James Richard Payne was born in Gainesville, Florida, on July 24, 1953. His father was a history professor at the University of Florida. His mother was the youngest of three children born to a Stanford-trained missionary general surgeon who devoted his entire career to the medical care of the poor Mayan Indians of Guatemala.
Dr. Payne’s family moved to Stockton in the early 1960s, where Dr. Payne attended Lincoln High School. In 1972, he entered the University of the Pacific, where he majored in English and chemistry. While in college, Dr. Payne spent a winter term working in a remote part of the Guatemalan highlands at a missionary clinic. This experience strongly influenced his decision to pursue a career in medicine.
In 1980, Dr. Payne graduated from the University of California at San Francisco Medical School, one of the top three medical schools in the country. He then spent two years training in general surgery followed by three years in Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) at the University of Arizona in Tucson. This provided in-depth exposure to the anatomy and surgery of the face and neck. Dr. Payne is Board Certified in ENT.
At the University of Louisville, Kentucky, Dr. Payne completed his residency in plastic and reconstructive surgery in 1987. He was chosen out of a class of over 50 young surgeons in multiple specialties as the recipient of the William E. Brohm Award for the Outstanding Graduating Surgical Resident.
Dr. Payne went on to complete a one-year fellowship in microsurgery in Louisville before spending six months studying with experienced cosmetic surgeons, including some nationally recognized figures. He then spent one year training in surgery of the hand and upper extremity in Oakland, California. Including medical school, his formal training in medicine and surgery lasted nearly 14 years. Dr. Payne is Board Certified in Plastic Surgery.
When Dr. Payne began his private practice in Modesto, California, in 1990, it included most areas of plastic and reconstructive surgery. Over time, his practice focused on three areas: face and neck, breast, and body contouring. For established patients Dr. Payne continues to do reconstructive breast surgery, such as breast reduction or breast reconstruction following mastectomy for breast cancer. He will usually provide other plastic surgery services of a non-cosmetic nature as a courtesy to them as well. Otherwise, however, his practice is now exclusively cosmetic in nature.
