CHICAGO – Want to learn more about liposuction in Indonesia? Want to teach your cryosurgery technique to dermatologists in Greece? Want to help physicians in the Philippines perform fat transfer?

You can. Dermatologic surgeons in the United States now have more opportunities to travel, teach, and learn surgical techniques from colleagues in other countries, thanks to a unique collaboration that expands the International Mentorship Program and the International Preceptorship Program.

Earlier this year, Dr. Lawrence M. Field, traveling chair of the International Society for Dermatologic Surgery (ISDS) International Mentorship Program, donated $100,000 to the American Society for Dermatologic Surgeons (ASDS) to establish the Lawrence M. Field MD International Dermatologic Surgery Educational Exchange Fund.

"Dr. Field's donation will allow us to have two preceptorships, a fellowship here in the U.S. and [another] for what Dr. Field has been doing sending fellows to other countries," Dr. Jeffrey S. Dover, ASDS president, said at their annual meeting where the collaboration was announced.

Dr. Field is a "dermatologic surgeon, teacher, and benefactor. He has taught mostly hands-on in more than 60 countries," added ISDS president Dr. Gary J. Brauner.

The ISDS has run the mentorship program since 1986. Additional staffing and other resources provided by the ASDS will significantly expand its reach, said Dr. Field, who is in private practice in San Luis Obispo, Calif.

Photo courtesy Dr. Lawrence M. Field A patient in the Philippines shown before surgery.

According to Dr. Field, the program has about 70 mentors from 19 nations.* The program continues to expand and is actively seeking host institutions around the world to work with the faculty. The ASDS/ISDS program is for established dermatologic surgeons and not residents.

Special language skills are a plus but not mandatory, Dr. Field said. In addition, there are no ethnic, cultural, religious or any other exclusions, only mutual acceptability is required.

The ASDS/ISDS program pays the airfare. All mentors, including Dr. Field, offer their expertise free of charge. "Pick me up at the airport; take me to a reasonably nice place; provide me with food, clothing, and shelter; licensure; and surgical scrubs," Dr. Field said, describing his requests to a host institution when he travels. In exchange, "I will give you everything I can ... from me to you, for nothing. Then take me back to the airport, I'll go home, and I'll remember these things forever."

A week commitment is the minimum, Dr. Field said. "You gain knowledge, experience, enjoyment, and the respect of your peers."

Photo courtesy Dr. Lawrence M. Field The same patient is shown undergoing surgery.

In his nearly 25 years as a traveling mentor, Dr. Field has taught and learned about scar revision in the Philippines, cryosurgery in Heraklion, Greece, and fat transfer in Saudi Arabia.**  As a consultant to the DermaClinic, Dr. Field shared his expertise to transfer fat from a patient's abdomen to treat her facial atrophy.

11/24/10  

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FROM THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR DERMATOLOGIC SURGERY

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