A patient’s plate of chocolate chip cookies and her complimentary letter go a long way in brightening the day of TSH staff and Plastic Surgeon Dr. Sarah Wong. That’s exactly what one 18-year old patient wanted to accomplish after her first-ever overnight stay, in this case, to The Scarborough Hospital’s General campus.

“I understand a hospital is a complex place to run, very chaotic at times. But my overall impression of this hospital and Dr. Wong is excellent,” says the patient. “I appreciated Dr. Wong’s kindness. She seemed very at ease and confident. That confidence is what I was looking for in her, which instilled confidence in me.”

A recent addition to TSH’s superlative plastic surgery team, Dr. Wong was born and raised in Calgary, but did her training at McMaster University. After completing her Fellowship at MD Anderson Cancer Centre at the University of Texas, Dr. Wong chose TSH to launch her career.

“I was always interested in medicine, and when I started university, one of the researchers I worked for was a plastic surgeon,” she says. “I saw the wonderful work he did and I decided to branch out into plastics.

“Plastic Surgery has always been a changing specialty. We’re developing new techniques every day, constantly striving for the right mix of function and form.”

Dr. Wong refers to the media’s current obsession with cosmetic surgery as a “double edged sword.”

“It gives plastic surgery a high profile, but it overshadows some of the wonderful work being performed by reconstructive surgeons,” she says, adding that emerging techniques in facial transplants might help swing the pendulum towards function and away from simple aesthetics.

Being a part of a leading-edge specialty is important to Dr. Wong, who describes her experience at TSH so far as “fabulous.”

“This is a great team, and it starts from the moment a patient walks through the door,” she explains. “From the volunteers who greet them, to the secretaries who book their stay, to the nurses who prep them for surgery, and to the housekeeping staff who help them pack up and clean up, you simply don’t get that total package at many other hospitals.”