BALTIMORE, MD — In a groundbreaking surgical feat that has made headlines, Indian American physician Dr. Kalpesh Vakharia played a significant role in a life-saving series of operations that removed a rare spinal tumor and reconstructed the skull base of a 20-year-old woman from Rosedale, Maryland.

Karla Flores was just 18 when she began experiencing double vision—an early warning sign that eventually led to a shocking diagnosis. Specialists at the University of Maryland Medical Center discovered she had a chordoma, a rare and cancerous bone tumor, dangerously entwined around her spinal cord and invading the vertebrae at the base of her skull.

The complexity and location of the tumor meant traditional surgical approaches carried significant risk. Dr. Mohamed A.M. Labib, a neurosurgeon at the center, led the surgical strategy, employing an unprecedented “third nostril” approach he had developed. The technique allowed access to the tumor through Flores’ eye socket—a method never before used in a live patient.

Vakharia, a renowned facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon, was an integral part of the core surgical team that executed the groundbreaking procedure. As soon as the tumor was carefully extracted, Vakharia began the meticulous work of reconstruction—rebuilding the base of Flores’ eye socket with a titanium plate and reconstructing her cheekbone using bone from her hip. His role was critical in restoring both form and function to the young patient’s face.

The team’s work didn’t stop there. Flores was later found to have a second, even more dangerous chordoma wrapped around her brainstem. Over the course of two additional high-risk surgeries—including one performed through the nasal passage—the surgical team worked to remove the tumor without damaging the vital centers that control heartbeat and breathing.

Vakharia is a double board certified in Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, he is Chief of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and Director of the Facial Nerve Center at the University of Maryland.

A graduate of the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, Vakharia brings with him a formidable academic background that includes undergraduate and master’s degrees in biochemistry, chemistry, and computer science from the University of Pennsylvania, residency at Harvard Medical School, and a fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic.

Colleagues describe him as a surgeon who combines deep technical expertise with compassion and calm under pressure.

Beyond the operating room, he is an Associate Professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, he lectures medical students, serves as clerkship director for otolaryngology rotations, and helps train fellows in head and neck surgery.