April 26, 2002

Researchers from around the world gathered April 17 through 20 at the MGH and Harvard Medical School for the 47th annual meeting of the Plastic Surgery Research Council (PSRC). According to W. P. Andrew Lee, MD, (at right) of MGH Surgery and current chair of the PSRC, the three-day meeting offered a forum for scientific exchange and networking for physicians and researchers in the field of plastic surgery. More than 300 attendees gathered for the local program and scientific sessions in the Ether Dome, Shriners Burns Hospital, the Fairmont Copley Plaza and the Loeb House at Harvard Yard. A gala dinner also was held at the Museum of Fine Arts.

"This is a critical juncture for our specialty with increasing economic pressure and competition," says Lee. "There has never been a more important time for rediscovering the origins of plastic surgery and reinvigorating our focus on research and innovation."