Dr. Luis Pernia was born in Stillwater, Oklahoma, but grew up across the globe as the son of a military father. His international upbringing gave him not only a wealth of life experience, but also the ability to speak fluent Spanish, Portuguese, and Russian.
He earned his medical degree from the Central University of Caracas J.M. Vargas School of Medicine in Venezuela in 1976. He then completed a full General Surgery Residency in Birmingham, Alabama, followed by a Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship at Tulane University in New Orleans. In 1985, Dr. Pernia moved to Tuscaloosa as the area’s first fully trained plastic surgeon, where he began what would become a distinguished career spanning more than four decades.
Throughout his career, Dr. Pernia has pioneered care in Alabama. He performed the state’s first arm replant and founded the first cleft lip and cleft palate team in North Alabama. Today, he continues to serve as Director of the Children’s Rehab Services Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate Clinic in both Birmingham and Tuscaloosa, where he has treated hundreds of children with congenital anomalies.
His experience is remarkably broad, ranging from battlefield medicine around the world to complex reconstructive and cosmetic procedures. He has performed thousands of plastic surgical procedures, and has been a trusted resource for patients seeking both restorative and aesthetic improvements. In recent years, Dr. Pernia has also become one of Alabama and Mississippi’s busiest hand surgeons, with a reputation for saving countless fingers from amputation and restoring function after traumatic injuries.
Board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, Dr. Pernia is a proud member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons—an honor held by only a select number of plastic surgeons.
Grounded in faith, Dr. Pernia believes his skills are a gift from God, and he often prays with patients and families before surgery, acknowledging the ultimate healing power of the Great Physician, Jesus Christ.
Outside of medicine, Dr. Pernia and his wife cherish their large family of eight children and four grandchildren. He enjoys flying, hunting, gardening, and restoring cars—pursuits that reflect his lifelong love of hands-on work and precision.