Robert James Spence, M.D., FACS

Robert J. Spence, a pioneer physician and professor in the use of plastic surgery in the reconstruction of burn victims, passed away August 9th at his home in Cambridge, Maryland. Dr. Spence bravely battled mesothelioma. He was 77. 

Dr. Spence began his medical career in Baltimore when he left upstate New York and enrolled at the Johns Hopkins University. Inspired by research about the psychological effects of congenital and facial deformities, he developed groundbreaking use of synthetic skin and tissue expanders and became internationally known for reconstruction and rehabilitation of burn survivors, hand surgery, and methods for healing chronic and difficult wounds. He was devoted to the doctor-patient relationship and known for his compassionate bedside manner and impact on his students. 

Dr. Spence received his B.S. and M.D. from The Johns Hopkins University and completed his residencies for general surgery and plastic surgery at the Milton S Hershey Medical Center and The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, respectively. He was Clinical Associate Professor in the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine from 1980 to 1985, eventually becoming the Chief of Plastic Surgery at Bayview Medical Center. In 2008, Dr. Spence left the Johns Hopkins system to found and serve as Attending Physician of the National Burn Reconstruction Center at MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital. He was a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, former president of the Maryland State Plastic Surgery Society and the Baltimore Academy of Surgeons and former chair of the education committee for the American Burn Association.

Additional accomplishments included cofounding the Maryland Tissue Bank and serving as the Medical Director of the Transplant Resource Center in Maryland. Later in his career, Dr. Spence used the 25 years of experience treating patients with burn scars to develop use of carbon dioxide fractional lasers to improve quality of life for wounded warriors through establishing and teaching at the Burn Reconstruction Program at the U.S. Army Institute for Surgical Research Burn Center with Brook Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas.

Bob to his friends and family, he married his high school crush Cressy Starkweather, and settled in Towson, MD, where they raised their three children. Bob played collegiate basketball at Johns Hopkins and he was an enthusiastic supporter of the Baltimore Orioles and Ravens, and his hobbies included traveling with Cressy, fishing and boating on the Choptank River, and spending time with his cherished grandchildren. He is survived by his wife, three children and their spouses, Courtney and Sam, Erin, and Kevin and Sonja; two brothers Dave and Paul; and seven grandchildren.

A celebration of his life will be planned for this fall. In lieu of flowers, gifts in memory of Dr. Robert J. Spence may be directed to support cancer research at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Center at hopkins cancer.org.