About

Dr. Irene A. Kim is a facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon and an associate professor in the Department of Head and Neck Surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. She is dual board certified in otolaryngology and facial plastic/reconstructive surgery, with fellowship training in facial reanimation surgery for facial paralysis. Dr. Kim provides comprehensive medical and surgical care to patients with facial paralysis secondary to Bell's palsy, tumors, trauma, and congenital disorders. Her procedures include nerve transfers, gracilis free muscle transfers, cosmetic facial surgery, nonsurgical facial rejuvenation techniques such as Botox and filler injections, rhinoplasty, facial trauma repair, MOHs reconstructive surgery for skin cancer, and microvascular free flap surgery for head and neck cancer patients. She received her medical degree from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, completed her residency at UCLA, and returned to Johns Hopkins for subspecialty training. Dr. Kim is a member of several professional societies, including the Sir Charles Bell Society, American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, and the American Medical Association. She is recognized for her contributions to the field through awards such as Super Doctors® Southern California Rising Stars and Top Doctors by Los Angeles Magazine.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Artificial Intelligence
• Algorithm
• Mathematics
• Geometry
• Materials science
• Mathematical analysis

Selected publications

• Functional Improvement in Cranial Neuropathies From Perineural Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma After Immunotherapy: A Multicenter Case Series and Review

  Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery · 2026-01-12

  articleCorresponding

  PURPOSE: Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma has a propensity for perineural invasion. Treating perineural spread has involved surgery and adjuvant chemoradiation, and more recently, immune checkpoint inhibitors. This study aims to evaluate motor and sensory functional outcomes in patients with cranial neuropathies from perineural spread of squamous cell carcinoma, particularly those undergoing immunotherapy. METHODS: This was a multicenter case series and literature review. RESULTS: Eighteen patients with cranial neuropathies from perineural spread had a mean age of 72.5 ± 9.7 years. Cranial nerves V and VII were most often involved. Treatments included radiotherapy (8/18; 44.4%), chemotherapy (7/18; 38.9%), and/or immunotherapy (11/18; 61.1%), with many receiving a combination of modalities (8/18; 44.4%). Of those receiving immunotherapy, 72.7% (8/11) demonstrated at least partial clinical and/or radiologic tumor response. Among those with functional outcomes documented, half had improvement in sensory/motor nerve function following immunotherapy (4/8; 50%). A literature review identified 55 articles describing 449 patients total with cranial neuropathies from squamous cell carcinoma perineural spread. Combinations of surgery, chemotherapy, and/or radiotherapy were employed, with immunotherapy used in 16 patients. From 5 patients on immunotherapy with documented functional outcomes, all demonstrated at least some improvement. CONCLUSION: Immunotherapy plays an evolving role in managing advanced squamous cell carcinoma. Functional improvements in cranial neuropathy were demonstrated in 50% of patients receiving treatment with immunotherapy at a mean of 32.6 months of follow-up. This may hold important implications for the timing of surgical intervention, particularly in the case of cranial nerves V and VII palsies.

  PublisherDOI

• <i>Invited Commentary on:</i> “Feasibility of Internal Pudendal Labia Myocutaneous Free Flap: Cadaveric and Angiographic Study of a Novel Mucosal Free Tissue Transfer,” by Gray et al

  Facial Plastic Surgery & Aesthetic Medicine · 2024-09-04

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Rationale for the Development of a Novel Clinical Grading Scale for Postoperative Facial Nerve Function: Results of a Multidisciplinary International Working Group

  Otology & Neurotology · 2023-10-24 · 7 citations

  article

  OBJECTIVE: The objective of the current study was to present the results of an international working group survey identifying perceived limitations of existing facial nerve grading scales to inform the development of a novel grading scale for assessing early postoperative facial paralysis that incorporates regional scoring and is anchored in recovery prognosis and risk of associated complications. STUDY DESIGN: Survey. SETTING: A working group of 48 multidisciplinary clinicians with expertise in skull base, cerebellopontine angle, temporal bone, or parotid gland surgery. RESULTS: House-Brackmann grade is the most widely used system to assess facial nerve function among working group members (81%), although more than half (54%) agreed that the system they currently use does not adequately estimate the risk of associated complications, such as corneal injury, and confidence in interrater and intrarater reliability is generally low. Simplicity was ranked as the most important attribute of a novel postoperative facial nerve grading system to increase the likelihood of adoption, followed by reliability and accuracy. There was widespread consensus (91%) that the eye is the most critical facial region to focus on in the early postoperative setting. CONCLUSIONS: Members were invited to submit proposed grading systems in alignment with the objectives of the working group for subsequent validation. From these data, we plan to develop a simple, clinically anchored, and reproducible staging system with regional scoring for assessing early postoperative facial nerve function after surgery of the skull base, cerebellopontine angle, temporal bone, or parotid gland.

  PublisherDOI

• Tumor growth with nutrients: Regularity and stability

  Communications of the American Mathematical Society · 2023 · 13 citations

  • Computer Science
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Algorithm

  In this paper, we study a tumor growth model with nutrients. The model presents dynamic patch solutions due to the incompressibility of the tumor cells. We show that when the nutrients do not diffuse and the cells do not die, the tumor density exhibits regularizing dynamics thanks to an unexpected comparison principle. Using the comparison principle, we provide quantitative <inline-formula content-type="math/mathml"> <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="upper L Superscript 1"> <mml:semantics> <mml:msup> <mml:mi>L</mml:mi> <mml:mn>1</mml:mn> </mml:msup> <mml:annotation encoding="application/x-tex">L^1</mml:annotation> </mml:semantics> </mml:math> </inline-formula> -contraction estimates and establish the <inline-formula content-type="math/mathml"> <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="upper C Superscript 1 comma alpha"> <mml:semantics> <mml:msup> <mml:mi>C</mml:mi> <mml:mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mml:mn>1</mml:mn> <mml:mo>,</mml:mo> <mml:mi> α </mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:msup> <mml:annotation encoding="application/x-tex">C^{1,\alpha }</mml:annotation> </mml:semantics> </mml:math> </inline-formula> -boundary regularity of the tumor patch. Furthermore, whenever the initial nutrient <inline-formula content-type="math/mathml"> <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="n 0"> <mml:semantics> <mml:msub> <mml:mi>n</mml:mi> <mml:mn>0</mml:mn> </mml:msub> <mml:annotation encoding="application/x-tex">n_0</mml:annotation> </mml:semantics> </mml:math> </inline-formula> either lies entirely above or entirely below the critical value <inline-formula content-type="math/mathml"> <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="n 0 equals 1"> <mml:semantics> <mml:mrow> <mml:msub> <mml:mi>n</mml:mi> <mml:mn>0</mml:mn> </mml:msub> <mml:mo>=</mml:mo> <mml:mn>1</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:annotation encoding="application/x-tex">n_0=1</mml:annotation> </mml:semantics> </mml:math> </inline-formula> , we are able to give a complete characterization of the long-time behavior of the system. When <inline-formula content-type="math/mathml"> <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="n 0"> <mml:semantics> <mml:msub> <mml:mi>n</mml:mi> <mml:mn>0</mml:mn> </mml:msub> <mml:annotation encoding="application/x-tex">n_0</mml:annotation> </mml:semantics> </mml:math> </inline-formula> is constant, we can even describe the dynamics of the full system in terms of some simpler nutrient-free and parameter-free model problems. These results are in sharp contrast to the observed behavior of the models either with nutrient diffusion or with death rate in tumor cells.

  PublisherDOI

• The Deep Fascia of the Infraorbital Region, Deep Plane, and Suprafibromuscular Facelift: New Anatomy for Safer Facelifting

  Facial Plastic Surgery · 2022-10-19 · 5 citations

  article

  Deep-plane rhytidectomy, first described by Skoog, has had a resurgence in popularity and is in high demand today. We describe anatomical findings that establish the presence of a true deep fascia in the midface, we named as Chiara's fascia, like the first author's first name, which helps to form the facial ligaments and is contiguous with the superficial layer of the deep temporal fascia. This fascia inserts on the periosteum of the inferior orbital rim at the arcus marginalis and separates the suborbicularis oculi fat (SOOF) from the preperiosteal fat. This distinct fascial layer lies under the superficial fascia or superficial musculoaponeurotic system (SMAS) and represents the floor of what is commonly termed the "deep plane." When this fascial highway is identified intraoperatively, blunt dissection immediately superficial to this layer will protect facial nerve branches overlying the muscles lifting the upper lip such as the zygomaticus. Subsequent dissection over the middle and lower face can usually be performed bluntly. Over a 10-year period, a total of 100 hemifaces were dissected with a 100% success rate of identifying this fascia in all specimens. This work was further validated by examining histologic specimens that clearly demonstrate this unique fibrofatty fascial layer. These dissections and new anatomical findings were then correlated to over 300 intraoperative deep-plane facelift cases by the primary and senior authors. We term this operative technique as the suprafibromuscular facelift. Dissection in this plane allows for safe release of facial retaining ligaments with protection of facial nerve branches.

  PublisherDOI

• Modern cross-facial nerve grafting in facial paralysis

  Operative Techniques in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery · 2022-02-10 · 4 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Porous Medium Equation with a Drift: Free Boundary Regularity

  Archive for Rational Mechanics and Analysis · 2021 · 16 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Computer Science
  • Mathematics
  • Mathematical analysis
  DOI

• Flaps and Grafts

  2020-10-24 · 1 citations

  book-chapterSenior authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Hybrid Superdrained Pectoralis Major Myocutaneous Flap for Early Venous Congestion

  OTO Open · 2019-07-01 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  Keywords pectoralis major flap, microvascular surgery, head and neck cancer, reconstructive surgery, plastic surgery, facial plastic surgery, head and neck reconstruction

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Progressively Hoarse Voice

  2019-10-16

  book-chapter
  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Free Boundary Problems and Viscosity solutions

  NSF · $140k · 2007–2010

• Dynamic Free Boundary Problems

  NSF · $292k · 2019–2023

• Dynamic Free-Boundary Problems

  NSF · $346k · 2016–2020

• Free Boundary Problems and nonlinear PDEs

  NSF · $169k · 2010–2014

• Dynamic Free Boundary Problems

  NSF · $410k · 2022–2026

Frequent coauthors

• Antoine Mellet

  18 shared

• Yao Yao

  5 shared

• Yuming Zhang

  Central South University

  5 shared

• Sunhi Choi

  4 shared

• Nestor Guillen

  4 shared

• Yijing Wu

  Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics

  4 shared

• Norbert Požár

  4 shared

• Jeremy Wu

  University of California, Los Angeles

  4 shared

Labs

• UCLA Head and Neck SurgeryPI

Awards & honors

• Super Doctors® Southern California Rising Stars, 2021, 2024…
• Top Doctors, Los Angeles Magazine, 2023
• Blue Ribbon Award, “Bio-Oss Successfully Induces Bone Healin…
• Cohen-Gellar Award for best resident performance at Children…
• ACS Head & Neck Surgery Research Presentation Award (Santa B…