A pioneer in the field of nerve transplantation, Susan Mackinnon, M.D., performed the worlds first nerve transplant using nerve tissue from a cadaver donor. The procedure allows a patients own damaged peripheral nerve to grow along the donor nerve, which serves as a trellis. She is Shoenberg Professor and chief of the division of plastic surgery at Washington University School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital. In addition to her contributions to the field of nerve regeneration research, Dr. Mackinnon has also become internationally renowned for her clinical treatment of nerve injuries and peripheral nerve problems, says Timothy J. Eberlein, M.D., director of the Siteman Cancer Center and chairman of surgery at the hospital. “She is clearly the most renowned peripheral nerve surgeon in the world.”

“She was one of the first to show that it is possible to achieve nerve regeneration utilizing absorbable conduits”, explains Dr. Eberlein. Through the use of these absorbable conduits, Dr. Mackinnon was able to show that nerve regeneration occurred and there was improved specificity of neural recovery. Her pioneering work led to the use of nerve conduits for short nerve gaps.

She is one of the few plastic surgeons to be continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health. Currently, she is studying the development of tolerance to nerve allotransplants to maximize survival and minimize risk of rejection.