In this "Giants in Plastic Surgery" episode of the PRS Global Open Deep Cuts Podcast, we speak with Professor Sydney Ch'ng, Professor of Surgery at the University of Sydney and one of the few surgeons fully trained in both head and neck surgery and plastic and reconstructive surgery.
Dr Ch'ng reflects on her journey from arriving in Australia as a Malaysian Chinese woman to building a distinguished surgical career across Australia, New Zealand, Asia, and the United States. She shares what it felt like adapting to a new country, how her perspective on fitting in and standing out evolved, and the mentors who shaped her path.
We discuss her route through medical school, surgical training, research, fellowships, and her transition into consultant practice, including her experience at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taiwan and MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Dr Ch'ng also offers insight into the challenges and rewards of combining cancer resection, reconstruction, and aesthetic surgery, and reflects on whether aesthetic training should play a larger role in plastic surgery programs.
Beyond surgery, she speaks candidly about mentorship, academic publishing, setting up a practice, life outside medicine, and what it means to build a career with both technical excellence and cultural identity at its center.
Your host, Dr. Vimal Gokani, is a senior Specialty Registrar in plastic surgery in London, England. Your producer & editor, Charlene Kok, is a Year 4 Medical Student in Imperial College London, England, with a keen interest in Plastic Surgery.
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