Health Services: Plastic Surgeon
Health Services
Plastic Surgeon: Randolph Wong
by Dean Hayshida
Most people who are unfamiliar with something like plastic surgery can have a lot of misconceptions. Take, for example, the question of how someone got into it in the first place… Maybe a parent was a plastic surgeon, or maybe he just thought that it would be a cool profession.
Positive Influence
If someone told you that Dr. Randolph Wong's medical career began with an evening with Mr. Bufo Marinus, would you be surprised? You might. After all; Bufo Marinus (A.K.A.: the common cane toad) has been called many things from Hawai'i to Australia, including now, a positive influence.
It happened like this: during his senior year as a biology student at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, young Randy Wong, devised a lab project for his muscle physiology class. The experiment involved running an electrical current through live muscle tissue to test the effects of certain chemicals on them. Randy decided to use local bufos as his source of raw material. The lumpy amphibians were all over the place, they were cheap, and the creatures provided a good-sized clump of muscle tissue. All that was required for Randy to get what he needed were a flashlight, bag, and a ready explanation of what he was doing-should flashlights end up pointed at him.
"I was out at Mid Pac (Mid-Pacific Institute) Field in the middle of the night, collecting toads." Randolph Wong, M.D., says, laughing. "It taught me a lot about the resourcefulness of researchers."
The university was apparently impressed with that resourcefulness, because soon after, Wong graduated with highest honors. It was then that he decided to pursue a career using his biology background-and medicine called him.
Although Wong could have chosen prestigious mainland schools, he picked the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawai'i. "I liked it here," he explains. "All my friends were in Hawai'i." He graduated in 1975 and has never regretted his decision to go on to become a plastic surgeon.
Jack of all Trades
"Unlike other kinds of surgery, plastic surgery is really non-specialized." Wong says. "Neurosurgeons work on the nervous system, orthopedic surgeons work on bones and joints, cardiac surgeons work on hearts… We [plastic surgeons] team up with neurosurgeons, etc., to work on all different parts of the body." What this means for Wong is that he must have a working knowledge of those other surgical specialties and keep up on the latest developments. "This kind of medicine depends a lot on technological innovations." He enjoys the fact that the landscape and the gadgetry of his profession change constantly.
Human Canvas
When asked about how he saw himself growing up, the 1971 Punahou grad immediately says that he was "very much into art and science as a youth." The wall of Wong's operating room is decorated with a bamboo landscape scene that Wong painted years ago. Seeing the original artwork flowing across the technical utility of the room, you can get a feel for how a man, interested in art and medicine, could combine his two passions through plastic surgery.
Tale of Two Plastics
Back to misconceptions… Dr. Wong chuckles at depictions of plastic surgeons on television, ala Nip Tuck. "Only about 30 percent of what plastic surgeons do falls under the category of cosmetic surgery; the rest is reconstructive." He says. In other words, if you believe it's all about making rich people look perfect, you're less than half right.
"The simplest way to explain the difference," says Dr. Wong, "is that in cosmetic surgery, you're starting out with a look that someone was born with, and improving it. In reconstructive surgery, it's more like you're returning someone to the way they should be." About half of Dr. Wong's reconstructive surgeries involve hand, burn injuries, or cases in which a patient has undergone some kind of disfigurement from an accident. Another large percentage of cases involves microsurgical and soft tissue procedures (largely developed by plastic surgeons). Still others are pediatric patients with congenital problems like cleft palettes or conditions that affect the shape of their skulls. In short: plastic surgeons work may be centered on patients' appearances, but most of it is not about vanity.
The challenge, constant necessity for creative solutions, and the ability to combine an artistic eye with the compassion of the healer, are what inspire doctors like Randolph Wong. These are what make his job fulfilling. His practice allows him to positively affect the lives of people and help them in ways that most of us would never dream possible. When asked if there is anything he would do differently, he pauses only to smile before confidently answering: "No. I'd do the same thing over again if I could."