Dr. Brown has a particular interest in helping people relieve their chronic pain caused by peripheral nerve injury. He has performed all types of major reconstructive operations and has found the surgical treatment of chronic pain to be the most rewarding. Dr. Brown feels the greatest satisfaction from treating pain and loves to see the changes it can make in people’s lives.

Dr. Brown’s specialties include pain following:

• Mastectomy (PMPS),
• Knee and hip replacement and foot/ankle injuries
• Shingles / Postherpetic Neuralgia (PHN)
• Hernia repair
• Low back pain (facet arthritis and cluneal nerves)
• Abdominal nerve pain (ACNES).

Dr. Brown served as the President of the American Society for Peripheral Nerve (ASPN), on the Board of Directors of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), the President of the Michigan Academy of Plastic Surgeons (MAPS), and Parliamentarian of the Plastic Surgery Research Council (PSRC).  He is an Oral Boards Examiner for the American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS).

In addition, he is an active member of several other national societies including the American Association of Plastic Surgeons (AAPS) and the American Society of Reconstructive Microsurgery (ASRM).

Dr. Brown co-authored several editions of the well-respected textbook of plastic surgery, The Michigan Manual of Plastic Surgery. He has published over 70 scientific journal articles and 10 book chapters. He has been an invited speaker and has presented his research and clinical work around the world. He has a particular interest in the education of plastic surgeons and has received multiple honors and awards for his teaching.

• State-of-the-Art Techniques in Treating Peripheral Nerve Injury. Kubiak CA, Kung TA, Brown DL, Cederna PS, Kemp SWP: Plast Reconstr Surg 141(3): 702-710, 2018. 
• Current State of the Surgical Treatment of Terminal Neuromas. Ives GC, Kung TA, Nghiem BT, Ursu DC, Brown DL, Cederna PS, Kemp SWP: Neurosurgery 83(3): 354-364, 2018.
• Principles of nerve repair and reconstruction and neuroma management. Kubiak CA, Brown DL: Grabb and Smith’s Plastic Surgery, Wolters Kluwer, 10, 87-96, 2019. 
• Dermatosensory Peripheral Nerve Interfaces: Prevention of Pain Recurrence Following Sensory Neurectomy. Hart SE, Brown DL: Hand Clin 37(3): 383-389, 2021. 
• Unmasked Neuropathic Pain After Neurectomy: A Case Series and Review of the Literature. Gomez-Rexrode AE, Kennedy SH, Brown DL: Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open.11(8): e5221, 2023. 
• Management of Neuropathic Pain with Neurectomy Combined with Dermal Sensory Regenerative Peripheral Nerve Interface (DS-RPNI). Hespe GE, Brown DL: Semin Plas Surg.19;38(1):48-52. 2024 PMID: 38495065.
• Discussion: Efficacy of Surgical Treatment of Migraine Headaches Involving the Auriculotemporal Nerve (Site V). Brown DL: Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery 143(2): 564-565, 
• Surgical Approach to Injuries of the Cervical Plexus and Its Peripheral Nerve Branches. Brown DL, Dellon AL: Plast Reconstr Surg 141(4): 1021-1025, 2018. 
• Quadrangular space syndrome associated with superficial radial sensory neuropathy. Brown DL, Chung KC: Ann Plast Surg 43(2): 207-210, 1999. 
• Acute exertional compartment syndrome of the forearm. Dhawan V, Borschel GH, Brown DL: J Trauma 64(6): 1635-1637, 2008. 
• Effective Treatment of Chronic Mastectomy Pain with Intercostal Sensory Neurectomy. Hart S, Agarwal S, Hamill JB, Brown DL: Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery 14:5: 876-80, 2022. 
• Chronic Neuropathic Knee Pain Treated with Peripheral Nerve Operations Combined with Regenerative Peripheral Nerve Interfaces. Cinotto G, Hamill JB, Cederna PS, Kemp SWP, Brown DL: Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. 
• Regenerative Peripheral Nerve Interfaces for the Treatment of Postamputation Neuroma Pain: Woo SL, Kung TA, Brown DL, Leonard JA, Kelly BM, Cederna PS: A Pilot Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open 4(12): e1038, 2016. 
• Regenerative Peripheral Nerve Interfaces for the Management of Symptomatic Hand and Digital Neuromas. Hooper RC, Cederna PS, Brown DL, Haase SC, Waljee JF, Egeland BM, Kelley BP, Kung TA: Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open 8(6): e2792, 2020.  
• Tarsal Tunnel. Lyons DA, Brown DL: Neurosurgery by Example, Peripheral Nerve Volume, Selden ed; Yang and Wilson vol ed Oxford University Press, Ny, NY, 2017. 
• Lower Extremity Contemporary Neuroma Management, Felder JM, Ko JH, Brown DL: Eberlein, Ed.; Springer, 2023. 
• Immediate and delayed nerve repair: improved muscle mass and function with leukemia inhibitory factor. Brown DL, Bennett TM, Dowsing BJ, Hayes A, Abate M, Morrison WA: J Hand Surg Am 27(6): 1048- 55, 2002.
• Neurotization of in vivo tissue engineered contractile, vascularized, 3-dimensional skeletal muscle. Dhawan V, Huang Y-C, Dow D, Birla RK, Brown DL: Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery 16 (3S): 179-80, 2005.  
• Short-term anti-CD40 ligand costimulatory blockade induces tolerance to peripheral nerve allografts, resulting in improved skeletal muscle. Brown DL, Bishop DK, Wood SY, Cederna PS: Plast Recon Surg 117(7): 2250-2258, 2006. 
• Neurotization improves contractile forces of tissue- engineered skeletal muscle. Dhawan V, Lytle IF, Dow DE, Huang YC, Brown DL: Tissue Eng. 13(11): 2813-2821, 2007.  
• Anti-CD40L monoclonal antibody treatment induces long-term, tissue-specific, immunologic hyporesponsiveness to peripheral nerve allografts. Mungara AK, Brown DL, Bishop DK, Wood SY, Cederna PS:  J Reconstr Microsurg 24(3): 189-195, 2008.