Greg S. Morganroth, MD

Board-certified dermatologist, fellowship-trained and board-certified Mohs surgeon in Palo Alto

Dr. Greg S. Morganroth is one of a handful of double board-certified, fellowship-trained Mohs and dermatologic surgeons in the San Francisco Bay Area specializing in skin cancer diagnosis, treatment and prevention, Mohs Surgery, laser surgery, reconstructive surgery, and cosmetic surgery. He is a nationally recognized expert in skin surgery. He has received thousands of referrals from dermatologists and other physicians around the Bay Area and beyond for their patients needing specialized skin cancer surgery, reconstructive surgery, scar revision, laser surgery, and facial, eye, and body cosmetic surgery.

In 2022, Newsweek named Dr. Morganroth the 36th best cosmetic dermatologist in the USA and honored him again as one of the top 150 dermatologists in the USA in 2023. In 2025, Dr. Morganroth was voted a Castle Connolly Top Doctor of the San Francisco Bay Area for the 20th year in a row. He was featured as a top doctor in Modern Luxury San Francisco Magazine in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024, and 2025 and in Modern Luxury Silicon Valley Magazine in 2023.

Dr. Morganroth is the Founder and former CEO (2007-2025) of California Skin Institute. He grew California Skin Institute from his solo practice in Mountain View into the largest single physician-owned and controlled dermatology practice in history consisting of 48 California locations and 450 employees. Dr. Morganroth sold California Skin Institute in February 2025 to a private equity-backed group so he could pursue a dermatology passion project. In February 2025, Dr. Morganroth and his Mountain View team of 28 providers and staff formed Palo Alto Dermatology Institute — an innovative private practice that corrects the inefficiencies of dermatology and skin cancer care in a one-of-a-kind, five-star environment.

Read Our Practice page for a brief summary of Dr. Morganroth’s prolific Silicon Valley dermatology journey.

An Expert in Dermatologic, Mohs, Laser and Cosmetic Surgery

Greg S. Morganroth, MD’s broad repertoire of surgical procedures spans the gap between dermatology and plastic surgery. This practice is unique to the region and allows him to offer unique solutions to common and uncommon surgical problems. Since 1995, he has performed over 37,400 Mohs surgery procedures for skin cancer (as of January 2025) and an equal number of advanced reconstructive surgeries and scar revisions, making him one of California’s most experienced skin cancer surgeons. He is recognized nationally for his unique, minimally invasive cosmetic rejuvenation procedures with local anesthesia. Since 1995, he has performed thousands of facelifts, eyelifts, body sculpting with liposuction, neck sculpting, chin implants, scar revisions, laser procedures, chemical peels, and hair transplants with local anesthesia. Over the past two decades, he has developed a niche practice dedicated to helping patients dissatisfied with the outcomes of plastic and reconstructive surgery other surgeons perform.

Exceptional Training and Expertise

He is a native of Michigan and attended college at The University of Michigan, where he graduated with distinction. He received his M.D. cum laude from the University of Michigan School of Medicine, where he was elected to the prestigious Alpha Omega Alpha National Honor Society and was awarded the Carl Vernon Weller Award for the top student in pathology. Dr. Morganroth then left the Midwest for the Ivy League, where he completed his internship at the University of Pennsylvania and a dermatology residency at Yale University. At Yale, he realized his true potential as a skin surgeon and decided to pursue a career in dermatologic surgery. After graduating from Yale in 1994, he returned to the Midwest to complete a competitive Mohs, Laser, and dermatologic surgery fellowship at the Skin and Mohs Surgery Center, Baptist Medical Center, and Hunkeler Eye Clinic in Kansas City, Missouri. During this one-year fellowship approved by the American College of Mohs Surgery, he was fortunate to train with a Mohs and laser surgeon, a facial plastic surgeon, and an ophthalmic plastic surgeon, providing a unique multidisciplinary foundation in skin surgery. Following his fellowship, he moved to Silicon Valley to open his private dermatologic and cosmetic surgery practice.

Dr. Morganroth is perhaps best known nationally for his own unique, state-of-the-art, local anesthesia skin surgery techniques combining facets of dermatologic surgery, facial plastic surgery, and ophthalmic plastic surgery. His techniques, which are quite different from traditional plastic surgery in philosophy and implementation, provide dramatic and natural outcomes with the safety and minimal downtime afforded by local anesthesia. As a recipient of multidisciplinary training during his fellowship, Dr. Morganroth enjoys collaborating with colleagues from dermatology and other surgical specialties. He is regularly visited by dermatologists, plastic surgeons, facial plastic surgeons, and oculoplastic surgeons from the US and abroad to observe him operate. He is frequently invited to present his reconstructive and cosmetic surgery techniques at national dermatology and facial plastic surgery meetings. New York University invited him to give the keynote lecture at their Advanced Dermatology Course, “One Perspective on the Future of Advanced Cosmetic Dermatologic Surgery.” He has also taught his cosmetic and reconstruction techniques at Stanford University, New York University (a second time), the University of Miami, University of Utah, Henry Ford Medical Center in Detroit, Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, and many professional meetings including the annual meetings of the American Academy of Dermatology, American College of Mohs Surgery, American Society of Dermatologic Surgery, Foundation for Facial Plastic Surgery, and California Society of Facial Plastic Surgery.

He has held various academic appointments previously that include Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery at Stanford University, clinical faculty of the Mittelman Facial Plastic Surgery Fellowship training program based in Los Altos, CA, and as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Dermatology at the University of California at San Francisco. He was the founder and co-director of the Next Step Dermatologic Surgery Course at Stanford University in 2004-2005. He revived the Next Step Dermatologic Surgery Course in 2012, where surgeons from around the US and Canada traveled to watch him perform his unique local anesthesia and cosmetic techniques.

Research & Publications

He has also published numerous book chapters on his Vertical Vector Facelift technique, chin augmentation, facial reconstruction, and his recommendations to prevent and correct facelift complications in multiple prominent dermatologic surgery reference textbooks. He has also published clinical and research articles in prestigious medical journals, including: The New England Journal of Medicine; Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery; Proceedings of the National Academy of Science; Clinics in Plastic Surgery; Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology; Archives of Dermatology; and Journal of Investigative Dermatology.

Industry Leadership

Between 2004 and 2025, Dr. Morganroth was a Mohs fellowship director and trained one or two fellows each year in his skin cancer, reconstruction, laser, and cosmetic techniques. From 2004 to 2011, his one-year fellowship was under the auspices of the American College of Mohs Surgery, but it later became independent to emphasize advanced cosmetic surgery, laser, and scar revision surgeries. His former surgical fellows have been recruited to leading academic centers on the East and West Coasts and private practices throughout the country.

Specialties

Mohs Surgery

Facial Reconstruction

Diagnosis, Treatment, Surveillance and Prevention of Skin Cancer

Treatment of Melanoma, Basal Cell Carcinoma and Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Excision of Cysts, Lipomas and Other Benign Skin Lesions

Laceration Repair

Scar Revision

Laser Surgery

Ablative Laser Resurfacing with Carbon Dioxide Laser

Chemical Peels

Cosmetic Dermatology

Cosmetic Injectables including Neurotoxin and Fillers

Face, neck, and body rejuvenation surgery with Local Anesthesia

Eyelid Cosmetic Surgery including Upper and Lower Blepharoplasty

Vertical Vector Face Lift

Neck Liposuction

Neck Submentoplasty

Sidelaze and Precision TX Laser Treatment

Chin Implant

Tumescent Liposuction of Abdomen, Hips, Waist, Thighs, Knees, Arms, Backs, Breasts

Smart Liposuction of Trunk and Extremities

Leg Vein / Spider Vein Treatment

Local Anesthesia Facial Cosmetic Surgery

Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

Skin Care and Skin Care Products