“You Have Sown the Seed and Only Time Will Tell”: Dr Jerome P. Webster's Contribution to the Development of Plastic Surgery in China Through His 1948 Course in Shanghai

In 1948, Dr Jerome P. Webster-"father of plastic surgery education" and founding member of the American Board of Plastic Surgery-taught plastic surgery to 13 Chinese surgeons through the American Bureau for Medical Aid to China (ABMAC). Founded in 1937, the ABMAC worked with the Chinese government to transfer medical knowledge and supplies from the United States. The founding of the ABMAC in 1937 coincided with the second Sino-Japanese War and increased American aid to China following Pearl Harbor. Webster's course featured lectures on wound healing, surgical management of burns, and defects of the face. Reading assignments included techniques such as neck-tubed pedicles and Webster's own articles on war wounds of lips and cheeks and ear deformities. After 4 weeks of lectures, dog surgeries, and cadaver dissections, Webster and students operated at 2 Shanghai hospitals, including the National Defense Medical Center Hospital where they treated combat-injured soldiers. In correspondence, one student wrote that he later "carried out a number of rather minor operations using the technique and methods" taught by Webster, viewing his Shanghai experience as an incentive to study plastic surgery. Many of Webster's students proceeded to found plastic surgery departments in their corresponding hospitals, establishing a lasting legacy of this educational exchange. Through a review of the Jerome P. Webster Papers available at Columbia University including lecture materials and correspondence, this article examines Webster's contributions to plastic surgery education in China and its impact on Sino-American medical exchange. It ultimately highlights a lesser-known aspect of the history of plastic surgery, as well as Webster's role in shaping plastic surgery in China.