PRS Global Open Deep Cuts

In this Leveling Up episode of the PRS Global Open Deep Cuts Podcast, Dr. Ash Patel shares how emotional intelligence transforms surgery—improving patient care, teamwork, and decision-making—plus his approach to impactful academic research, balancing personal and professional goals, the power of diversity to drive innovation, surgical techniques including pectoralis and gracilis muscle flaps, career-shaping mentors, and an unexpected claim to fame outside the world of plastic surgery. Read a recent PRS Global Open article by Dr. Patel and colleagues, “Navigating the Ethical Landmines of ChatGPT: Implications of Intelligent Chatbots in Plastic Surgery Clinical Practice”: https://bit.ly/ChatGPT_Ethics_In_PS   Dr. Ash Patel is a Professor in the division of Plastic Surgery at Duke University School of Medicine, and was previously the Chief and Residency Program Director of the Division of Plastic Surgery at Albany Medical College in New York. He completed medical school at the University of Dundee in Glasgow, followed by a general surgery residency at Tufts in Massachusetts, and a plastic surgery fellowship at Vanderbilt in Tennessee. He is a section editor for the journal “Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.” He is the chair of the ASPS Annual meeting in New Orleans in 2025. Your host, Dr. Puru Nagarkar, is a board-certified plastic and hand surgeon, and Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. #PRSGlobalOpen #DeepCutsPodcast #PlasticSurgery #LevelingUp

In this Leveling Up episode of the PRS Global Open Deep Cuts Podcast, Dr. Snyder-Warwick discussed her recent transition from Wash U to Michigan and how she has handled the switch, the philosophy of time, distance and severity when dealing with nerve injuries, the changes she has made over the years in her facial reanimation and peripheral nerve surgery practices, the relatively new field of corneal neurotization, the importance of personalizing the treatment of facial paralysis to each patient, the usefulness of buccal myomucosal flaps in cleft palate repair, how she involves residents in the management of cleft patients, and where the future of nerve repair and regeneration lies.  Read a classic PRS Global Open abstract by Dr. Snyder-Warwick and her colleagues, Buccal Myomucosal Flap Repair for Velopharyngeal Dysfunction”: https://bit.ly/BuccalMyomucosalFlapAbstract  Dr. Alison Snyder-Warwick is a Professor and the Section Head for of Plastic Surgery at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She was previously an Associate professor and Residency Program director at the Washington University in St Louis. She completed medical school, a research fellowship, and a plastic surgery residency at Wash U, followed by a pediatric plastic surgery and pediatric microsurgery fellowship at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada. She has a practice focused on facial nerve reconstruction, peripheral nerve surgery, and pediatric cleft surgery. She is also a prolific researcher with a basic science lab. Dr. Snyder-Warwick is a senior oral examiner for the American board of Plastic Surgery, past chair of the Plastic Surgery Research Council, past Curriculum Committee chair for the American Council of Educators in Plastic Surgery, and Historian of the American Society for Peripheral Nerve. Your host, Dr. Puru Nagarkar, is a board-certified plastic and hand surgeon, and Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. #PRSGlobalOpen #DeepCutsPodcast #PlasticSurgery #LevelingUp

In this Leveling Up episode of the PRS Global Open Deep Cuts Podcast, Dr. Galen Perdikis discusses the growth that Vanderbilt's plastic surgery department and residency program have experienced over the last decade, the importance of specialized service lines to achieve the best patient care as well as resident education, the benefits of advanced practice providers in creating institutional memory, how he has built cross-departmental teams at Vanderbilt, what he means by “team-based capitalism” and how this approach has created a strong sense of teamwork in his faculty. He also discusses the pyramid approach to developing surgical skill and the need for active learning to climb that pyramid, the highly structured and formal approach to resident evaluation that Vanderbilt has instituted, his controversial thoughts on competency based residency certification, how to give good feedback, his thoughts on the use of meshes in breast reconstruction, how he has improved his efficiency in DIEP flaps, why he likes exoscopes for microsurgery cases, why dog ears are the bane of his existence, and what exactly a Scouser is. Read a classic PRS Global Open article by Dr. Perdikis and his colleagues, “Acellular Dermal Matrix Performance Compared with Latissimus Dorsi Myocutaneous Flap in Expander-Based Breast Reconstruction”: https://bit.ly/ADMvsLDMF_GOX  Dr. Galen Perdikis is a Professor and the G Patrick Maxwell Endowed Chair of the department of Plastic Surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and was previously the Professor and Chair of the Division of Plastic Surgery at the Mayo College of Medicine in Jacksonville Florida. He completed medical school at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. He trained in both South Africa and England, he completed a general surgery residency and research fellowship at Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha Nebraska. He finished his training with a plastic surgery fellowship at Vanderbilt, where he has now returned for the last 8 years as Chair. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the American Board of Plastic Surgery, President-Elect of the Southeastern Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons, a member of the editorial board for the Aesthetic Surgery Journal, and a previous member of the Board of Governors for ASPS PlastyPAC. He is a visiting professor for ASPS this year. Your host, Dr. Puru Nagarkar, is a board-certified plastic and hand surgeon, and Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. #PRSGlobalOpen #DeepCutsPodcast #PlasticSurgery #LevelingUp

In this Leveling Up episode of the PRS Global Open Deep Cuts Podcast, Dr. James Chang discusses his path into hand surgery, his approach to various common hand conditions, his version of awake hand surgery, how he helps his residents develop confidence and competence, the importance of building rapport with patients, the change in his career path over time, his involvement in global health, and the influences of his mentors. Read a classic PRS Global Open article by Dr. Chang and his colleagues, “Modeling the Lifetime Impact of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery Training: Implications for Building Capacity in Global Surgery”: https://bit.ly/BldgGlobalCapacity_GOX  Dr. James Chang is the Chief of the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Stanford University. He graduated from Yale medical school, and then completed a residency in plastic surgery at Stanford, followed by a hand fellowship at UCLA in Los Angeles. He is the past editor in chief of the yearbook of hand surgery, and an associate editor at multiple journals, including Hand, Microsurgery, the Journal of Hand Surgery, and the Annals of Plastic Surgery. He was the Royal College of Surgeons Foundation traveling fellow, and the 2006 Sterling Bunnell traveling fellow. He has been deeply involved at the American Society for Surgery of the hand, taking on the roles of research director, treasurer, and president. He has also been the vice chair of the Plastic surgery residency review committee, and the secretary and treasurer of the American Board of Plastic Surgery. He is also the CMO for Resurge International. Your host, Dr. Puru Nagarkar, is a board-certified plastic and hand surgeon, and Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. The views expressed by hosts and guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the official policies or positions of ASPS. #PRSGlobalOpen #DeepCutsPodcast #PlasticSurgery #LevelingUp

In this Leveling Up episode of the PRS Global Open Deep Cuts podcast, Dr. Christopher Attinger discusses how to build a successful wound center, the benefits of including psychiatry in a wound care service, the importance of removing all indurated tissues during a debridement, why placing a skin graft on granulation tissue is actually a bad idea, the benefits of bypass surgery over angioplasty, how to know when Integra has good take, his go-to local flaps for the foot and ankle and why he doesn't like reverse sural flaps. He also discusses the nuances of performing a TMA and a BKA, why he never uses deep sutures in any wound closure, how TMR has been a game changer in his practice, the rating system for medial arterial calcinosis that predicts the risk of complications, and how he has structured the service to maximize resident education. Read a classic PRS Global Open article by Dr. Attinger and his colleagues, “The Effect of Positive Postdebridement Cultures on Local Muscle Flap Reconstruction of the Lower Extremity”: https://bit.ly/DebridementFXLE  Dr. Christopher Attinger is a Professor in the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Department at Georgetown University Medical Center, and the Director of the Center for Wound Healing at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. He served two tours of duty in Vietnam, as a lieutenant in the 82nd Airborne and the 101st Airborne divisions, and was honorably discharged with a Purple Heart and Bronze Star. He received his medical degree from Yale University, and then completed a residency in general surgery and fellowship in vascular surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a plastic surgery residency and hand surgery fellowship at New York University. After completing his training, he joined the faculty at Georgetown, and has been there ever since. In 2007, Dr. Attinger started an annual limb salvage conference to bring together all the members of the limb salvage community to exchange ideas and innovations.  Your host, Dr. Puru Nagarkar, is a board-certified plastic and hand surgeon, and Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. The views expressed by hosts and guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the official policies or positions of ASPS. #PRSGlobalOpen #DeepCutsPodcast #PlasticSurgery #LevelingUp

In this Leveling Up episode of the PRS Global Open Deep Cuts podcast, Dr. Scott Hansen talks about his new role as Chair of Plastic Surgery at UCSF, his experience as a program director, and his leadership approach to resident training. He also shares insights on performing awake hand surgeries, his role as a team hand surgeon for the San Francisco Giants, and the unique considerations when treating hand injuries in professional athletes. Dr. Hansen explores the surprising differences between college women's basketball and Major League Baseball, how his practice of hand surgery has evolved, the field of spinoplastic surgery, and why he finds treating hidradenitis rewarding. He also reflects on the lessons he's learned from Drs. Steve Mathes, Neil Ford Jones, and Prosper Benhaim. Read a recent PRS Global Open article by Dr. Hansen and his colleagues, “A Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial of Early Ambulation after Groin Reconstruction with Sartorius Muscle Flaps“: https://bit.ly/WalkingAfterGroinRecon  Dr. Scott Hansen is a Professor, Chief of the Division of Plastic Surgery, and the Program Director for the Plastic Surgery Residency at the University of California San Francisco. He also serves as the Chief of Hand and Microvascular surgery and the Director of the Microsurgery fellowship. He graduated from Eastern Virginia Medical School, and then completed a Plastic Surgery residency and a post-doctoral research fellowship at UCSF followed by a Hand and Microvascular surgery fellowship at UCLA. He joined UCSF as full-time faculty, and recently became the Chief of the Division of plastic surgery there. He is the Hand and Microsurgery section editor for the Annals of Plastic Surgery. He is the team hand surgeon for the San Francisco Giants. He has remained involved in basic science research, with a focus in wound healing, hemangiomas, and limb development. Your host, Dr. Puru Nagarkar, is a board-certified plastic and hand surgeon, and Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. #PRSGlobalOpen #DeepCutsPodcast #PlasticSurgery #LevelingUp

Dr. David Song, Chief Medical Officer at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, shares insights on the pivotal role plastic surgeons play in healthcare leadership. He discusses the necessity of active listening in patient care and how excellent clinicians can inspire change. Dr. Song reveals technical details of microsurgical techniques, including the use of dual venous systems in DIEP flaps. He also reflects on how relationships in leadership can sometimes conflict with the pursuit of being right, emphasizing the value of adaptability and collaboration in medical practice.

In this engaging discussion, Dr. Mohammad Al-Qattan, a distinguished plastic surgeon and hand surgery expert, shares his inspiring journey, including his battle with multiple myeloma. He reflects on the profound influence of his mentors and the importance of remembering one's roots. The conversation delves into adjusting to life in Canada, the challenges of balancing a high-pressure career with family, and his significant contributions to the understanding of congenital hand anomalies, showcasing his resilience and commitment to the field.

Dr. Michael Bentz, a seasoned Professor of Surgery at the University of Wisconsin, shares his insights on building trust in pediatric plastic surgery. He discusses the evolution of surgical techniques and emphasizes the importance of patient communication. Dr. Bentz dives into the intricacies of providing feedback to residents and the careful selection process for residency candidates. He also explores advancements in pediatric surgery, including innovative approaches to syndactyly and post-operative care strategies, shaped by his extensive experience and mentorship roles.

Dr. A. Lee Dellon, a distinguished plastic and reconstructive surgeon and Johns Hopkins alumnus, shares his journey from medical school to groundbreaking advances in nerve repair. He discusses his pioneering research in diabetic neuropathy and the evolution of nerve surgery techniques. Dellon reflects on the influence of mentors and the importance of education in addressing nerve-related pain. He shares inspiring patient recovery stories, emphasizing compassion and collaboration in modern medicine, while encouraging new generations to pursue the field.