Fox Chapel surgeon makes the cut creating homemade pizza, BBQ
After living in seven states, surgeon Dr. David Turer of Fox Chapel is happy to call the region home.
Maryland, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, New Jersey, Texas and Pennsylvania line his residential resume and professionally, multiple engineering degrees and a subsequent medical degree, residency and fellowships have resulted in a successful career in aesthetic and plastic surgery.
Turer joined Pittsburgh Center For Plastic Surgery & Rejuvenation Spa last year in July and is a double-board-certified and aesthetic fellowship-trained plastic surgeon.
Turer, 42, earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from Purdue University and a master’s in biomedical engineering from the University of Michigan.
After that, he began a biomedical engineering Ph.D. program at the University of Michigan.
A lab job with amputees that involved interacting with plastic surgeons would prove influential for Turer.
“I was working with some plastic surgeons and I decided it would be a lot more fun to be the guy doing the surgery than working in the lab,” Turer said.
Turer attended med school at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, followed by a general surgery residency at the University of Michigan.
Next up was a plastic surgery residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, followed by a plastic surgery residency at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
“After about four years, I found my way back to plastics,” Turer said.
He completed a plastic surgery residency at the University of Pittsburgh, where he worked with chairman Dr. Peter Rubin.
Turer met his wife, Jamie, at a fraternity party 24 years ago. The couple were college sweethearts and have been married for 14 years.
They have three school-age children enrolled in the Fox Chapel Area School District.
“We chose this area because we felt like our kids would grow up being really good people, coming from here,” Turer said. “The people you meet in Pittsburgh are so nice and down-to-earth. They love their city and they want to share that. Pittsburgh is just an easy place to live.”
The son of a radiologist and chemical engineer-turned patent attorney, Turer explained that his mother was a radiologist before the days of telemedicine and modern technology.
“She was in the hospital all of the time. I was like, ‘There’s no way I’m going into medicine,’ and somehow my brother and I both found our way into medicine,” Turer said.
Physician assistant Katie Enos said she admires Turer’s bedside manner.
“He is very friendly and I admire the strong rapport he builds with every patient he sees,” Enos said.
Turer uses advanced technologies such as Vectra 3D imaging and ultrasound when consulting with his patients to simulate the result of a surgery.
Dr. Armando Davila praised Turer’s professional approach to surgery.
“Dr. Turer is a colleague I deeply admire — not only for his technical skill, but for the calm, thoughtful way he approaches even the most complex challenges,” Davila said. “Working with him has made me a better surgeon and a more deliberate leader.”
Turer excels at complex breast surgeries, such as implants that experience complications.
“I like fixing those things,” Turer said. “I spend a lot of time with my patients setting appropriate expectations. I take a lot of time to get to know my patients really well. I have to get to know them and what they want and what their goals are. I’m very meticulous and I measure everything. I’m very calculated in my approach to surgery but I take a lot of pride in being a regular guy to my patients. I’m a little OCD about making sure things are done correctly.”
Hands-on hobby
Growing up outside of Baltimore with a nanny who loved to cook provided culinary inspiration for Turer.
He recalled putting spices into soup at an early age and learning from his nanny.
“I’ve cooked my whole life,” Turer said. “I’ve always liked to cook and won my wife over with a good steak. She’d never had a good steak.”
“I apply the engineering approach sometimes to my cooking. Pizza is a great example of this,” Turer said.
Having fabulous pizza options was a perk of living in New Jersey and when Turer relocated to Pittsburgh, he found fewer options.
About a year ago, in his quest for crafting an amazing pizza, Turer sat down for about five hours and began learning about the dough, fermentation and all the aspects of pizza.
Watching a lot of cooking shows and online videos helped too.
He ferments the pizza dough for up to five days.
“I’ve got a spreadsheet with every recipe and I make everything from scratch. My pizza is pretty good,” Turer said.
Turer has an outdoor pizza oven and his favorite pizza flavor is cheese.
“Most weekends we’re here cooking and it’s our little slice of heaven,” Turer said.
Favorite pizza combinations and toppings include New York Style, Neapolitan styles, pepperoni, sausage, ricotta, hot honey and white pizza with mortadella, pistachios, burrata and white pie with mushrooms, ricotta and truffle oil.
Pizza time at home is a weekly tradition and Turer estimated he’s made about 500 pies in the last year and a half.
Turer has added homemade bagels and BBQ to his at-home cooking menu.
He uses seven outdoor cookers, one imported from Texas, for BBQ pursuits that include making pork spare ribs, tri-tip beef back ribs and brisket.
“Cooking is certainly my biggest hobby,” Turer said. “It serves a few roles for me. Some people draw, sculpt or paint. Cooking is like my art. It’s my creative outlet and it’s my way of nourishing people.”
Joyce Hanz is a native of Charleston, S.C. and is a features reporter covering the Pittsburgh region. She majored in media arts and graduated from the University of South Carolina. She can be reached at jhanz@triblive.com
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