Meet Dr.Papp

 Dr Papp did his medical training in Finland and graduated from the University of Kuopio, Finland 1989. Following this he specialized in General Surgery (1995) and  Plastic Surgery (1998).

Since then he was a senior consultant in the Department of Plastic Surgery in Kuopio University Hospital, where he was in charge of a national burn centre. He also acted as the Head of Plastic Surgery there before he relocated to Vancouver in 2007.

​Currently Dr Papp works in Vancouver General Hospital, where he acts as the Medical Director for the BC Professional Firefighters' Burn Unit. He leads the Provincial Burn Program with responsibilities in teaching and research in addition to his clinical patient care. He is also the plastic surgeon responsible for the Spinal Cord Injury Wound Clinic and Complex Wound Clinic. He is a Clinical Professor of Plastic Surgery at University of British Columbia.​

blur_edges (4).png

His special interests include injectables, breast surgery, tummy tucks, body contouring, liposuctions, eyelid surgery, scar revisions and burn and wound care.

Dr Papp is an internationally recognized plastic surgeon, burn and wound healing expert. He has 50 scientific publications in peer reviewed journals, 90 conference presentations and has written 22 book chapters in medical textbooks. He has served as a visiting professor in Winnipeg and Kuwait City.

Dr Papp was recognized by the International Association of Plastic Surgeons as the "Leading Physician of the World" and "Top Plastic Surgeon in British Columbia", Canada in 2015 and has qualified for the 2015 edition of the "Bristol's Who Is Who" book.

Dr.Papp short CV

Current positions:

Medical Director, BC Professional Firefighters’ Burn Unit, Vancouver, BC

Clinical Professor, University of British Columbia

Education:

MD - 1989, University of Kuopio, Finland

Specialist in Surgery - 1995, University of Kuopio, Finland

Specialist in Plastic Surgery - 1998, University of Helsinki, Finland

PhD - 2005, University of Kuopio, Finland

Fellow, Royal College of Surgeons of Canada (FRCSC) - 2007, Ottawa, Canada

Docent, Plastic Surgery - 2009, University of Kuopio, Finland


Thesis

Thesis title: Experimental Thermal Injury: New Methods in Assessing Tissue Damage

       

Employment history:

Member, American Burn Association, Program Committee 2015-2017

Member, Clinical Research Ethics Board, UBS 2012-2018

Medical Director, BCPFF Burn Unit, VGH, Vancouver BC, Canada  2007-

Head, Plastic Surgery, Kuopio University Hospital, Finland 2007

Senior Consultant, Sheikh Khalifa Medical City, Abu Dhabi, UAE  2005 - 2006

Senior Consultant, Plastic Surgery, Kuopio University Hospital, Finland 1998 - 2006

Head, National Burn Unit, Kuopio University Hospital, Finland  1998 - 2007

Plastic Surgery resident, Kuopio University Hospital, Finland  1995 - 1998

General Surgery Resident, Kuopio University Hospital, Finland 1993 - 1995

General Surgery Resident, Central Hospital of Central Finland  1991 - 1993

General Surgery Resident, Ahtari County Hospital, Finland  1990 - 1991

General Practitioner, Korpilahti Health Care Center, Finland 1989 - 1990          

                           

Other:

President Finnish Burn Care Develpment and Educational Society   1997 - 2007

Reviewer Burns Journal 2005 -

Associate Editor ePlasty   2007 -

Member Trauma Advisory Committee, VCHA  2007 -

Reviewer Textbook of Infection Control and Epidemiology  2009 -                                

Reviewer Canadian Journal of Surgery 2009 -

Editorial Board Reviewer Burns Journal  2010 -

Reviewer  J European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology  2010 -

Editorial Board Member International Scholarly Research Network 2012 -

Member Clinical Research Ethics Board, UBC  2012 - 2016

Board Member American Burn Association, Research Committee  2012 - 2015

Member  Canadian Diabetic Foot Ulcer Advisory Committee 2013 -

Group Lead  Specialty Advisory Committee, Trauma Services BC 2014 -

Member Burn Leadership Program  2014 - 

Reviewer  Journal of Burn Care and Reconstruction 2015 -

Reviewer  Scandinavian Journal of Surgery  2015 -

Member American Burn Association, Program Committee  2015 - 2017

Reviewer  International Wound Journal 2015 -

Reviewer  CSPS 70th Annual Meeting Abstract Review Committe  2016

Reviewer Wound Repair and Regeneration  2016 -

Reviewer   Burns Open 2017 -

Reviewer                                  Scientific Reports, 2019 –

Reviewer                                  Burns and Trauma, 2019 -

Reviewer                                  Gene Reports, 2019 –

Reviewer                                  Journal of Wound Care, 2020 –

Reviewer                                  Critical Care Research and Practice, 2020 –

Reviewer                                  Case Reports in Dermatological Medicine, 2020 –

Reviewer                                  European Burn Journal, 2022 -

Reviewer                                  Biomedical Engineering Advances, 2022 –

Reviewer                                  International Journal of General Medicine, 2022 –

Reviewer                                  Journal of Clinical Medicine, 2022 –

Reviewer                                  Medical Sciences, 2022 –

Reviewer                                  Surgery, 2023 –

Editorial Board Member        OBM transplantation, 2024 –

Reviewer                                  Diseases, 2024 –

Reviewer                                  Plastic and Aesthetic Research, 2024 –

Reviewer                                  BMC Pediatrics, 2024 –

Reviewer                                  Respiratory Medicine, 2024 –

Advisory Board Member        KCI, 2013 – 2016

Scientific Advisory Board       BirchBiomed, 2016 –

Consultant                                 Acelity, 2017 - 2021

Consultant                                 Smith&Nephew, 2017 –

Consultant                                Integra LifeSciences, 2018 –

Consultant                                3M, 2021 – 2024

Consultant                                Conexeu Science INC, 2024 –

Consultant                                Solventum, 2025 -

President Canadian Burn Association, 2024

Editor-in-Chief Burns Open, 2025 -

Publications:

60 international refereed publications

22 book chapters

31 non-refereed publications

110 abstracts in international conferences


Awards:

Vancouver General Hospital, Concept Award 2008


Best poster in category

Vivas M, Lakha N, Simons R, Papp A:

Implementing a provincial burn registry to support quality assurance.

The Trauma Association of Canada Scientific Meeting. Banff, Alberta, Canada, 2011


Best poster in Epidemiology category.

Papp A, Haythornthwaite J:  

Ethnicity and Etiology in Burn Trauma.          

American Burn Association Annual Meeting, Seattle, USA, 2012

       

Best poster in category

Sikora S, Evans M, Song D, Kirchhof M, Miliszewski M, Dutz J, Papp A:

Treatment of Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis by a Multidisciplinary Team. A Review.     

American Burn Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, USA, 2015


One of Top 8 abstracts in conference.

Papp A, Hartwell R, Evans M, Li Y, Ghahary A :

The safety of topically delivered FS2 in humans. Phase 1 Clinical Trial.

3rd Canadian Burn Symposium, Vancouver, Canada 2016


Best poster in category, Critical Care.

Demsey D, Mordhorst A, Griesdale D, Papp A:

Improved outcomes of renal injury following a burn injury.

American Burn Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, USA, 2018

Best poster in category:

Boroditsky M, Xiao J, Jain F, Papp A:

A Lens into Burn Documentation at the VGH Emergency.

American Burn Association, Annual meeting, Chicago, USA 2024

Visiting Professor:

Department of Surgery, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, July 2010

Department of Plastic Surgery, Kuwait City, Kuwait, January 2011

Department of Plastic Surgery, Helsinki University Hospital, Finland 2019