In this Leveling Up episode of the PRS Global Open Deep Cuts podcast, Dr. David Song discusses several key topics. He highlights the unique role that plastic surgeons can play as leaders within surgery and the broader medical system. Dr. Song emphasizes that being an excellent clinician with "street cred" is essential for effective leadership. He also talks about how to create and guide change effectively, and the importance of active listening in both surgery and patient care. Additionally, Dr. Song shares insights on preoperative and anesthetic modifications that can improve patient recovery after microsurgery. He explains why he always uses two separate venous systems in a DIEP flap and provides technical details on arterial anastomosis. He also discusses the latissimus immediate fat transfer flap for non-microsurgical autologous breast reconstruction. Finally, Dr. Song reflects on how being right and cultivating durable relationships can sometimes be at odds with each other.

Read a classic PRS Global Open article by Dr. Song and Dr. James Economides, “Latissimus Dorsi and Immediate Fat Transfer (LIFT) for Complete Autologous Breast Reconstruction:”  https://bit.ly/LIFT_Breast_Recon_GOX

Dr. David Song is the Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Medical Affairs for MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, as well as a Professor and former Chairman of the Department of Plastic Surgery, and the former Chief of Surgery at Georgetown University School of Medicine. He completed residencies in general surgery and plastic surgery as well as a microsurgery fellowship at the University of Chicago, where he stayed on first as a faculty member, and then as the Chief of Plastic Surgery. He moved to Georgetown to become the Chair of Plastic Surgery in 2017, before recently moving into the role of Chief Medical Officer and VP of Medical Affairs. Among his many leadership roles in plastic surgery, he is a former President of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, former Chair of the American Board of Plastic Surgery, and current chair of the ACGME Plastic Surgery Residency Review Committee.

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.

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