News and Journals
Summer 2020 Newsletter
Message From the Editor, David W. Chang, MD:
I hope you and your family are doing well during this COVID-19 pandemic. This is a very difficult time for all of us. While many of us are trying to return to normal way of life as we are recovering from this pandemic, others are still suffering as the incidence of COVID-19 continue to rise depending on what part of the world we live in. Certainly, COVID-19 pandemic is still active and continue to affect all of us in the world.
As you are aware, the WSRM Executive Conuncil decided that in the best interest of our organization and for the safety of our members, to postpone the 11th congress of the WSRM to June 1st-4th, 2020 in Cancun, Mexico. I would like the thank Dr. Eric Santamaria and his organizing team who had to make adjustments and are working hard to plan wonderful scientific and social programs in beautiful Cancun, and I expect it will be the best WSRM meeting ever.
I would also like to express my special thanks to Dr. David Chiu, who will be hosting the 12th WSRM meeting in NYC, May, 2023, as originally planned, for his graciousness in supporting the postponing of the 11th WSRM meeting to 2022 due to this unique historical situation. I am certain that it will be a sensational meeting and I ask that we all show our appreciation to Dr. David Chiu and do our best to support the 12th WSRM meeting in the “Big-Apple”.
This is a very unique time in our history with unique challenges that none of us will ever forget. While these times have been difficult and challenging, I do believe that we will learn valuable lessons from these events that will make us stronger and our society better. Thank you and wish you and your family the best. Please be safe.
Sincerely,
David W. Chang
WSRM President, 2019-2021
Winter 2019 Newsletter
Message From the Editor, David W. Chang, MD:
It is my great honor to serve as the next President of WSRM for 2019-2021. I would like to congratulate and thank Dr. Isao Koshima for his leadership and vision over the past 2 years as the President of WSRM. It has been 20 years since the WSRM was created by the merging of two international societies, the IMS and ISRM, in 1999. The first Congress was in 2001 in Taipei with Dr. Victor Meyer as the President and Dr. Fu-Chan Wei as the Chairman of the congress. WSRM has grown tremendously over the past 20 years, thanks to hard work and leadership of previous leaders and our members.
We once again had a very successfully meeting in Bologna, Italy from June 12-15, 2019 with over 1600 participants from 65 Countries attending the meeting. I would like to congratulate and thank Congress Chairman Dr. Georgio DeSantis and Scientic Program Chair Dr. Marco Innocenti for endless hardwork and leadership for organizing a very successful meeting.
The future of our organization and our field depends on our younger generation of reconstructive surgeons. We need to create opportunities for leadership experience and to help develop young members into future leaders of the organization. It is important for us to continue to collaborate with regional and local organizations and to look for new opportunities for our members to advance the art and science of microsurgery and complex reconstruction. It is critical to WSRM’s mission to continue to support education programs such as Research Grants, Travel Grants, and the Visiting Professor Programs. To provide these great opportunities we need strong support from our members.
I look forward to working with you for next 2 years to make WSRM even better than before. Please join me in congratulating Dr. Eric Santamaria and the Co-Chairs of Program Committee, Drs. Javier Lopez and Alex Cardenas for hosting and organizing our next meeting in beautiful Cancun, Mexico from June 9-12, 2021. I would encourage all members to work with them and to provide necessary support to help make this the best meeting ever.
Sincerely,
David W. Chang
WSRM President, 2019-2021
Winter 2017 Newsletter
Success of WSRM Seoul and Future of Microsurgery
Message From the Editor, Isao Koshima, M.D:
I have recently taken over the position of President of the World Society from Professor David Chuang. First of all, I sincerely bless the success of the last WSRM conference in Seoul. I am thankful to all the participants from all over the world who gathered and I am sincerely thankful for the efforts of the Korean Society of Microsurgery conducted by the local chair, my old and best friend, Prof. Myong Chul Park.
Looking at the success of this academic society in such magnificent Korea, I remember here that Professor SM Baek, the father of microsurgery in South Korea. Professor Baek learned the procedure of plastic & microsurgery at New York and returned home to Korea and was able to start modern plastic surgery, craniofacial/aesthetic surgery in Seoul. He is also the founder of the current Korean facial aesthetic surgery. In 1983, a historical paper from Korea was published in the Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive Surgery. Even now I still remember my emotion at that time. It is the world’s first paper
of thigh flap (AMT flap) which remains in history. It is well known that the ALT /AMT flap was reported first by Professor Song of China in 1984, but one year ago, Professor Baek also reported thigh flap (AMT flap).
Afterwards, as you know ALT flap got the first position to be selected as a free flap for head, neck and limb reconstruction. Another pioneer of the Korean Society of Microsurgery is Professor Wang. He succeeded the first finger replantation in Korea. Professor Emeritus Yoshikazu Ikuta of Hiroshima University Orthoplastic Surgery had a workshop on mico-technique in Seoul in the early ‘70’s, which is said to have led to Dr. Wang ‘s success. Without this pioneer’s efforts, I believe that there was no prosperity of the current Korean Society of Microsurgery. Thanks to their great predecessors.
As for the future direction of the WSRM, first of all, I believe that we stimulate the young microsurgeon and appealing the interest of microsurgery. In addition, the technology of microsurgery is popular only in developed countries, and there are many underdeveloped countries without this technology. Many patients in these countries suffer from the disease without receiving the microsurgical benefit. How to plant the latest technology in a country without microsurgery must also be a big goal.