CSPS President – December Message
Dear CSPS Family,
In the midst of the busyness of the Holiday Season, I wanted to pause and say how thankful I am for all of You & all You do on behalf of our patients and our Specialty! I could not be more proud to represent you and our Society, knowing all the amazing things you, our CSPS Family, does every day educating and advocating for our patients and plastic surgery!
I also want to thank many of you for expressing concern for the many Californians affected by the 2018 California wildfires, the most destructive and deadly on record. I am also deeply touched by the desire of many you seeking ways to be of assistance. CSPS member Michael Fealy, another family of Thousand Oaks, is among those who lost their homes in the fires. Members Heather Furnas & Paco Canales lost their home to in the Tubbs Fire October 2017 and shares her inspiring story of strength and resilience in her PRS November editorial – click here to read article. She personally shared with me gift cards were much appreciated, as they were rebuilding after the fire. If you would like to help those affected by these fires, please click on the links below to donate:
Red Cross
Finally, I want to make sure you are all up-to-date as to the many ongoing activities of our Society and Members as well as introduce another New Leader and spotlight a New Member!
ABPS Board Certification Process
We all understand the importance of Board Certification, thus I was especially pleased to see 11 CSPS members in Phoenix as Oral Board Examiners November 8-10, 2018. Amongst our CSPS contingent, we can pride ourselves for having the distinguished oral examiner, Mary McGrath, recognized by all as the examiner with the most years of experience as an oral examiner for ABPS. She reminisced on her experience with me, sharing how the location has moved and the exam has evolved over time, with it becoming a much more consistent and fair exam. All agree that this is one of the most important activities we are involved in as it has a direct impact on who may carry the seal of quality, “board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.”
2019 Annual Meeting Update
Our Scientific Committee, led by Co-Chairs Amanda Gosman (the CSPS is fortunate to have Amanda Gosman again as Co-Chair to the Scientific Program Committee) and Rahim Nazerali, have also been busy reviewing 143 submitted abstracts and preparing for our 69th Annual Meeting to be held in Sacramento, May 30 – June 2, 2019. Abstracts were called earlier this year to allow for accepted abstracts to be printed in our May 2019 CSPS-APS Supplement alongside select manuscripts from abstract presentations from our 2018 San Diego meeting. This new effort has been led by Rahim Nazerali, new Co-Chair for the Annals of Plastic Surgery Review Committee.
Dr. Rahim Nazerali
CSPS Members’ December Spotlights
As Rahim Nazerali, MD is a newer member, we wanted to highlight him as the Co-Chair of the Scientific Program Committee. Rahim, born and raised in Calgary, Canada, he earned a BScH in Life Sciences with a specialization in neurophysiology from Queen’s University, Kingston in Ontario, Canada. He then migrated south to the US where he earned an MHS at the John’s Hopkins School of Public Health in Health Systems Management followed by his MD in the Dartmouth/Brown Medical Program. He eventually moved west to complete his plastic surgery training at the University of California Davis and furthered his training with a microsurgery fellowship under the tutelage of Gordon Lee at Stanford University. He is now a Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery in the Division of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery at Stanford University. To learn some more personal and fun facts about Rahim, click here.
Dr. Wai-Yee Li
Finally, I want to shine this month’s New Member Spotlight on Wai-Yee Li, MD. Born and raised in London, England, she earned her BS in pathology as well as her Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery from the University of Birmingham, England. As a general surgery resident at the Royal Marsden Hospital, she became interested in breast reconstruction, and embarked on plastic surgery training at the Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead followed by a Ph.D. in wound healing and craniofacial development at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, granted by the University of Manchester. She then completed her residency in plastic surgery at University of Southern California followed by a pediatric plastic surgery fellowship at the University of British Columbia, Canada. She now practices at City of Hope National Medical Center, concentrating on post-cancer reconstruction. To learn some more personal and fun facts about Wai-Yee, click here.
With my warmest wishes to you and your families for an especially blessed holiday season,
Michael S. Wong, MD, FACS
President, California Society of Plastic Surgeons
To view past Presidential Messages, click here
To view CSPS Member Spotlights, click here
Latest CSPS News
CSPS DUES are Due
It is that time of year again and your CSPS Annual dues are currently due. If you wish to pay your dues online, click here or click on the yellow Renew Membership Dues button above. Not only can you pay your dues, but you may also make contributions to the CSPS Policital Action Committee (PAC) and CSPSERF.
You will need to log into the CSPS website in order to pay. If you have forgotten your login information, please contact us at (510) 243-1662 or
email: cspsoffice@att.net
If you wish to pay by check, you may do so by mailing it to:
CSPS Executive Office
4269 Valley View Road
El Sobrante, CA 94803
2018 – 2019 LIST OF CSPS OFFICERS & COUNCILORS
President
Michael S. Wong, MD
President-Elect
Scott W. Barttelbort, MD
Vice President
Terry J. Zimmerman, MD
Secretary
Susan Kaweski,MD
Treasurer
William Y. Hoffman, MD
Parliamentarian
Gordon K. Lee, MD
Historian
John Osborn, MD
Immediate Past President
William S. Umansky, MD
Past President
Jane S. Weston, MD
COUNCILORS
NORTH
Karen M. Yokoo, MD
Heather J. Furnas, MD
Scott L. Hansen, MD
Hani Sbitany, MD
SOUTH
Gregory R.D. Evans, MD
Amanda A. Gosman, MD
Michael E. Hill, MD
Ashkan Ghavami, MD
Dr. Bill Umansky and Dr. Michael Wong at the 2018 Annual Meeting
Thousands of California’s children are suffering from debilitating conditions that could be helped through reconstructive surgery and allow them to lead healthier, happier and more productive lives.