“Innovative, accepting, forward thinking. A flat organization with approachable leadership.”
Dr. Gordon Wisbach has enjoyed all of that since joining SAGES as a Candidate member in 2024 and Active member in 2006 after completing his residency at the Navy Medical Center in San Diego.
“My dominant interest in residency was MIS and SAGES was the logical surgical association to join,” says Dr. Wisbach. “Many of the staff surgeons who were my mentors in training were active SAGES members.”
He co-founded the Military committee with Dr. Rob Lim, who he met when during their respective fellowships in Boston (he at Brigham & Women’s Hospital and Dr. Lim at Beth Israel/Deaconess). He recalls walking down the street to Beth Israel Medical Center for an MIS international virtual webinar and meeting Drs. Rob Lim and Dan Jones. “We connected immediately and I was an ‘adopted’ mentee of Dan Jones and life-long professional partner/friend with Rob Lim ever since.”
“Dr. Lim and I were both active duty military and quickly made a strong friendship and partnership demonstrated by the success of the Military committee and the associated Military Surgical Symposium, as part of the annual SAGES conference.”
Dr. Wisbach, who has served on both the Education Committee and Education & Innovation Center is the inaugural chair of the Surgery in Space committee. In addition to Drs. Lim and Jones, he cites Drs. Horacio Asbun, Steve Schwaitzberg and Christopher Schlachta as mentors and “enthusiastic supporters” of his committee work.
Explaining the mission of the Surgery in Space committee, he says, “The mission is to provide a surgeon-led effort to improve the care of surgical diseases during space exploration and lessons learned to benefit the care of patients in austere environments on Earth. Our goals are: recommend innovative knowledge, skills and abilities to develop in support of Surgery in Space; provide SAGES members from different specialties a forum to discuss the benefits and challenges of performing surgery in space; develop a surgeon-led task force that engages stakeholders and establishes a leading body of knowledge in the field; and, identify surgical diseases common among long space missions and treatment strategies.”
Dr. Wisbach, whose hobbies include mountain biking, ice hockey & lacrosse, sci-fi movies and non-fiction books, says there’s no end in sight when it comes to his society contributions. “I’m a proud and fortunate long term member, and plan to continue to benefit from SAGES educational conferences, and enjoying the great friendships.”
