Surgery Synopsis | Spring 2022 Newsletter

Thursday, June 23, 2022

Welcome to the next edition of Surgery Synopsis. We are highlighting the area of Transplant Surgery in this issue. The early part of my career was focused on transplantation; I was recruited to UW to develop general thoracic surgery, but importantly, also to start and lead a new program in lung transplantation. My very first surgery at UW was also the beginning of the lung transplant program at UW, performed on Easter Sunday, fitting as Easter is a day that stands for renewal of life in the Christian tradition, and April is National Donate Life Month. You cannot imagine how stressful it was to have my first case as an attending also be an operation with so much at stake. Fortunately, the finishing cardiothoracic surgery fellow, only a few months junior to me in training, was an excellent surgeon, better than me, and so the case went smoothly with me as a “teaching assistant” and starting my career.

While growing the lung transplant program, I benefited from a fast education in transplant policy. Serving on the Board of Directors of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) , as well as the Thoracic Transplant Committee and Membership and Professional Standards Committee.

As the program grew, it became clear that we needed a true lung transplant leader who had more expertise than myself, and who would focus on leading the lung transplant program to its next stage of growth and development. In 1999, we were very fortunate to recruit Dr. Michael Mulligan, who became the director of the lung transplant program and now also serves as the Division Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery. MORE

Douglas E. Wood, MD, FACS, FRCSEd (ad hom)
The Henry N. Harkins Professor and Chair
Department of Surgery
University of Washington