CSPS President – August Message
Dear CSPS Family,
As President, one of the privileges of the office is the opportunity to serve as the CSPS Visiting Professor. This month I had the chance to visit the UCSD residency program under the leadership of Amanda Gosman. UCSD is an incredible program with great faculty and impressive residents. The health campus is truly impressive with a new state-of-the-art hospital, UCSD Jacobs Medical Center, and other incredible resources. One unique learning resource is the Center for the Future of Surgery, where the residents and I performed autoaugmentations of the buttock and breast, a prelude to one of our lectures on post-bariatric body contouring. Later, second year independent resident Adam Hauch presented an interesting case of a massive weight loss patient who had a previous open cholecystectomy and a history of pelvic irradiation for gynecologic pathology, with plastic surgery now being asked to perform a panniculectomy to provide access for an abdominal hysterectomy for recurrent disease. The lively discussion and interaction with the residents in the lab and the classroom demonstrated inquisitive minds and a thirst for knowledge, reassuring me that the future continues to be bright for plastic surgery.
While the Visiting Professor Program is primarily utilized most commonly by our academic training programs, it is available to any other organizations our members are involved in such as local and regional societies as well as health care organizations. I will be participating in the Kaiser Permanente Annual Plastic Surgery Symposium held at the Avenue of the Arts Hotel in Costa Mesa on February 9, 2019. Topics to be covered include: Global Health and PRS, Transgender Surgery at Kaiser SCPMG, Tops Surgery and Facial Feminization for Transgender Patients, Advances in and the future of Microsurgery, Post-Bariatric Body Contouring, and Challenges of Resident Education. This meeting is open to all CSPS members and promises to be a wonderful opportunity to engage with our Kaiser colleagues. Registration is only $150. If you would like me to come out for a visit, please complete the CSPS Visiting Professor Request Form (click here) and the CSPS Executive Office will help coordinate my visit.
As part of highlighting the good things CSPS is doing, I wanted to provide an update on the CSPS Education and Research Foundation (CSPSERF), our non-profit 501(c)(3) aimed at identifying and pursuing, through directed research, education, and charitable contributions, various issues relevant to the advancement, effectiveness and safety of plastic surgery. Our initial focus has been on the charitable contributions arm, with our initial effort on providing reconstructive surgery to California’s uninsured and underinsured children, age 18 and under. Participation is open to the public and there is no fee for participation. To date, we have received four applications for services and have provided services to one. I wanted to share his story to demonstrate the incredible impact our Society and Members are having on children in our community.
A hospitalization in the pediatric intensive care unit requiring high dose steroids and his protracted recovery was the beginning of EA’s battle with weight, maxing out at 338 pounds. At 16 years old, he had the signs of metabolic syndrome, painful joints, and he spiraled into depression. After a health scare, he committed to a diet and exercise program that resulted in him losing over 170 pounds. While he felt better about himself and his depression improved, unfortunately he had significant skin excess, a constant reminder of his former self. CSPS learned of his story through his GoFundMe page, something he set up after 2 years of insurance denials in an effort to raise the money for his surgery; and CSPS reached out to him. He met CSPSERF guidelines, was approved by the Sub-Review Committee, and was connected to CSPS member Susan Downey who performed his gynecomastia surgery. Dr. Downey donated her services and CSPSERF covered the facility and anesthesia fees.
CSPS Member, Dr. Susan Downey
His aunt writes of the dramatic change this procedure has had on his life with him walking around shirtless for the first time four months after his surgery, “He looks and feels better than he has ever felt…His confidence is at an all time high, he’s ambitious, adventurous and has become more social.”
This is CSPS positively impacting the lives of those in our communities. If you would like more information on CSPSERF or would like to make a contribution to our CSPSERF fund, please visit our website www.cspserf.org If you have a patient you believe CSPSERF might be able to help, please contact our Office at (510) 243-1662 for assistance in the application process.
Finally, it is my pleasure to be able to make two introductions to our CSPS Family. We continue with our New Member Spotlight and begin something new, introductions of leaders of CSPS.
This month’s New Member Spotlight shines on UCD plastic surgery residency alumnus David Boudreault who has a thriving private practice in Palo Alto, Illuminate Plastic Surgery, where he performs both reconstructive and aesthetic surgery. Already having contributed much to our Society as a resident, we look forward to his contributions to our Society in the future. His lovely wife Molly, a nurse practitioner, runs his practice. Together they have a bright and energetic son, Penn. To learn more about David, including his favorite movie and the funniest tattoo he has ever seen, click here to view his CSPS New Member Spotlight.
Our first Leader Spotlight highlights Winnie Tong of San Francisco and Walnut Creek Kaisers, who completed her plastic surgery residency at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and a microsurgery fellowship at MD Anderson, now serves as our Kaiser Liaison to the CSPS Council. We wholeheartedly welcome Winnie and the Kaiser plastic surgeons she represents. We also thank Winnie for creating new opportunities for our members to interact with our Kaiser colleagues, with the February 9, 2019 Kaiser Permanente Annual Plastic Surgery Symposium being one clear example. To learn more about Winnie, and why she got involved with CSPS as well as her favorite hobby, click here to visit her CSPS Member Spotlight.
Please join me in welcoming new member, David Boudreault, and new leader to our Society, Winnie Tong!
Thank you, CSPS Family, for all you do in the care of our patients and for representing our specialty well!
Continuing in your service,
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
ANNALS SUBMISSION DEADLINE EXTENDED TO AUGUST 1ST
CSPS ANNALS OF PLASTIC SURGERY SUPPLEMENT SUBMISSION – DEADLINE EXTENSION TO AUGUST 1ST
Important Submission Information: If you are submitting a manuscript for consideration for publication in the 2019 CSPS Annals of Plastic Surgery Supplement, the deadline has been extended to August 1, 2018. Click here for online submission for the Annals of Plastic Surgery. Please ensure your cover letter indicates the following:
This paper was presented at the 68th CSPS Annual Meeting in San Diego, May 17-20, 2018 and this manuscript is being submitted for consideration for the 2019 CSPS Annals Supplement.
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.