Susan E. Mackinnon, M.D., was named president of the American Association of Plastic Surgeons at its recent annual meeting in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Mackinnon is the Sydney M. Jr. and Robert H. Shoenberg Professor of Surgery and chief of the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
The 86-year-old American Association of Plastic Surgeons, based in Beverley, Mass., aims to advance the science and art of plastic surgery through surgical education, research, scientific presentations and professional interaction. Membership is by invitation only, and each year, only 0.5 percent of the 6,400 board-certified plastic surgeons meet membership criteria.
Mackinnon was chosen to lead the association for the 2007-2008 term in recognition of her numerous professional achievements and dedication to the field. She has served in a variety of roles with the association, including president-elect, awards committee chair, vice-president and treasurer.
Mackinnon, a surgeon at Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals, is considered an international authority on nerve regeneration, nerve transfer and on the use of limited immunosuppression in transplant patients. She established her international reputation as a surgeon in 1988 by completing the first donor nerve allotransplant, a procedure that can restore function to severely injured limbs that previously were considered irreparable.
She has been named among the Best Doctors in America by Best Doctors Inc. and among America’s Top Doctors by Castle Connolly Medical Ltd. She also was the first recipient of the outstanding clinician award given by the School of Medicine’s Humanity Program.
Washington University School of Medicine’s full-time and volunteer faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals. The School of Medicine is one of the leading medical research, teaching and patient care institutions in the nation, currently ranked fourth in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.