“For me, the motivation is to leave a legacy of knowledge and education.” – Dr. David Song
Back in high school, a vascular surgeon came and gave us a talk on blood vessels. I just saw the amazing things that I could do with sewing blood vessels. My love for it was developed in medical school, where I saw blood vessels being sewn on a very, very small level in micro-vascular surgery. That’s really what sparked my career.
It’s the immediacy of the finesse and the result that you see. It’s the technical challenge of sewing these small vessels under a microscope, and it’s also the creativity that packages everything together to allow us the freedom to expand really a limitless set of flaps only limited by our imagination.
Since the early 90s, I’ve been very privileged to see micro-vascular surgery develop into a new era of composite tissue and transplantation with hand transplants and face transplants, all with the fundamental basis of micro-vascular surgery. It’s been wonderful to see the transformation from micro-vascular surgery being a success and being celebrated to becoming a routine tool for reconstruction and fuel for the imagination of face transplants and hand transplants.
This plastic surgery textbook is really sine qua non, the knowledge of all of plastic surgery. It’s encyclopedic and it’s virtually a bible of plastic surgery. What’s exciting is that what’s been the compendium of plastic surgery is evolving into a very forward-looking text, one that’s living and breathing as we continue to edit online.
For me, the motivation is to leave a legacy of knowledge and education. As a program director of our residency program, it’s important for me to be a part of passing on that knowledge. That’s really the motivation behind this.
David H. Song, MD, MBA, FACS is an internationally recognized expert in plastic surgery with additional training in reconstructive microsurgery. He is the Cynthia Chow Professor of Surgery, Vice-Chairman of the Department of Surgery, Chief of Plastic Surgery and Residency program director at The University of Chicago Medical Center. At the age of 34, he was the youngest appointed Chief and Program Director of a major academic Plastic Surgery program in the country. He specializes in breast reconstruction, and oncoplastic surgery.
Dr. Song is well recognized for his extensive experience with perforator breast reconstruction procedures, including deep inferior epigastric perforator flap (DIEP), superior gluteal artery perforator flap (SGAP), superficial inferior epigastric artery flap (SIEA), thoracodorsal artery perforator flap (TAP) and the uses of Acellular Dermal Matrix (Alloderm) to enhance implant breast reconstruction and reconstruct abdominal wall defects. Additionally, he has pioneered several techniques for the repair and reconstruction of chest wall defects. Dr. Song’s research interests focus on outcome improvement in lumpectomy and mastectomy reconstruction. He is involved in several clinical trials exploring advancements in these procedures. For his work, he received the prestigious, Arthur G. Michel award given annually by the Breast Cancer Network of Strength (formerly Y-Me) for the clinician of the year.
In addition, Dr. Song serves on the board of Medical Aid for Children of Latin America (MACLA), an organization that provides free surgical care for children with congenital deformities in the Dominican Republic. He is also a past-president of the Illinois Society of Plastic Surgeons, and a previous board member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). Dr Song received his M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, which he utilizes for the advancement of healthcare delivery with an emphasis on breast cancer awareness, treatment and prevention. He is an editor of Plastic Surgery, 3rd Edition.
Related Authors: Peter C. Neligan, MB,FRCS(I), FRCSC, FACS; Geoffrey Gurtner, MD FACS; Richard Warren, MD; Eduardo D. Rodriguez, MD, DDS; Joseph E. Losee, MD, FACS, FAAP; James C. Grotting, MD; James Chang, MD, FACS; Allen L. Van Beek, MD, FACS
