Plastic surgeon helps patients find their “normal” at IU Health Fishers

Written by Charlotte Stefanski, cstefanski@iuhealth.org, writer for IU Health's Metro Region

Whether it be breast cancer, skin cancer, reconstruction or cosmetic, Dr. Cristiane Ueno, MD, is approaching plastic surgery with a multidisciplinary approach at IU Health Fishers.

Dr. Cristiane Ueno, MD, joined the IU Health Fishers team this August, with a goal of expanding the plastic surgery program.

Within the last few months, she’s bonded strongly with the team, collaborating with them to provide life-changing care across several specialties.

“I want the community to know they can trust the care we're going to provide them,” she says. “We have the resources and the knowledge to care for the patients, and to care for them in a multi-disciplinary way with the most up-to-date guidelines.”

Care across the country

Before coming to IU Health Fishers, Ueno’s work has taken her all over the country.

Born and raised in Brazil, Ueno earned her medical degree and completed plastic surgery training before moving to the United States to join the wound healing research lab at the University of California, San Francisco.

She later completed general surgery and plastic surgery at the Indiana University School of Medicine, where she studied under Dr. Larry Stevens, MD, who currently serves as chief medical officer of IU Health Fishers.

She then practiced in rural Appalachia, providing general reconstruction and breast cancer care in West Virginia. Ueno then moved to the West Coast, where she practiced at Kaiser Permanente. 

“I missed education. I missed having residents and medical students around,” Ueno says. “So, we decided to try to come back to the Midwest.”

Before coming to Indiana, Ueno served as a clinical associate professor and associate program director of the Plastic Surgery Residency Program at The Ohio State University College of Medicine.

When the opportunity to come to IU Health Fishers arose in August 2025, she took it.

“I love IU Health Fishers,” she says. “They care a lot about each other. It's a very positive culture.”

A multidisciplinary approach

Ueno was inspired to go into plastic surgery because of the positive impact it can have on patients’ lives. She notes the procedures can give patients a sense of normalcy.

“Plastic surgery can be cosmetic or reconstructive. It’s what makes patients happy and what makes them feel most normal—what their idea of happiness is,” she explains.

And Ueno has done it all. As she acclimates to her new role at IU Health Fishers, she is focusing on general reconstruction, which can happen anywhere on the body.

“Maybe it's a mom that had kids and now has hanging skin and they want to feel good in a swimsuit. It might be a patient with very large breasts who is experiencing back pain and wants to be able to exercise easier,” Ueno says. “It might be a breast cancer patient who is going under anesthesia to have a mastectomy, but knows we’re going to reconstruct them for her when she wakes up from surgery.”

With the wide array of patients plastic surgery can treat, Ueno has worked alongside many of her IU Health Fishers colleagues in a multidisciplinary approach.

She’s received plenty of referrals from primary care physicians for potential skin cancer diagnoses. She’s worked closely with the hospital’s breast surgeons, Dr. Carla Fisher, MD, and Dr. JoAnna Hunter-Squires, MD.

Ueno also assisted in orthopedic joint reconstructions with Dr. Leonard Buller, MD, where she helps with providing more stable wound coverage during the procedure. She has close ties with the OB/GYN team, where she works with Dr. Michah Mathai, MD, and Dr. Karen Gallagher, MD, on more involved procedures, like mastectomies and hysterectomies, or smaller procedures, like treating women who have intense scarring after a C-section.

Her care extends beyond IU Health Fishers, with Ueno collaborating with the post-bariatric procedure patients from IU Health North, who might want their excess skin removed after weight loss. She also assists with immediate delay breast reconstruction surgeries with IU Health Ball Hospital in Muncie, where patients have a mastectomy there, and then come to IU Health Fishers for the reconstruction.

“We care about our patients—all of us. From the team members who greet them at the front door, to the surgeons like me, and the clinical team members assisting them,” she says. “Everybody wants the patients to feel taken care of, and I think everybody's pretty proud to say that they provide excellent, quality care.”

Calling IU Health Fishers home

Since joining the team in August, Ueno has not only collaborated with colleagues in patient care, but she’s gotten to know them on a personal level.

That’s what she loves about IU Health Fishers.

Coming from Ohio State, this huge hospital where you know only so many people, and then coming here, where people know each other's names, how many kids you have, if you have a pet you love, your hobbies and passions. I think that’s special,” Ueno says. “It boils down to our leadership and how they want the culture and the environment to be perceived, and that they want people to feel cared for.”

When it comes to patients, Ueno stresses that quality care is right in their backyard.

“Ultimately, we want patients to feel safe and confident that we are doing everything we can and providing the best care possible to make sure they have a good experience,” Ueno says.

Click here to learn more about IU Health's Plastic Surgery program, and here to learn more about breast cancer screenings and care.