Dr. Scott Hansen: Leveling Up Surgery in the Professional Athlete

03/17/25 • 58 min

In this Leveling Up episode of the PRS Global Open Deep Cuts podcast, Dr. Scott Hansen talks about his new role as Chair of Plastic Surgery at UCSF, his experience as a program director, and his leadership approach to resident training. He also shares insights on performing awake hand surgeries, his role as a team hand surgeon for the San Francisco Giants, and the unique considerations when treating hand injuries in professional athletes. Dr. Hansen explores the surprising differences between college women's basketball and Major League Baseball, how his practice of hand surgery has evolved, the field of spinoplastic surgery, and why he finds treating hidradenitis rewarding. He also reflects on the lessons he's learned from Drs. Steve Mathes, Neil Ford Jones, and Prosper Benhaim.

Read a recent PRS Global Open article by Dr. Hansen and his colleagues, “A Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial of Early Ambulation after Groin Reconstruction with Sartorius Muscle Flaps“: https://bit.ly/WalkingAfterGroinRecon

Dr. Scott Hansen is a Professor, Chief of the Division of Plastic Surgery, and the Program Director for the Plastic Surgery Residency at the University of California San Francisco. He also serves as the Chief of Hand and Microvascular surgery and the Director of the Microsurgery fellowship. He graduated from Eastern Virginia Medical School, and then completed a Plastic Surgery residency and a post-doctoral research fellowship at UCSF followed by a Hand and Microvascular surgery fellowship at UCLA. He joined UCSF as full-time faculty, and recently became the Chief of the Division of plastic surgery there. He is the Hand and Microsurgery section editor for the Annals of Plastic Surgery. He is the team hand surgeon for the San Francisco Giants. He has remained involved in basic science research, with a focus in wound healing, hemangiomas, and limb development.

Your host, Dr. Puru Nagarkar, is a board-certified plastic and hand surgeon, and Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

#PRSGlobalOpen #DeepCutsPodcast #PlasticSurgery #LevelingUp

Your host, Dr. Puru Nagarkar, is a board-certified plastic and hand surgeon, and Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

#PRSGlobalOpen #DeepCutsPodcast #PlasticSurgery #LevelingUp

Previous Episode

Dr. David Song: Leveling Up Active Listening

In this Leveling Up episode of the PRS Global Open Deep Cuts podcast, Dr. David Song discusses several key topics. He highlights the unique role that plastic surgeons can play as leaders within surgery and the broader medical system. Dr. Song emphasizes that being an excellent clinician with "street cred" is essential for effective leadership. He also talks about how to create and guide change effectively, and the importance of active listening in both surgery and patient care. Additionally, Dr. Song shares insights on preoperative and anesthetic modifications that can improve patient recovery after microsurgery. He explains why he always uses two separate venous systems in a DIEP flap and provides technical details on arterial anastomosis. He also discusses the latissimus immediate fat transfer flap for non-microsurgical autologous breast reconstruction. Finally, Dr. Song reflects on how being right and cultivating durable relationships can sometimes be at odds with each other.

Read a classic PRS Global Open article by Dr. Song and Dr. James Economides, “Latissimus Dorsi and Immediate Fat Transfer (LIFT) for Complete Autologous Breast Reconstruction:” https://bit.ly/LIFT_Breast_Recon_GOX

Dr. David Song is the Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Medical Affairs for MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, as well as a Professor and former Chairman of the Department of Plastic Surgery, and the former Chief of Surgery at Georgetown University School of Medicine. He completed residencies in general surgery and plastic surgery as well as a microsurgery fellowship at the University of Chicago, where he stayed on first as a faculty member, and then as the Chief of Plastic Surgery. He moved to Georgetown to become the Chair of Plastic Surgery in 2017, before recently moving into the role of Chief Medical Officer and VP of Medical Affairs. Among his many leadership roles in plastic surgery, he is a former President of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, former Chair of the American Board of Plastic Surgery, and current chair of the ACGME Plastic Surgery Residency Review Committee.

Your host, Dr. Puru Nagarkar, is a board-certified plastic and hand surgeon, and Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

#PRSGlobalOpen #DeepCutsPodcast #PlasticSurgery #LevelingUp

Next Episode

Dr. Christopher Attinger: Leveling Up Limb Salvage

In this Leveling Up episode of the PRS Global Open Deep Cuts podcast, Dr. Christopher Attinger discusses how to build a successful wound center, the benefits of including psychiatry in a wound care service, the importance of removing all indurated tissues during a debridement, why placing a skin graft on granulation tissue is actually a bad idea, the benefits of bypass surgery over angioplasty, how to know when Integra has good take, his go-to local flaps for the foot and ankle and why he doesn't like reverse sural flaps. He also discusses the nuances of performing a TMA and a BKA, why he never uses deep sutures in any wound closure, how TMR has been a game changer in his practice, the rating system for medial arterial calcinosis that predicts the risk of complications, and how he has structured the service to maximize resident education.

Read a classic PRS Global Open article by Dr. Attinger and his colleagues, “The Effect of Positive Postdebridement Cultures on Local Muscle Flap Reconstruction of the Lower Extremity”: https://bit.ly/DebridementFXLE

Dr. Christopher Attinger is a Professor in the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Department at Georgetown University Medical Center, and the Director of the Center for Wound Healing at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. He served two tours of duty in Vietnam, as a lieutenant in the 82nd Airborne and the 101st Airborne divisions, and was honorably discharged with a Purple Heart and Bronze Star. He received his medical degree from Yale University, and then completed a residency in general surgery and fellowship in vascular surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a plastic surgery residency and hand surgery fellowship at New York University. After completing his training, he joined the faculty at Georgetown, and has been there ever since. In 2007, Dr. Attinger started an annual limb salvage conference to bring together all the members of the limb salvage community to exchange ideas and innovations.

Your host, Dr. Puru Nagarkar, is a board-certified plastic and hand surgeon, and Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

The views expressed by hosts and guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the official policies or positions of ASPS.

#PRSGlobalOpen #DeepCutsPodcast #PlasticSurgery #LevelingUp