Seattle Plastic Surgeon is heading north to British Columbia for the annual meeting of the Northwest Society of Plastic Surgeons (NWSPS). I’ll return to Seattle a little bit smarter.
I look forward to this particular medical meeting every year. I have been a member of NWSPS for over twenty years and have to say that this group of plastic surgeons is just bursting with smart, innovative, and generous surgeons. Members include full professors and department heads at major universities, solo docs practicing in the middle of Alaska and everything in between. Some of us do a wide variety of plastic surgery and some of us are highly specialized. Some of us have nurtured gourmet practices and some remain in the trenches of the inner city teaching hospitals. Once thing we all have in common is that we share a deep appreciation for this organization and the annual meeting where we all come together to share our successes, foibles, ideas and experience. I learn more from eating breakfast with these colleagues than I could learn in a whole year’s worth of medical journals.
This year I am moderating a panel of highly accomplished surgeons who will discuss topics as varied as rhinoplasty, laser technology and surgical education. And I have been chosen to be one of the judges for “The Dom”, which is the name of highly coveted award for the best presentation by a member. The name comes from the prize which is a nice chilled bottle of Dom Perignon. I won this award in 2005 for a presentation I gave on “Revisional Surgery of the Augmented Breast.” I presented my experience with difficult breast implant problems and many of the lessons I had learned in treating these patients over the years. Many of my lessons were learned the hard way and I think my honest presentation of some of my most difficult and challenging cases were appreciated by this audience.
Anyway, as of Saturday evening, I will be basking in the companionship and collegiality of some of the greatest surgeons on the planet. I’ll let you know who wins “The Dom” this year. From the looks of the program, it’s going to be a tough call.
Thanks for reading! Dr. Lisa Lynn Sowder