SAGES

Reimagining surgical care for a healthier world

SAGES Member Spotlight

SAGES Member Spotlight: Dr. Marian McDonald, General Surgeon

by

 

When Dr. Marian McDonald joined SAGES as a resident in 1995, she remembers “this new cool society doing avant garde surgeries.” Today she adds that SAGES has evolved into a “community of members always looking out for each other while putting innovation and compassionate patient care first.”

Over the years as an active member, Dr. McDonald has increased her own sense of community by  attending SAGES annual meetings, where she also oversees SAGES humanitarian efforts. She has been active on many SAGES committees, most recently serving on Education Council, Ethics, Global and Safe Chole. She worked closely with Dr. Michael Brunt and Dr. Daniel Deziel on the Bile Duct Injury Consensus Conference and the BDI Consensus Paper published in Surgical Endoscopy and Annals of Surgery.

Along with Dr. Brunt, who Dr. McDonald says “really allowed me to blossom at SAGES,” she counts her SAGES mentors as former SAGES president Dr. Jo Buyske, who was her fellow while she was a resident at Boston’s Lahey Clinic, and Drs. Vic Velanovich and Tonia Young-Fadok.

A graduate of the Penn State College of Medicine, Dr. McDonald has been a general surgeon with the St. Luke’s University Health Network for more than 20 years and is a clinical professor (adjunct) at the Temple/St. Luke’s School of Medicine. In addition to her work with SAGES, Dr. McDonald is passionate about actively living the SAGES mission to innovate, educate and collaborate to improve patient care. Throughout her career, she’s participated in many medical projects and traveled extensively to other countries, including Africa, Haiti and Peru, sharing her surgical expertise and knowledge as a way to help resource poor countries.

For Dr. McDonald, it’s all about “science, innovation and technology for the greater good of our patients. Being a SAGES member always motivates me to keep going and stay current so I can be the best surgeon possible.”

 

SAGES Member Spotlight: Dr. Melissa Chang, Colon and Rectal Surgeon

by

 

Dr. Melissa Chang calls SAGES membership a way of staying connected to her “extended family.” Dr. Chang initially joined SAGES as a Mount Sinai Hospital resident and Candidate member in 2017, later upgrading to Active membership as a way to stay connected to her many professional mentors at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, among them Drs. Pat Sylla, Brian Jacob and Dan Popowich.

As a member of SAGES Colorectal Facebook group, California native Dr. Chang co-moderated a webinar, “Colorectal Cancer Care Delivery in the Era of COVID-19” in April 2020. She says, “Being part of this group provides a great resource to present findings and share expertise, allowing participants to engage and respond in real time.”

Dr. Chang attends and is actively involved in every SAGES meeting, co-chairing a millennial session at the SAGES 2019 meeting in Seattle that explored work life balance and surgical coaching for younger surgeons and chairing a session highlighting complex Facebook cases from the Facebook Masters Collaborations at the virtual 2020 meeting. She has her fingers crossed for an in person 2021 because they are “super fun,” and provide a sense of community that’s lost with pre-recorded sessions. She was happy to participate in the Peloton Happy Hour organized by Dr. Laura Doyon at the virtual 2020 meeting with the hashtag #SAGES2020.

A graduate of Tufts Medical School, Dr. Chang completed her fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and residency at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.

SAGES Member Spotlight: Dr. Mark Alan Dobbertien, DO FACS retired Naval surgeon

by

SAGES has been a big part of my professional and personal life since I began residency at the University of Illinois Metropolitan Group Hospitals Residency in General Surgery in Chicago in 1987. My professors believed strongly that endoscopy is best performed by surgeons and that skill should be part and parcel of any full scope general surgery residency. In addition, the first cases of laparoscopic cholecystectomy occurred during those years from 1987-19292. SAGES was the beacon of excellence and safety during that time and continues to lead all organizations with content on endoscopy and MIS surgery, and in safety, best practices, research and education. I have had the great opportunity to present my work and videos at SAGES and currently serve as a member of the Advocacy Committee. SAGES is an extension of my surgical family, and I try never to miss the chance to connect with my SAGES family.

Dr. Mark Alan Dobbertien DO, FACS received his undergraduate education at the University of Notre Dame, and graduated top of his class at the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine. He trained in General Surgery at the University of Illinois Metropolitan Group Hospitals in Chicago, and completed his Fellowship in minimally invasive surgery at the University of Florida in Jacksonville. Dr. Dobbertien recently completed 22 years of service to the United States Navy Medical Corps., retiring in 2019.

Dr. Dobbertien serves on the ACS Board of Governors Executive Committee, is President of the Alumni Senate at Midwestern University, President-Elect of the Duval County Medical Society and Secretary of the Florida Chapter of the American College of Surgeons.