Robert Spence ’72, former director of the Johns Hopkins Burn Center (2005–08) and chief of plastic surgery at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, died Aug. 9, 2024, at his home in Cambridge, Maryland, after battling mesothelioma. He was 77. An internationally renowned burn reconstructive surgeon known for his deep dedication to his patients and teaching, Spence was recognized for pioneering techniques to treat and heal facial burns and scars, and for his meticulous work in hand surgery and in healing chronic and complex wounds.

Spence believed that treating people with burns goes far beyond doing everything possible to restore one’s physical appearance. He incorporated in his patients’ recovery psychologists, sociologists, vocational rehabilitation counselors, clergy, home health nurses, physical and occupational therapists, nutritionists, and the Burn Victims Aid Society. He also co-founded the Maryland Tissue Bank.

“I think he was one of the best in the world,” says Paul Manson, who was director of the division of plastic surgery at The Johns Hopkins Hospital from 1990–2010. “I counted on him every year to teach my junior residents basic surgery techniques because he was so patient, thorough and exact.”

Spence’s groundbreaking work included the use of synthetic skin and tissue expanders, which help grow and stretch normal skin that can be used for flaps and grafts that improve both appearance and function. Additional landmark papers by Spence taught the burn surgery community how to perform complex facial reconstruction in adults and children.

Spence told Johns Hopkins Magazine in 2007 that he felt his work wasn’t entirely successful until patients started living their lives as before. “I can make the most beautiful reconstruction in the world, but if that patient doesn’t go out and start shopping at Giant again, it’s a hollow victory,” he said.

As an undergraduate at Johns Hopkins (’69), Spence played on the basketball team. After earning his M.D. at Johns Hopkins and then training in general surgery at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, he completed residencies in general surgery and plastic surgery at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and The Johns Hopkins Hospital, respectively, and was chief resident at both institutions.

In 1985, he became chief of plastic surgery at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center and co-director of the Johns Hopkins Burn Center, where he remained until 2008.