Dr. Merrick has been practicing medicine in the Chippewa Valley for nearly 20 years, and in mid-2023 moved into a spacious south side clinic that allows patients to enjoy a concierge-level experience in the hands of Dr. Merrick and his professional staff. A more expansive operating room at the new location allows Dr. Merrick to conduct about half of his procedures in-house, which frequently saves patients money and time.

“Our goal is to provide tried-and-true techniques and procedures for the common problems that we see in the most cost-effective way,” Merrick said.

From the time he was in high school, Merrick wanted to become a physician. After receiving his medical degree from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, Merrick completed his surgery internship, general surgery residency, and an integrated plastic surgery training program at the University of Kentucky. During that time, he grew interested in operating on hands and completed a hand-surgery fellowship at The Kleinert Institute in Louisville, Kentucky.

Dr. Merrick explained that the term “plastic surgery” is derived from the Greek word “plastikos,” which means to mold or shape. (The same root word was also applied to flexible, mass-produced goods.)

“Plastic surgery literally means the shaping and molding of tissue,” Dr. Merrick said. It’s also a flexible field of medicine: Rather than focusing on one organ, limb, or system, “We operate from the top of the head to the bottom of the foot, on 1 year olds and 100 year olds,” he said. “We have this nice mix of patients and nice mix of problems, which keeps you on your toes and in a state of constant learning.”

That learning involves a lot of reading — there are 10 different monthly or quarterly medical journals in the field — as well as attending national conferences to learn about new techniques and equipment.

In the latter category you’ll find Sciton lasers, which Dr. Merrick describes as the “best aesthetic lasers in the world.” His office has two of these lasers, and he and his staff have traveled nationwide to become experts in using them. “We’re doing things here that our Sciton representatives say, ‘Nobody in the Upper Midwest is doing this,’ ” Dr. Merrick said. “The deep resurfacing procedures that we do using those lasers are a unique thing to this practice.”

“People come in here and they feel like they’re part of our family.”

Dr. Merrick is also a regional pioneer of a relatively new technique called AdiPrep — otherwise known as adipose-derived stem cell therapy — in which components of a patient’s own abdominal fat and blood are injected into their joints, a process that can improve arthritic pain and delay the need for joint-replacement surgery.

Even though he’s a surgeon, Dr Merrick said, “I like keeping patients out of the operating room whenever possible.”

Dr. Merrick isn’t the only professional in the building: He employs three aestheticians (who can perform skincare), two nurse injectors (who can inject neurotoxins), and a laser specialist. The aesthetic side of the clinic encompasses such skin care as well as breast surgery, tummy surgery, liposuction, facelifts, and more.

Most recently, Dr. Merrick has been asked to share his expertise as medical director of Chippewa Valley Technical College’s new aesthetician program, which will entail lecturing as well as leading student visits to his clinic.

It is this wide range of knowledge, depth of experience, and personal approach that set Dr. Merrick apart in his field.

“People come in here and they feel like they’re part of our family,” he said. “All of my patients have my cellphone number. It’s this experience that they just haven’t had before.”