Past Smith Day Memorial Lecturers
Hand & Arm Center
Yawkey Building, Suite 2C
Boston, MA 02114
Read more about past Smith Day Lecturers and their contributions to the field of hand surgery.
2019 Smith Day & Jupiter International Forum Orator
Terry S. Axelrod, MD, MSc, FRCSC
Terry S. Axelrod, MD, MSc, FRCSC was born and educated in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was the recipient of the Shafran and Cameron awards for highest medicine/surgery when he graduated from the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine. He also completed both his Orthopaedic residency and MSc, at the University of Toronto.
Dr. Axelrod first completed a Trauma and Upper Extremity clinical fellowship at Sunnybrook Health Science Centre and then a clinical and research Hand surgery fellowship with Prof. Ueli Buchler at the Inselspital Bern in Switzerland.
On returning to Canada, Dr. Axelrod assumed a full time clinical appointment at Sunnybrook at the rank of Assistant Professor. He has held the position of Division Chief, Sunnybrook Orthopaedics and CME Chair, Dept of Surgery U of T. He has been the recipient of the Bruce Tovee as well as the Robert Salter post graduate resident teaching awards, Department of Surgery, as well as the Marvin Tile Distinguished award for service provided to Sunnybrook Hospital. At the undergraduate level, Dr. Axelrod has received the Peters-Boyd Academy teaching award, as well as the same award, years later for Continuing Education. Currently, Terry holds the rank of Professor of Surgery at the University of Toronto and continues with a clinical practice in Upper Extremity Trauma and Reconstruction.
Dr. Axelrod has a long affiliation with AO Trauma North America and has served as faculty, chair and co-chair at a multitude of courses across North America, Europe and Asia. To date, he is author or co-author of approximately 50 peer review publications, 16 Book chapters and several manuscripts.
He is the proud father of four now-grown children, all excelling in their respective fields, sharing this pride with their mother Heather Shapiro, his wife of 36 years. As time goes on, look for Terry either in the Muskoka cottage region of Ontario or in Palm Beach, both sites of waterskiing excellence, as work days and clinical duties lessen.
2018 Smith Day Orator
Thomas J. Fischer, MD
Thomas J. Fischer, M.D., is a native Hoosier (graduated from Butler University), earned his medical degree from the Indiana University School of Medicine and completed his Orthopaedic training at the University of Washington in Seattle. After his hand fellowship at the Indiana Hand to Shoulder Center, he requested an additional six months of microvascular surgery training at Duke University, and six months of hand education at multiple centers in Switzerland and Germany before joining us in practice.
Dr. Fischer is an avid educator, with a primary focus on skeletal fixation. Residents from the Indiana University Department of Orthopaedic Surgery rotate with Dr. Fischer for their hand surgery exposure for the last 25 years. In addition, he is an active and highly visible part of our fellowship training program. He has been Chairman of various hand and wrist AO advanced courses both in North American and Europe.
In addition to publications in scientific journals and presentations before physicians, Dr. Fischer has been recognized for his written and spoken contributions to industry, insurance companies, and community and safety organizations alike.
Currently, Dr. Fischer is the Department Chairman of Hand Surgery at St. Vincent Hospital and Health Services. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees since 2004 at Butler University. He chairs the Academic Standard Committee for the University. Dr. Fischer serves on numerous committees such as: North American Hand Education Committee starting in February of 2008; American Orthopaedic faculty member starting in April of 1990; and Hand Expert Group starting in January of 2005. He is a member of AOA, TCOA, and The Hand Forum. He has served as the Butler Team Physician for upper extremity conditions since 1987.
Dr. Fischer and his wife, Maribeth have four children who are their pride and joy. He loves spending time with them watching Butler sports, camping, hiking, fishing, and his most favorite, bike riding. Along with those activities, Dr. Fischer is an avid photographer and part-time astronomer.
He sees patients in Indianapolis and keeps a satellite office in his hometown of Terre Haute, Indiana.
2017 Smith Day Orator
Mark S. Cohen, MD
Dr. Cohen earned his BS degree with Highest Distinction and Departmental Honors at Stanford University, Stanford, CA in 1982. He continued his education at Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA where he graduated with his MD degree Magna Cum Laude with Honors in a Special Field in 1986. He then completed his surgical residency, including a one year spine clinical/research fellowship, at the University of California, San Diego from 1986-1992. This was followed by a one year hand and microvascular fellowship at the Indiana Hand to Shoulder Center.
Since 1993, Dr. Cohen has been on staff at Rush University Medical Center. He became a full professor of Orthopaedic Surgery in 2004 and has served as the Director of the Orthopaedic Hand and Elbow Section for the past 23 years. He is also the Director of Orthopaedic Education in the Department. Dr. Cohen is a team physician and consultant for the Chicago White Sox and the Chicago Bulls.
Dr. Cohen is the author of more than 121 medical articles and 56 book chapters, and he has written a textbook on Hand and Wrist injuries. In addition, he is an editor of Green's Operative Hand Surgery, the most widely read and recognized Hand and Elbow Surgery textbook in the world. He has participated in over 300 continuing education courses, serving as Course Chairman 45 times.
Dr. Cohen has won several research, teaching and achievement awards, and he is a member of 16 national and international medical societies and associations. Dr. Cohen was selected as one of Chicago's "Top Doctors" in Hand and Orthopaedic Surgery by Chicago Magazine in 1997, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016, every year the "Top Doctors" edition has been published. U.S.News & World Report rates him in the top 1% of physicians in his specialty in the nation. His clinical and research interests focus on fractures and reconstruction of the hand, wrist, and elbow with a special emphasis on minimally invasive surgery. Dr. Cohen has special training and expertise in complex elbow conditions, including elbow trauma and reconstruction.
2016 Smith Day Orator
Joseph Upton, III, MD
Dr. Joseph Upton and his twin brother were born in New York City and grew up in Northern New Jersey and Vermont. He graduated from Yale University and matriculated through the Baylor Medical School in Houston. His twin went to Williams College became an architect. Dr. Upton’s hybrid surgical training included general surgery at Yale New Haven Hospital, orthopedic surgery in the USAMC at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Augusta, Georgia during the Viet Nam conflict, plastic surgery at the St. Joseph’s Hospital in Houston, Texas and hand surgery fellowship at the Roosevelt Hospital in New York City.
This year will be his 40th year of practice in Boston within the Harvard Medical system, where he is professor of surgery. He is one of the first generation of microsurgeons and has contributed to both the pediatric and adult literature. His clinical interests include vascular anomalies, thumb reconstruction, soft tissue coverage, congenital upper limb anomalies, pediatric microsurgery, Apert syndrome, and principles of surgery. Publications include several hundred peer reviewed papers, book chapters, and three books. He is presently working on Reconstruction of the Thumb and Digits, a work authored by five senior plastic surgeons including J. William Littler. He has mentored 60 hand fellows and innumerable surgical residents during his career. Dr. Upton has always been a surgeon committed to staying in the operating room instead of the boardroom with committees and administrators.
2015 Smith Day Orator
Graham King, MD
Dr. Graham JW King received his MD degree at the University of British Columbia. After completing a rotating internship at the University of Alberta, he went to the University of Toronto to train in orthopaedic surgery. During a research year in Toronto, he became interested in orthopaedic biomechanics and soft tissue healing. After qualifying as an orthopaedic surgeon in 1989 he completed a clinical fellowship in hand and wrist surgery and a Masters of Science degree at the University of Calgary. He then travelled to the Mayo Clinic to gain further clinical experience in wrist and elbow surgery and additional research experience in upper extremity bioengineering.
In 1992 he joined the Department of Surgery at the University of Western Ontario. He established the Bioengineering Laboratory at the Hand and Upper Limb Centre at St. Joseph’s Health Centre. With his collaborators he has developed strong linkages with the Departments of Medical Biophysics and Mechanical Engineering. Over the past 20 years the laboratory has been successful in attracting extensive peer review funding including CIHR, CAS, CAN and NSERC and has numerous industry collaborations. His current research interests focus on the biomechanics of the wrist and elbow as well as computer and image guided surgery. He has received the Premier’s Research Excellence Award from the Government of Ontario and the J. Edouard Samson Research Award from the Canadian Orthopaedic Research Society. He has represented the Canadian Orthopaedic Association as a North American Travelling Fellow and an American, British and Canadian Travelling Fellow. He has also served as the president of the Canadian Orthopaedic Research Society. He is currently a Professor in the Departments of Surgery, Medical Biophysics and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Western Ontario, Chief of Surgery and Director of the Roth McFarlane Hand and Upper Limb Centre at St. Joseph’s Health Centre.
2014 Smith Day Orator
Douglas Campbell, ChM, FRCS.Ed, FRCS(Orth), FFSEM(UK)
Doug Campbell is a Consultant Hand and Wrist Surgeon in Leeds, UK. In the last decade, he has established a renowned clinical service in the areas of injury reconstruction, sports related problems, and complex conditions of the wrist and hand.
Doug has always maintained his interest in surgical education and has been a member of the AO International Faculty since 1999. He has chaired courses in Switzerland, Holland, South Africa, Dubai and at the Instructional Course of the ASSH.
He has been Visiting Orthopaedic Professor in Australia, Singapore, South Africa, Hong Kong and to the Royal Society of Medicine. He has an established and specialist Sports Medicine & Performance practice in hand & wrist problems, being a Member of the Medical Advisory Board of the European PGA Tour as well as acting as specialist medical adviser to Olympic associations, professional soccer clubs, the Scottish Rugby Union, Premiership Rugby Union clubs, international cricket sides and Gymnastics. He is also a consultant to the Northern Ballet Theatre and he regularly treats professional musicians, both classical and contemporary.
Doug's research interests are mainly clinically based, although he has been involved as a lead clinical investigator in bone mineral density work in the distal radius. He has been the Chairman of the AO Hand Expert Group since 2005, leading the design of many of today’s contemporary hand & wrist implants.
In his spare time, Doug enjoys cycling, playing golf and travelling (increasingly with his wife, Kathy, now that his children are in postgraduate education). His daughter is a Physical Therapist and his son is studying Economics at Edinburgh University.
2013 Smith Day Orator
Amit Gupta, MD
Dr. Amit Gupta grew up in New Delhi, India before attending medical school at the Maulana Azad Medical College in New Delhi. He completed his Orthopaedic Residency from the University of Delhi.
He spent the next 6 years working and training in Orthopaedic Surgery in England. This culminated in a hand surgery fellowship at the prestigious Pulvertaft Hand Center in Derby, England. He acquired his FRCS from the Royal College of Surgeons in 1983 and his M.Ch in Orthopaedics from the University of Liverpool in 1987. He followed this with further training as an AO Fellow in Hand and Microsurgery in Bern, Switzerland.
He came to Louisville, KY in 1991 as a Hand Fellow, where he trained with one of the stalwarts of Hand Surgery, Harold Kleinert. His obvious talents led to him being appointed on staff at the Christine Kleinert Institute for Hand and Micro surgery in 1992 and he stayed there until 2004. Since then he has been practicing at the University of Louisville where he is a clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery.
Dr. Gupta has made several contributions to our body of literature having authored or co-authored 45 peer reviewed papers and 5 chapters. He is the editor of The Growing Hand, a superb text on Pediatric Hand Surgery, which was awarded the “Book of the Year” prize by the British Medical Association in 2000. He has given several visiting Professorship Orations and has presented over 300 papers nationally and internationally. He is a senior faculty member of AO International. He has served on several leadership positions in both the American Society and American Association for surgery of the hand.
Dr. Gupta has an enduring passion for anatomy as evidenced by his numerous anatomical presentations and beautifully executed flaps in the operating room. When not engaged in clinical practice, teaching or anatomy, he indulges his other passion for the “tabla” (a pair of Indian Drums) and Indian classical music. He is married to Bhavna who is an Anesthesiologist and their daughter Niki is a 2nd year resident in ENT Surgery in New York City.
2012 Smith Day Orator
Leonard Gordon, MD
Leonard Gordon, MD is our 23rd annual Richard J. Smith orator. Dr. Gordon’s career has exemplified all of the teachings of Dr. Smith and a most fitting individual to give his Eponymous Lecture.
Dr. Gordon was born and raised in South Africa, receiving his medical degree from the University of the Witwatersrand Medical School in Johannesburg in 1971. Of note, an expert tennis player, he was a member of the South African Davis Cup team. Dr. Gordon split his surgical internship between Johannesburg General Hospital and the University of Connecticut. He then traveled to California where he completed both surgical and Orthopaedic training at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) in 1979, which also included a one year microsurgical Fellowship. Dr. Gordon next became a Fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital under Dr. Smith from 1980-81 and was encouraged by Dr. Smith to join the Faculty due to his exemplary surgical skills.
California was too enticing and Dr. Gordon returned to head the Hand and Microsurgical Service at UCSF until 1992 when he moved to the California Pacific Medical Center as Chief of the Hand Surgery Service. Although he remained an Associate Clinical Professor at UCSF in both the Orthopaedic and Anatomy Departments. Dr. Gordon has received numerous teaching awards and remains active in both the Orthopaedic Residency Program and Department of Anatomy at UCSF. He is an active member of numerous national and international medical and surgical societies.
Dr. Gordon has given more than 700 local, national and international presentations, authored two textbooks, published 70 peer review papers, and 16 book chapters. Currently, along with a busy hand and upper extremity practice, Dr. Gordon has devoted his interest and clinical research into the management of flexor tendon injuries.
Dr. Gordon is a devoted husband to Chandra and father of four children. Needless to say, he remains an outstanding tennis player.
2011 Smith Day Orator
James Herndon, MD
Dr. James H. Herndon is the William H. and Johanna A. Harris Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Herndon completed his undergraduate education at Loyola University of Los Angeles and medical school at UCLA. In 1965, he came to the East Coast for his surgical internship and an additional year of surgical residency at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Herndon came to Boston in 1967 and completed the combined Harvard orthopaedic residency in 1970, followed by a two-year military commitment as a major in the U.S. Army, stationed at the Valley Forge General Hospital. Dr. Herndon’s interest in hand surgery was further enhanced during this time and led to his completion of a hand surgery fellowship under J. William Littler in NYC in 1974. From 1974 until 1978, Jim went into private practice as an associate of Dr. Alfred Swanson in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
In 1978 Dr. Herndon began his leadership career in Orthopaedic Surgery coming to Brown University as Chairman of Orthopaedics. In 1988 he was named the David Silver Professor and Chairman of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh, a position he maintained until 1998, when he came back to Boston and the Harvard orthopaedic program as the Partners Healthcare Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Program Director of the Harvard Combined Orthopaedic Residency Program.
Dr. Herndon serves on the Board of Trustees of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (past Chairman) and has been President of the American Orthopaedic Association, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery and the Academic Orthopaedic Society. He was also the Chairman of the Orthopaedic Residency Review Committee and the Committee for the Certificate of Added Qualifications in Hand Surgery.
Dr. Herndon has given many named lectures and has received honorary degrees from Brown University, Harvard Medical School and Loyola-Marymount University. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons and an Honorary Member of the Brazilian Orthopaedic and Trauma Society, the Greek Orthopaedic Association, the Romanian Hand Society and the Greek Hand Society.
Dr. Herndon has been the principal investigator or co-investigator on more than 30 orthopaedic research grants and has published over 200 papers and abstracts, several books and 24 chapters. For the last several years, he has focused his writings and lectures on medical errors and patient safety. He is currently writing a book on the history of orthopaedic surgery at Harvard Medical School.