About Dr. Calvin Lee

Thank you for taking an interest in my background. Nothing too special. I'm proud of my teaching award from the students of UC Davis medical residency, and I'm thrilled to be part of Modesto as a doctor, past board member of the Modesto Symphony, and as the title sponsor of the Surgical Artistry Modesto Marathon. And most of all with this web page, I'd like to thank the thousands of patients (and hundreds of doctors) around Modesto, Springfield (Illinois), and Providence who have enriched my medial career. Click here for a list and description of Dr. Calvin Lee's Continuing Medical Education efforts for lifelong learning.

Academic and Medical Life

Surgical Artistry Office Building (next to post office on Sylvan), Modesto, CA

Current Lecture Series given by Dr. Calvin Lee

Hospital Medical Staff

How did I end up in Modesto, CA?

I really enjoy living and working in Modesto. I look forward to making Modesto even better if we can. My wife (Dr. Tammy Wu) and I (as Surgical Artistry) have been founding sponsors/supporters of the Gallo Center for the Arts, Modesto Symphony Pops Series, and the Surgical Artistry Modesto Marathon.

I get this question a lot (from my friends, from my patients, and sometimes from my family). I think it's a compliment meaning something like "you're too big for this smaller town, you should be somewhere bigger." Well, thank you. But I'm not really too big for anything. Initially, I had dreams of going to a small town in Kansas and being a super doc in a very small town. I wanted to go to a place where there weren't many doctors - thus I could be very broad based (have many expertise and be useful). But I had to compromise because my wife has family in Los Angeles, California, and her family wanted her to be closer than Kansas. I settled for finding a "small" town in California. I initially thought I would try Selma, CA (near Fresno). But during my interview with the hospital there, I set a building on fire (if you want to know more about this - ask me!). I saw this as a bad omen, so I searched further away from Los Angeles and found Modesto!

I started work with the McHenry Medical Group as a trauma general surgeon. This was a fantastic opportunity to use my surgical skills. My wife (Dr. Tammy Wu - Plastic Surgeon) found a great job working at Sutter Gould. In 2006 we decided to join forces and create Surgical Artistry. At that time, I decided to focus my practice on needle related healing arts: Acupuncture, Vein Sclerotherapy, Botox and Fillers. I see injections as an extension of my surgical skills and duties.

And one more reason for "why Modesto, CA." I love a challenge to prove myself - such as when I didn't go to Harvard. I wouldn't be able to say "better than Harvard," if I had gone to Harvard (I don't know if I ever lived up to this challenge). Harvard, of course, is a great school, and perhaps one day I'll find a reason to go, but it hasn't been my style to go with what is considered the "top". I enjoy the climb to the top, and can't do the climb if you already start there. The challenge here in Modesto is to say we are better than Bay Area or better than Beverly Hills. Perhaps we will one day Surgical Artistry will be known as better than Beverly Hills or Bay Area. It's a challenge I hope to continue to achieve. I do have many friends who are plastic surgeons in Beverly Hills and other big cities (ie. San Francisco) - please visit them if you do live in those areas (I went to school and trained with them while at Brown University and other wonderful medical training institutions). In the end, it is very difficult to compare practices, but we can always try to achieve improvement in all aspects including skills, results, efficiency, cost, and communication skills.

Interview of Dr. Calvin Lee regarding Medical Aesthetics

On 6/26/12, I was interviewed by MedicalSpaMD regarding advice to other doctors regarding Botox, dermal fillers, plastic surgery marketing, building a space for plastic surgery, staff communication, cosmetic and vein lasers, etc.

Extra (fun) stuff below:

Yes, serious stuff above. Make sure you read above before venturing below. Otherwise, you'd think I wasn't a doctor.

Media Appearances for Dr. Calvin Lee

with Bethany Crouch of Fox 40. CBS news screen shot

There's a whole bunch, for the most part, I've lost track. Here are some highlights. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be in the media.

Face Lift Acupuncture: KCRA-3 TV Sacramento interviews Dr. Calvin Lee regarding facial rejuvenation acupuncture and it's place compared to Juvederm and Botox. October, 2011
Acupuncture Face Lift: WCVB The Boston Channel with Dr. Calvin Lee. January, 2012
Dr. Lee's Carnegie Hall appearance with YouTube Symphony: KCRA-3
ABC News San Francisco YouTube Symphony
ABC WORLD News featuring Calvin Lee, MD/Carnegie Hall
CBS 13 YouTube Symphony
Good Day Sacramento YouTube Symphony
Financial Times Newspaper YouTube Symphony
NPR Jeffery Callison Part I YouTube Symphony
NPR Jeffery Callison Part II YouTube Symphony
Fox 40 YouTube Symphony

Made it into Asian newspapers

click on picture to see the text from
Strings Magazine September 2009 issue

As a musician:

Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. I was the soloist with the Brown University Orchestra. Thank you for selecting me to solo. This is mainly a sound recording. The pictures are somewhat unrelated, but show pictures of the Surgical Artistry building coming together, my friends' wedding, and some trauma/gun shot related pictures - yeah random. It even has piano pictures - there is no piano in the sound track - sorry. I just needed a way to put a sound track onto YouTube, and this was my way. Slightly more related, I am pictured with many famous musicians. This video is my FAVORITE !! - great memories from those Brown University days and my old violin which has since been replaced. Just listen...

As guest concert master in Taipei, Taiwan. National Concert Hall, July 17, 2009. I miss you guys in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. Thank you so much for the opportunity for this and for the Mendelssohn violin concerto solo.

ABC News San Francisco, includes the winning YouTube violin video in 2009. Video states about my violin playing: "Not too shabby."

Trying out a little piano (I'm better known for my violin playing). This piece is a little bit harder than I thought. It was a mistake to start with this first piece. I didn't realize till later that it had to be played really fast. So here it is... really fast.

For your iPod

Piano practice as a dexterity and artistry booster for violin and surgery:

Free MP3: Calvin Lee, MD plays piano: Debussy Arabesque #1 (right click to download)

Botox relaxes the muscles, this piece relaxes the mind.

Concertmaster: Brown University Orchestra, 1992-93. Concertmaster at Harvard 1987.
Two time winner of the Brown University Concerto Competition, violin.
Solo appearances with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic, Rockland County Philharmonic, Brown University Orchestra.
Won audition for first violin section with Illinois Symphony, a professional orchestra.
Plays violin and piano.
Supporter of the Modesto Symphony (had been a member of the board of directors), and Gallo Center for the Arts (is a founder)
Co-founded "Docs Play the Pops" - a medical musician recital and fundraiser for music education in Modesto.
Conducting, music theory and composition classes at Manhattan Pre-college.
Music teachings and guidance from: Mary Canberg, Jamie Buswell, Arlene Cole, Chuck Sherba, and Yan Yan Chan.

Calvin Lee at the
Gallo Center for the Arts, 2008

Thank you again, for visiting my web page. I hope you will consider visiting our office and meeting me in person.

Surgical Artistry webpage is for information only, not medical advice. Dr. Calvin Lee on Google+
www.surgerytoday.com homemade website by Calvin Lee, MD and Tzuying Tammy Wu, MD, Modesto, CA
Botox in Modesto, California

Date of edit: 12/15/2014

SURGICAL ARTISTRY CO-FOUNDER AND SURGEON: CALVIN LEE, MD