Icons in Surgery

Icons in Surgery (previously Heroes in Surgery) is a series managed by the Committee on Video-Based Education and presented at Clinical Congress. The presentations honor the lives and accomplishments of noteworthy Fellows.

Nominate Icon in Surgery

2023 Presentations

L.D. Britt, MD, MPH, DSc(Hon), FACS, FCCM, FRCSEng(Hon), MAMSE
Presented by Edward E. Cornwell III, MD, FACS

With humble beginnings in the segregated South, Dr. L.D. Britt has built a career in academic surgery that is as impactful and decorated as there is in the US. Educated at America's finest institutions and trained by true surgical giants; he has become one of Virginia's most celebrated native sons, and a recipient of an unmatched number of national citations and honors for his accomplishments in surgical care, teaching and training, pioneering in Acute Care Surgery, and his incredible leadership role through the presidency of 9 major surgical societies. This astounding record depicts the true definition of an "Icon in Surgery."
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David B. Hoyt, MD, FACS, MAMSE
Presented by Tyler G. Hughes, MD, FACS

Dr. David B. Hoyt, Trauma Surgeon, Educator, Researcher and former Executive Director of the American College of Surgeons was a product of his times. From birth in Akron, Ohio to Woodstock to the COVID crisis, Dr. Hoyt is an integral part of the surgical profession stressing quality, honor and trust.
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Heidi Nelson, MD, FACS
Presented by Eric J. Dozois, MD, FACS

Dr. Heidi Nelson left her roots on the west coast to work at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. As a gifted surgeon, a career scientist, educator, innovator and leader, Dr. Nelson has touched the lives of thousands of patients. Through her many leadership roles at the Mayo Clinic, the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons and the American College of Surgeons, she has helped to steer the future of American Surgery in a positive direction.
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Jeffrey L. Ponsky, MD, FACS
Presented by Frederick J. Brody, MD, FACS

Over the last five decades, Dr. Jeff Ponsky has been an innovator and educator in minimally invasive surgery and endoscopy. Dr. Ponsky’s contributions to the field of surgery and training will continue to impact patient care for decades.
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Previous Presentations

2022

Sir Murray F. Brennan, GNZM, MD, FACS

Presented by Daniel G. Coit, MD, FACS

Murray F. Brennan, GNZM, MD, FACS, is a world-renowned expert in tumor biology and evaluation of the proper role of surgery and other therapies in caring for patients with cancer and a Knight Grand Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit. In 2020, Dr. Brennan gave the Commission on Cancer Oncology Lecture: Medicine Meet Math.

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Alden H. Harken, MD, FACS

Presented by Lewis Wetstein, MD, FACS

Alden H. Harken, MD, FACS, is a key contributor to the field of cardiac electrophysiology, which advanced the understanding of the pathophysiology of ventricular tachycardia. Harken devised and performed the first successful treatment of “Sudden Cardiac Death” by mapping and surgically excising the intracardiac source of ventricular tachyarrhythmias.

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Steven A. Rosenberg, MD

Presented by Peter A. Prieto, MD, MPH, FACS

Steven A. Rosenberg, MD, FACS, a pioneer in the development of oncologic immunotherapy and gene therapy for patients with advanced cancer, chief of the Surgery Branch at the National Cancer Institute, and 2018 recipient of the ACS Jacobson Innovation Award.

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2019

Patricia K. Donahoe, MD, FACS, presented by Allan M. Goldstein, MD, FACS

Thomas J. Fogarty, MD, FACS, presented by Thomas M. Krummel, MD, FACS

LaSalle D. Leffall Jr., MD, FACS, presented by Edward E. Cornwell III, MD, FACS, FCCM, FWACS(Hon)

Carlos A. Pellegrini, MD, FACS, FRCSI(Hon), FRCS(Hon), FRCSEd(Hon), presented by Brant K. Oelschlager, MD, FACS

2018

John L. Cameron, MD, FACS, FRCSEng(Hon), FRCSEd(Hon), FRCSI(Hon), presented by Keith D. Lillemoe, MD, FACS

Kenneth A. Forde, MD, FACS, FASCRS, FACG, FCCS(Hon), presented by Dennis L. Fowler, MD, FACS

Anna M. Ledgerwood, MD, FACS and, Charles E. Lucas, MD, FACS , presented by Lawrence N. Diebel, MD, FACS

Donald D. Trunkey, MD, FACS, presented by Richard J. Mullins, MD, FACS

2017