Harry T. Papaconstantinou, M.D. and H. David Vargas, M.D.

Abstract

For this issue of Clinics, I am very pleased to have two coeditors who represent different facets of a successful colorectal surgery practice. Dr. Harry T. Papaconstantinou is Chief of Colon and Rectal Surgery at the Scott and White Memorial Hospital and Clinic in Temple, TX. Harry was born in Oak Ridge, TN and received an M.D. degree from the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX. His general surgery training was conducted at the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, OH, and included 2 years of research at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, TX. He then performed a fellowship in colon and rectal surgery at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, MN. After his fellowship, he joined the staff at the University of Texas in Dallas. Harry recently moved to the Scott and White Clinic, in Temple, to become the Chief of Colon and Rectal Surgery. He is board certified in general and colon and rectal surgery. In his short career, Dr. Papaconstantinou has published 19 peer-reviewed articles and nine book chapters on colorectal subjects, and he is a member of multiple medical societies. Dr. Papaconstantinou maintains a very busy academic and clinical practice. He is an active researcher but still finds time to educate medical students, surgical residents, and colorectal fellows. Harry and his wife, Susan M. Pike, M.D., who is a plastic surgeon, live in Georgetown, TX. When not working, Harry enjoys traveling, gardening, cooking, wine tasting, and spending time with his wife, Susan, and dog Beau. Dr. H. David Vargas is a colon and rectal surgeon in private practice in Chesapeake, VA. Dave was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada and received an M.D. degree from the University of Virginia School of Medicine. He did an internship in family practice at Shadyside Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA, had an epiphany, and then switched to general surgery training at Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown, PA. He then completed a fellowship in colon and rectal surgery at the Ochsner Clinic in New Orleans, LA. After his fellowship, he went into practice for 2 years in Allentown and then moved to a multispecialty group in Norfolk, VA. In 2004, he joined his cousin Ray Ramirez in a new colorectal surgery group in Hampton, VA and serves as the director of the Colon and Rectal Surgery Program at Sentara Careplex Hospital in Hampton. He is board certified in general and colon and rectal surgery. David has a busy clinical practice in which laparoscopic surgery and many difficult referral patients constitute a significant portion. He teaches hand-assisted laparoscopy on a regular basis and has produced multiple contributions to our literature. He is an active member of several surgical societies and is a fellow of the college and the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons (ASCRS). He also serves on several major committees of the ASCRS. His experience in several varied practices gives him a unique perspective on many of the issues discussed in this issue of Clinics. Dave and his wife, Mercedes, and their three children, Gabriella, Luke, and Marco, live in Suffolk, VA. When not working, Dave enjoys salt water fishing, coaching his daughter in soccer, and trying to maintain a reasonable body weight while enjoying his wife's spectacular cooking. On behalf of the readers and staff of Clinics in Colon and Rectal Surgery, I thank Drs. Papaconstantinou and Vargas for serving as Guest Editors and for providing us with an interesting collection of articles on career development in colon and rectal surgery.