FROM THE PUBLISHER
For the current issue of World Asian Medical Journal (WAMJ), I’m excited to share our cover story about Dr. David Chang, a leading expert in the field of reconstructive surgery and a true innovator in the treatment of lymphedema. As you may already know, lymphedema is a chronic condition that results in the swelling of body parts, particularly the limbs, due to a buildup of lymphatic fluid. It’s a painful and debilitating disease he understands well and has valuable insights for our readers.
Dr. Chang’s passion for his work and dedication to improving the lives of his patients knows no bounds. During the interview, he spoke about how he managed to develop microsurgical techniques for the treatment of lymphedema despite many difficult challenges emphasizing the importance of early diagnosis and treatment, and the role of multidisciplinary care in achieving the best outcomes for patients.
We believe that this interview with Dr. Chang provides valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities in the field of reconstructive surgery and lymphedema treatment. We are proud to have had the opportunity to speak with such a knowledgeable and dedicated expert and to share his insights with our readers.
In the February issue, we focus on the bio-health industry’s new trends, including insightful POVs published by BiopharmaTrend.com, a specialized digital hub for news, articles, business intelligence and market research in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and healthcare technology industries. We’re delighted to welcome BiophamaTrend as our content partner and invite our readers to explore emerging topics and opportunities in life sciences with us.
Thank you for your continued support for World Asian Medical Journal.
DoHyun Cho, PhD
Publisher
President & CEO of W Medical Strategy Group
Chairman of New York Health Forum
FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
This month’s cover story features David Chang, MD, a reconstructive surgeon at the University of Chicago and a pioneer in lymphedema microsurgery. An immigrant to the United States at age 12, Dr. Chang decided early on that, to reach his goal of helping others, medicine was the most attractive road. In medical school, he discovered the joys of surgery, with its quite literal handson approach to “fixing things.” When during his general surgery residency, he realized that plastic surgery offered much more than purely aesthetic procedures, he found his niche, and has been enthusiastically pursuing it ever since.
Dr. Chang teaches that lymphedema afflicts far more patients than most of us realize--an estimated 250 million people worldwide. Here in the US and in many other nations in the temperate zones, the cause is often cancer, and more specifically cancer surgery, which often entails removal of lymph nodes and thus disruption of the pathways for lymphatic drainage. The technical challenges in operating on lymph vessels are enormous: these structures are both tiny (as small as 0.2 mm in diameter) and transparent, requiring microscopes to see. But mastery of these techniques paves the way for transplantation of tissue of substantially every kind, and with it the reconstruction of almost any structure.
Following surgery for lymphedema, distortions in patients’ anatomy are corrected. Although complete restoration of pre-morbid anatomy may not be possible, patients can once again wear rings, watches, normal clothing, and so forth, just as they could pre-operatively. Even more important, lymphedemaassociated inflammation, pain, and susceptibility to infection abate substantially, reducing morbidity and mortality.
If as a young boy Dr. Chang wanted to help people, he has achieved his goal.
We hope you enjoy Dr. Chang’s interview, and all our other stories in this issue.
Joseph P. McMenamin, MD, JD, FCLM
Editor in Chief
EVP of W Medical Strategy Group
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