Dr. Samuel J. Stegman was born in Peru, Indiana, on March 10, 1939.  He graduated from Butler University, Indianapolis in 1961 and received his medical degree from Indiana University in 1965.  After completing an internship at Denver General Hospital, he served in the Marine Corps, Third Marine Division in Southeast Asia as a medical officer from 1966 to 1968, honorably discharged with the rank of Lieutenant Commander.  He received clinical residency training and post graduate research training at Dermatology department, University of California, San Francisco.  Dr. Stegman entered private practice in 1973 and was certified by the American Board of Dermatology in 1974.  While he kept active practice in San Francisco and Burlingame, CA.  He taught at the University of California, San Francisco, as Associate Clinical Professor of Dermatology. 

Dr. Stegman devoted his efforts to help establish and lead the emerging sub-specialty of dermatologic surgery.  He contributed to the knowledge of the specialty by his clinical research in many areas, including the introduction of the fresh tissue modification of Mohs technique for recurrent skin cancers, now used widely by several hundred specialists in skin cancer across the country.  He completed classic studies of the skin of the aging face, the development of facial lines and wrinkles, the discovery of sleep creases, and the use of injectable collagen for skin defects. 

He co-authored with colleagues four books which are considered to be authoritative texts that define and encompass the subspecialty of dermatologic surgery.  He was a well known and accomplished speaker and directed workshops to educate practicing dermatologists in cities throughout the United States, Europe, and Australia.  He appeared on national television as a spokesperson for dermatology on many occasions.

In 1981 to 1983, Dr. Stegman served as President of the American College of Mohs Micrographic Surgery and Cutaneous Oncology, a specialty organization concerned with the surgical treatment of skin cancer. In 1986, he was elected President of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, an organization dedicated to teaching and promotion of dermatologic surgery.