Grant S. Hamilton III, MD, FACS, earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Industrial Design from the University of Illinois, recognized as the Outstanding Senior in the program at graduation. He then worked at Hirano Design International as the Head of Three-Dimensional Design in their Chicago office. After a few years as a practicing Industrial Designer, he applied to medical school–ultimately earning his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Illinois College of Medicine. He completed a one-year internship in general surgery at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center in Chicago, followed by a residency in Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. This was followed by a fellowship in Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Illinois College of Medicine during which he was able to begin combining his interest in art, design and craft with medicine and surgery. From 2005 to July 2011, Dr. Hamilton was on staff in the Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. While at the University of Iowa, he served as Residency Program Director, overseeing the largest Otolaryngology residency program in the country and was recognized for excellence in teaching at both the departmental and institutional levels.

Dr. Hamilton joined the staff of Mayo Clinic in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology in July 2011 as Chair, Division of Facial Plastic Surgery. Dr. Hamilton is actively involved in educating medical students, residents, and fellows in both Otolaryngology and Plastic Surgery. He was appointed interim residency program director from July 2013 to October 2013 and received Educator of the Year Award in 2015. Clinically, he practices a breadth of Facial Plastic Surgery with an emphasis on rhinoplasty–especially challenging secondary surgeries. Dr. Hamilton is frequently invited to teach outside of Mayo Clinic and has given over 240 national and international lectures.

Outside medicine, he is interested in photography and has exhibited his photographs in group and solo exhibitions in the US and Europe. His documentary about instant photography, TIME ZERO: the last year of Polaroid film, premiered in 2012 and won multiple awards on the festival circuit. It is now available on several video-on-demand platforms.