Dr Amirlak is a triple board certified plastic surgeon and peripheral nerve surgeon specializing in migraine treatment. He has worked, trained, and researched for 3 years with the pioneer of migraine surgery, Dr Bahman Guyuron . Dr Amirlak has been involved in migraine treatment research at UTSW as well as Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. He has lectured worldwide on this subject and has given workshops to train other pain specialists on new methods of BOTOX injection and migraine surgery. Dr Amirlak has extensive experience with surgical (trigger-point release) and nonsurgical (BOTOX®) protocols for the treatment of intractable migraine headaches. His patients have reported success and lasting relief from these procedures. He has recently modified the surgery using endoscopic approach for the occipital nerves in a pursuit to improve the overall outcomes .
He started his surgical training with a 5-year residency in general surgery at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. Prior to that he did post doctoral research at New York Medical College in the Department of Neurosurgery, where his work was published in reputable journals and textbooks. He then moved to Louisville, Kentucky, to complete a 1-year fellowship in Hand and Microsurgery (including peripheral nerve surgery), at the world renowned Christine M. Kleinert Institute. During that year, he was honored to be part of the surgical team performing the only hand transplants in the country at the time. He then completed a 3- year plastic and reconstructive surgery training program with a special focus on migraine and chronic headache procedures at Case Western Reserve University.
His mentors have included some of the world leaders in plastic surgery, such as Warren Breidenbach, MD, Arun Gosain, MD, and Bahman Guyuron, MD. During and after his training, he organized numerous humanitarian surgical mission trips to underserved countries. In 2010, Dr. Amirlak took the position of Associate Professor in UTSW’s Department of Plastic Surgery, one of the largest academic plastic surgery departments in the United States and one of the most respected worldwide. He also serves as Director of the Residency Cosmetic clinic at UTSW as well as serving as the Chief of Hand and Peripheral Nerve Surgery at the Dallas Veterans Administration.
Dr Amirlak is a founding member of the American Society of Reconstructive Transplant Surgery, and he is a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. He has won many plastic surgery awards and authored numerous articles and book chapters. He has been recognized in national media, such as NPR, Daily Mail, and ABC News. His work has been published in many peer-reviewed journals, most notably, Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, Journal of Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, Journal of Neuro-oncology, and Clinics in Plastic Surgery.
Dr Amirlak also serves as a reviewer for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery [, and he is an editorial board member of the Journal of Anesthesia and Pain Medicine [and the Journal of Yoga and Physical Therapy.