Oral surgeon Philip B. Peters dies at 82

Dr. Philip Beverley Peters was an oral surgeon, teacher and leader in oral and maxillofacial surgery in the Richmond area.

The Spotsylvania native was the first to graduate as an oral surgeon from the Medical College of Virginia, where he later became a clinical professor of the oral surgery department and coordinator and director of the private sector of the oral surgery residency program.

"For many, many years, he was the only oral surgeon in the city of Richmond," recalls Sally Irene Peters, his wife of 22 years. "He worked hard to promote his profession and make sure it was understood nationally."

Dr. Peters died Monday at age 82.

When Dr. Peters finished his residency program at MCV in 1956, oral and maxillofacial surgery -- a surgical specialty that involves the diagnosis, surgery and treatment of diseases, injuries and defects involving both the functional and aesthetic aspects of the hard and soft tissues of the oral and maxillofacial regions -- was a relatively new specialty, particularly in Richmond, said oral surgeon Charles Cuttino, one of Dr. Peters' students.

"He was the trailblazer of all the oral maxillofacial surgery in Richmond," Cuttino said. "That is his legacy, his giving to the specialty. . . . He was very passionate for it."

Dr. Peters gained the respect of the community as a person and as a professional for his contributions during a 40-year career, during which he trained more than 100 residents in the private sector, taught numerous post-graduate courses, and traveled to Guyana to teach corrective surgery of facial deformities.

In 1957, he established the oral and maxillofacial surgery section at Children's Hospital in Richmond for the treatment of skeletal malformation and cleft palates. He also co-founded the Virginia Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons.

"He performed a number of firsts in the oral surgery community in Richmond," Cuttino said. "Those include developing some techniques to perform surgeries of facial defects, teaching a number of residents that now practice across the country. He was looked on as an adviser; you could call him up anytime."

Dr. Peters also did a lot of pro bono work in the U.S. and in Third World countries, where he treated patients with tumors and deformities to their faces.

The driving force for passion to surgery was helping people, his wife said.

"He loved correcting people," she said, referring to correcting facial deformities. "He was a very giving person."

In addition to his wife, survivors include one son, Philip Barton Peters, and daughters Mary Beverley Hunton and Susan Davis Miller, all of Richmond; and six grandchildren and six stepgrandchildren.

A memorial service for Dr. Peters will be held today, Saturday, at 11 a.m. at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Richmond.

Contact Luz Lazo at (804) 649-6058 or .