ML. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2010 Feb;142(2):286-7.
Comprehensive facial rehabilitation improved function in people with facial paralysis: a 5-year experience at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. Lindsay RW, Robinson M, Hadlock TA. Phys Ther. 2010 Mar;90(3):391-7. Epub 2010 Jan 21.