Facial plastic and nasal sinus surgery are Frank J Scaccia’s specialties. So are racing bikes and running marathons. Suffice it to say, the Red Bank physician works and plays on the cutting edge.

Sea Bright resident scores high marks in surgery and athletics

By Vaughn Watson
STAFF WRITER

Facial plastic and nasal sinus surgery are Frank J Scaccia’s specialties. So are racing bikes and running marathons. Suffice it to say, the Red Bank physician works and plays on the cutting edge.

Last June, Scaccia, won the 1995 Jack Anderson prize for scholastic excellence among physicians who took a national certifying examination. The test was for certification as a member of the American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Scaccia’s score ranked him in the 99th percentile in both the written and oral sections of the exam. The board examination was a test of his mettle, he said.

For the oral section, he took himself to Washington, DC, sat down in a hotel room and was bombarded with 2 days of oral and written questions by a host of facial plastic surgery board directors.

‘‘The test was rigorous,” said the Duke University graduate and member of the scholastic honor society Phi Beta Kappa. ‘‘For 6 hours straight they would just drill you with questions.” He is now one of 10 board-certified physicians in the Garden State. Board certifications qualifies him to travel to Third World countries to teach what he knows to plastic surgeons there.

‘‘I feel obligated to offer my patients the highest quality care available,” Scaccia said of his reason for seeking the certification training.

‘‘By preparing for and obtaining certification I think I am able to provide them with the confidence they’ll need before undergoing surgery.”

One Physician at the Red bank office where Scaccia works echoed those sentiments. ‘‘All patients no matter what type of physician they see are concerned about training and the level of competency (of their doctor),” said Dr. Timothy P. Sullivan, a Little Sliver resident and former Monmouth County Medical Association president.

‘‘One of the reasons that we brought Dr Scaccia to the practice is that one of the segments of what doctors in our speciality do is facial plastic work.”

‘‘With (Scaccia) achieving the highest score in the country-the certification by the exam should reassure the patients that he has an extensive knowledge of facial plastic surgery and the various procedures and options available,” Sullivan said. Scaccia said that surgery is indeed an interest that consumes much of his life.

‘‘Many nights I just fell asleep either watching a video tape or reading a book (about medicine),” Scaccia said. ‘‘I just have a passion for it and not only is it my job, it is sort of my hobby.”

His patients include athletes who hope reconstructive nasal and sinus surgery will open up breathing passages and allow them to breeze past their competition.

‘‘ A big advantage I have is that I am trained to treat not only the headaches and sinus problems… but I also help patients look better.”

Other operations Scaccia performs include facial rejuvenation and aesthetic operations to remove unsightly growths, such as fat pockets around the eyes.

‘‘People are starting to realize that cosmetic surgery is not just for the Beverly Hills rich and famous.”

When he’s not working, the single Sea Bright resident usually can be found biking or riding his jet ski. ‘‘I jet ski the water in Sea Bright.”

As a youngster in Ocean Town ship, he joined the local Boy Scout troop and made Eagle Scout by 14.

That same year, he ran the Jersey Shore Marathon in 2 hours and 54 minutes. His time ranked him ninth in the nation for boys 15 and under. ‘‘I got better when it was 15 miles or longer,” he said of his competitive edge. ‘‘I made my name doing the longer distances.”

Scaccia continued to excel in cross-country and spring track as a student at Ocean Township High School. He has since traded his running flats for two tires and a bike frame. As a professional cyclist, he rode as a member of the Long Branch-based Atlantic Bike Club. He just finished a spring and summer racing season with Team Cleveland in Ohio. He said he also enjoys practicing his classical guitar. ‘‘I played it since I was 15.” But the tunes keep coming, even when Scaccia stops playing. He has been known to play the Rolling Stones in the office, he said. ‘‘In fact, some times anesthesiologists have to tell me to turn it down because they can’t hear the heart beat.”