In this Leveling Up episode of the PRS Global Open Deep Cuts Podcast, recorded live at PSTM 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana, Dr. David Chwei-Chin Chuang discussed his career in nerve surgery, the importance of accurate diagnosis in brachial plexus reconstruction, and how he goes about documenting his evaluations and his surgeries, how he treats patients with aberrant motor reinnervation and synkinesis in the face and upper extremity, his approach to counseling patients before these complex surgeries, how to prevent burnout, and the future of nerve surgery. Dr. Chuang was joined by his nerve fellow Dr. Jing Tay, who provided insights into his experience working with Dr. Chuang, and the differences in the training models he has experienced in Taiwan and England.

Read a classic PRS Global Open article by Dr. Chuang and co-authors, "Postparalysis Facial Synkinesis Clinical Classification and Surgical Strategies": https://journals.lww.com/prsgo/fulltext/2015/03000/postparalysis_facial_synkinesis__clinical.7.aspx

Dr. Chuang is a Professor of Surgery at Wan Fang Hospital in Taipei, Taiwan. He earned his medical degree from Kaohsiung Medical College in Taiwan and completed his internship and general surgery residency at the Veterans General Hospital in Taipei. He did a plastic surgery residency under Dr. Samuel Noordhoff at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taipei, followed by extensive fellowship training with Dr. Terzis in Virginia, Dr. Narakas in Lausanne, Switzerland, Dr. Millesi in Vienna, Austria, and Dr. Kondo in Taiwan. He worked at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taipei as a Professor of Surgery until 2024, and then joined the Wan Fang Hospital.

Dr. Jing Tay is a nerve reconstruction fellow working with Professor David Chuang at Wan Fang Hospital. He trained in plastic surgery in Oxford, England, and holds a PhD in Biomedical sciences and an executive MBA. He is the current Chair of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons International Residents Forum and serves as the UK's national trainee lead for the lymphedema special interest group.

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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