U of T Division of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery

08/08/2026

Scalpels & Strokes: A Q&A with Dr. John Semple

A distinguished plastic surgeon and esteemed educator, Dr. Semple is a Professor at the Department of Surgery, University of Toronto and Head of the Division of Plastic Surgery at Women’s College Hospital. In addition to clinical excellence, his career spans groundbreaking research in his capacity as Senior Scientist at Women’s College Research Institute. He also holds several teaching roles across institutions including the Institute of Medical Science at the University of Toronto, the Massachusetts General Hospital (USA), and OCAD University.

Beyond the research sphere, the operating rooms and academic halls, Dr. Semple is also an accomplished visual artist.

In this Q&A, Dr. Semple reflects on the ways his art enriches his professional life, the messages he hopes to inspire his peers and mentees with, and what it means to him when he receives recognition (including his recent appointment to the Order of Ontario).

Read the full Q&A at the link below.

https://surgery.utoronto.ca/JohnSemple-Interview

Surgeons are often celebrated for their precision, skill and unwavering commitment to patient care—but only a few surgeons embody the intersection of science and art as fully as Dr. John Semple (BSc (AAM), MD, MSc, FRCSC, FACS, HonDoc).

06/26/2026

Dear Colleagues and Friends,
We're thrilled to announce the endowed gift of $250,000 from 𝗗𝗿. 𝗞𝘆𝗹𝗲 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘇𝗲𝗹, our current Program Director. This unprecedented gift establishes the 𝗗𝗿. 𝗞𝘆𝗹𝗲 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘇𝗲𝗹 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗼𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗼.

Read more about Dr. Wanzel's dedication as an educator and altruism in giving back to the Division at link below.

U of T Department of Surgery

Dr. Wanzel's support serves as a testament to his dedication as an educator and his altruism in giving back to the Division. Notably, Dr. Wanzel is one of the

03/05/2026

We're thrilled to announce a new major gift from Dr. Walter J. Peters PhD, MD ‘72, FRCSC ’77 (Plastic Surgery) in support of the Division of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery Chair’s Fund.

Details available at the link below.

U of T Department of Surgery

Dr. Peters' support serves as a testament to the enduring commitment of our alumni to propel our division forward, enabling us to expand our educational

01/28/2026

We would like to personally invite you to this year's Toronto Breast and Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Symposium taking place April 23 - 24, 2026 at the Peter Gilgan Centre for Research and Learning.

Building on the positive feedback from last year's inaugural combined meeting, we are excited to deliver an educational experience that covers a wide breadth of plastic, reconstructive, and aesthetic surgery content.

Registration is now open with early bird pricing until February 27.

Register now 👉 https://breast-and-aesthetic.ca/

Dr. Ryan Austin and Dr. Brett Beber
Symposium Co-Chairs

U of T Department of Surgery

Sharing emergent techniques, procedures, and innovations in the field of aesthetic and reconstructive surgery.

09/09/2025

✨ Registration is OPEN for 2025! ✨

Join us on Wednesday, October 15, 2025 for an inspiring evening dedicated to education, support, and awareness around breast reconstruction.

📍 In-person at Women’s College Hospital (Toronto; doors open at 6 PM)
💻 Online via Zoom (livestream + exclusive virtual Show & Tell Lounge)

The evening will feature:
🎤 Keynote talks from experts & patients with lived experience
🤝 Exhibitors & resources
🌟 The Show & Tell Lounge, proudly sponsored by the Canadian Cancer Society

Don’t miss this opportunity to connect, learn, and share. Register now using the link below:

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/bra-day-2025-registration-1538583196759

05/23/2025

Testing our Program Director to see how well he knows all the residents’ voices! Exact words before the challenge were “if I get it wrong I still love you”” 🫶🏻

05/06/2025

🏆 𝙶𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚎 𝙳𝚊𝚢 𝙰𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚁𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚐𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟻 🏆

Dear Colleagues,
The Division of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery had an amazing display of expert Educators, Innovators, and Researchers who were recognized at the 2025 Department of Surgery events on May 2, 2025. I would like to share with you some awards and accomplishments.

𝗗𝗿. 𝗗𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗼𝗹𝘀𝗸𝘆 – Innovation in Surgery Award for a faculty within their first five years on staff whose innovative pursuits have advanced the science, techniques, processes, or delivery of surgery with an effort towards developing intellectual property and/or commercialization.

𝗗𝗿. 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗮𝘃 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮 – D.R. Wilson Award for Teaching to the surgical resident who is rated by undergraduate students as being an outstanding teacher.

𝗗𝗿. 𝗞𝘆𝗹𝗲 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘇𝗲𝗹 – Bruce Tovee Award for having made the greatest contribution to the undergraduate and postgraduate educational activities in the Department as exemplified by Dr. E. Bruce Tovee during his outstanding career.

𝗗𝗿. 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝗲 𝗢’𝗡𝗲𝗶𝗹𝗹 – Surgical Skills Centre DH Gales Outstanding Educator Award for an individual who has made exemplary, innovative contributions to teaching and learning in the Surgical Skills Centre over the past year.

𝗗𝗿. 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗤𝘂𝗼𝗻𝗴 (SSTP; Supervisor Dr. Joel Fish) – Gallie-Bateman Oral Presentation Award (3rd place): What it means to have a scar: insights from 20,000 people.

𝗗𝗿. 𝗖𝗵𝗹𝗼𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗻𝗴 (SSTP; Supervisor Dr. Heather Baltzer) – Gallie-Bateman e-Poster Award (2nd place): A dedicated trauma operating room for hand surgery reduces after hours cases without affecting wait times: a retrospective single-centre cohort study.

𝗡𝗲𝗵𝗮 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗵 (Supervisor Dr. Kathleen Armstrong) – McMurrich e-Poster Award (1st place): Management of high BMI and comorbidities in masculinizing chest surgery at an ambulatory center: no impact of BMI or ASA on complication rates.

Congratulations to many additional resident presenters/co-authors and supervisors from our Division who put on an amazing display of the breadth of plastic surgery: Drs. Emma Avery, Tega Ebeye, Darby Little, Amna Majeed, Barbara Jemec, Stephanie Mason, Ryan Paul, Jonathan Persitz, Johanna Riesel, and Toni Zhong. Many faculty also donated their time and expertise as Judges, and multiple Undergraduate Students were also involved in research projects that were presented. My sincere apologies if I have inadvertently missed recognizing anyone in the program.

Thank you to all who contributed and demonstrated that the future of Plastic Surgery at University of Toronto is bright.

𝑱𝒐𝒂𝒏 𝑬. 𝑳𝒊𝒑𝒂
Chair, Division of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery, University of Toronto
Associate Professor, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto

03/11/2025

𝗧𝗼𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁 & 𝗔𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗦𝘆𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘂𝗺 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱

April 10 – 11, 2025 | Peter Gilgan Centre for Research and Learning, Downtown Toronto

More details on the blog 👇

Sharing emergent techniques, procedures, and innovations in the field of aesthetic and reconstructive surgery.

02/06/2025

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗼𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗦𝘆𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘂𝗺 returns this spring in a reimagined, combined format 𝗔𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗹 𝟭𝟬 - 𝟭𝟭, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱.

Presented by the University of Toronto's Division of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery, this long-standing symposium offers 2 full days of programming with education streams that can be tailored to your practice.

From breast reconstruction surgery and body contouring to facial aesthetics and more, learn about the latest innovations and techniques in the field from world-renowned experts. Save with early bird registration until February 27.

Learn more and register 👉 https://breast-and-aesthetic.ca/

11/18/2024

Had a great time teaching the residents on my first preservation love . Thanks for having me!

Posted • Thank you so much Dr. Roskies for your talk on preservation rhinoplasties in this morning’s Plastic Surgery School session! The residents learned a lot from you! 👃 🤓 📚