Annual Resident Research Day Another Successs!

2015 Resident Research Day at King's College

On Friday, May 15th, 2015, the Division of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery held its annual Resident Research Day at King's University College with Dr. Carolyn Levis from McMaster University as Visiting Professor and keynote speaker. Dr. Levis is on active staff with St. Joseph's Hospital in Hamilton, Ontario and is Head of Service of Plastic Surgery. Her areas of sub-specialization include hand, wrist, peripheral nerve surgery and reconstructive microsurgery. She has been a Royal College Examiner in Plastic Surgery and serves as Chair of the Examination Committee. We were pleased to welcome Dr. Levis back to London as she completed medical school and residency at the University of Western Ontario. Her talks entitled "Is Our Specialty At Risk?" and "Volunteerism in Plastic Surgery" were well received by the residents, faculty, alumni and various other attendees. Alumnus presenter Dr. Graham Heaton gave a talk on "Welsh Centre for Plastic Surgery: Returning to my roots while putting down new ones," after which the residents presented their research.

Research Day is always the highlight of our academic year as our residents present their academic pursuits. The Dr. Robert McFarlane Resident Research Award, a Prize endowed by the graduates of the Western University Plastic Surgery Teaching program in recognition of Dr. McFarlane who was the founder of the Division and a world-renowned hand surgeon, is awarded to the resident with the best overall research presentation. Dr. Kristina Lutz was the recipient this year for her paper on "Volume retention of fat grafting of the head and neck using 3D photography analysis." Dr. Jacqueline Piggott  was awarded "Best Presentation" for her talk entitled "Computed Tomography imaging in ulnar metacarpal base fractures improves fracture analysis and significantly affects clinical decision making." Our residents have gone on to present their research at many national and international forums and have been prize winners at these venues as well. The Waldo Stavraky Award for Best Clinical Teacher was awarded by the residents this year to Dr. Douglas Ross.

The residents spent some recreational time with the Visiting Professor the day before the presentations and took Dr. Levis zip-lining through the treetops at Boler Mountain. Despite some complaints of sore muscles the next day, everyone had a good time.