Thomas D. Rees, MD
Thomas D. Rees, MD: A Lasting Legacy
*taken from the Winter 2024 issue of Aesthetic Society News (ASN)
Members of the aesthetic plastic surgery specialty around the world were saddened to learn of the passing of Thomas D. Rees, MD, at age 86 of liver cancer. Dr. Rees was an honored leader in the field of aesthetic plastic surgery, pioneering new techniques and advancing education at a time when aesthetic plastic surgery was not widely supported. Indeed, New York magazine once called him “one of the fathers of aesthetic surgery in New York.” ASAPS Past President Sherrell J. Aston, MD, shared, “Dr. Rees was a friend, colleague, and mentor. He was the single most important factor in the development of my career. I was fortunate to share office space with him the first 5 years in practice. He was always generous with his time, knowledge, and advice for Residents and Fellows. He was truly a giant in the development of aesthetic plastic surgery.” Dr. Rees is also remembered for bringing his knowledge and skills to East Africa and helped found the Flying Doctors Service of East Africa, a charity that provided medical care to those in need and grew to become the African Medical and Research Foundation.
Dr. Rees joined the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery in 1970 and dedicated his life to furthering the field of aesthetic surgery, becoming President of the Society in 1980. “He came in and brought credibility and authority to an organization in need of respect from organized surgery,” said Jack Fisher, MD, President of the Aesthetic Society. “This opened doors for well-trained surgeons in America to be part of the new identification with aesthetic surgery.”
Dr. Rees was honored by the Aesthetic Society with a Walter Scott Brown Award for Best Video (1982), a Distinguished Service Award (1990), the In Chul Song Award for Philanthropic Service (1996), and finally the ASERF Career Achievement Award in 2010. Daniel C. Morello, MD, FACS, another ASAPS Past President, remembers, “After I trained with Tom, we remained in contact for almost 40 years. He wrote to me that receiving the ASERF Career Achievement Award ‘was clearly the highlight of my life. It means so much to me to know that I have given a little piece of me to so many who have been friends and not just students passing through my life.’ I believe his greatest attribute was his willingness, indeed joy, in imparting his knowledge of aesthetic surgery to those who trained with him. He focused not just on surgical technique, but on decision-making as well. He not only taught us well but inspired us to teach others and to contribute to our specialty. I stood on his shoulders my entire career.”
ASAPS Past President Fritz E. Barton, Jr., MD, FACS relates, “Dr. Rees was one of the first to break the silence of the secrets of cosmetic surgery and openly teach the next generation. He was, first and foremost, a thoroughly trained physician and surgeon who maintained his commitment to the care of patients. He was a strict mentor with uncompromising standards for those who trained under him. And finally, he brought respect to the sub-specialty of aesthetic surgery. Dr. Rees was an icon and role model for all aesthetic surgeons. He left a progeny of aesthetic surgeons all over the country to help further and preserve aesthetic surgery.”
Born in Nephi and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, Dr. Rees graduated from the University of Utah with a BA in 1946, an MD in 1948, and received an honorary Doctor of Science degree in 2013. Dr. Rees trained in general and plastic surgery at the Genesee Hospital in Rochester, New York, and The New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center in New York City. Following, he received a fellowship in plastic surgery at the Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead, in Sussex, England.
Inspired by a trip to Kenya, to which he was invited by New Zealand plastic surgeon Sir Archibald McIndoe, Dr. Rees crafted a plan along with McIndoe and Dr. Michael Wood to help bring clinical and surgical care to East Africa’s most underserved regions, leading to the creation of the Flying Doctors of East Africa. As they became aware of other needs, their vision expanded to include public health programs, health education, and training. The Flying Doctors of East Africa is now the largest African-led health development organization, AMREF (African Medical and Research Foundation.) With offices in eleven countries in North America and Europe, AMREF has received numerous awards for its contributions, including the 2005 Gates Award for Global Health.
His initial trip to Kenya began what would become a life-long commitment to Africa and its people. Dr. Rees went on to serve as the Chair of the Board of the U.S. affiliate of AMREF, and almost every year Dr. Rees and his wife visited Africa, because they cared so deeply for its people. He wrote a memoir about his experiences, Daktari: A Surgeon’s Adventures with the Flying Doctors of East Africa, which is available on Amazon.com.
Dr. Rees’s philanthropic efforts are matched by his prowess and stature in the aesthetic plastic surgical field. He established his plastic and cosmetic surgery practice in New York City in 1957, at a time when there were only a handful of practicing plastic surgeons. “There was a time when cosmetic surgery was looked at as being rather frivolous,” ASAPS past president Sherrell Aston, MD, recounted to The New York Times; Dr. Rees was “one of the true giants in the specialty.” Throughout his career, Dr. Rees mentored thousands of plastic surgeons, as well as organizing and cochairing an annual Symposium on Aesthetic Plastic Surgery in New York City. Further, Dr. Rees was a clinical professor of plastic surgery at the New York University School of Medicine, Chairman Emeritus of the department of plastic surgery at MEETH, as well as a past president of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, and a former director and vice-chairman of the American Board of Plastic Surgery. He was a frequent lecturer at medical institutions, symposia, and forums all over the world, and the author of more than 140 medical articles and six medical texts, including the two-volume Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, long considered the bible for surgeons in training.
Dr. Rees retired to Santa Fe in the mid-1980s and is survived by his son, Thomas D. Rees, Jr., daughter, S. Elizabeth Rees, brother, J. Richard Rees, MD, and his nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his wife, Nan, and son, David M. Rees. His ashes will be joined with his wife’s and scattered in their beloved East Africa.
ASAPS Past President Robert Singer, MD, notes that Dr. Rees was “a great surgeon, physician, and—more importantly—a great human being who led a wonderful life. Dr. Rees was a person I genuinely admired.” The Aesthetic Society honors the many contributions Dr. Rees made on behalf of the aesthetic plastic surgery specialty and sends our condolences to his family.
