Donald Laub
Donald R. Laub | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | January 1, 1935 Milwaukee, WI |
| Died | April 26, 2024 Redwood City, CA |
| Education | MD |
| Alma mater | Marquette University |
| Occupation | Surgeon |
| Website | https://www.forevermissed.com/don-laub-md/about] |
Donald R. Laub Sr. was an American plastic surgeon and founder of Interplast, which led multidisciplinary teams on reconstructive surgery missions to developing countries.
Education[edit]
Laub completed his undergraduate studies at Marquette University and earned an MD from the Marquette University School of Medicine in 1960. After completing his internship and surgical residency at the Yale School of Medicine, he moved to Stanford University, where he assumed an assistant professorship and co-founded a 6-year integrated plastic surgery residency program[1] as well as the Stanford Primary Care Associate Program.[2] He then served as chief of Plastic Surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine from 1968 to 1980, before entering private practice.
Accomplishments[edit]
Interplast[edit]
Laub's experience operating on Antonio, a 13-year-old boy from Mexico who was born with cleft lip, prompted him to desire to help others from similarly underprivileged backgrounds through surgery.[3] In 1969, Laub founded ReSurge International (Formally called Interplast), an organization devoted to transforming lives through the art of plastic and reconstructive surgery in under-resourced areas.[4] He became the first academic to develop and lead multidisciplinary teams on humanitarian surgical trips to developing countries, participating in 159 surgical service trips himself. Since its inception, ReSurge International has provided thousands of life-altering operations gratis, developing a network of healthcare professionals willing to devote their talent to humanitarian purposes.[5] Interplast changed its name to ReSurge International in 2011 to distinguish itself from other Interplast “chapters” founded around the world by Interplast alumni and supporters. Dozens of independent humanitarian medical organizations worldwide came about as including Interplast Germany, Interplast Turkey, Interplast Holland, Interplast Italy, Interplast Florida, Interplast West Virginia, Interplast Australia, OneHeart World-Wide, and IVUMed. In their unique ways, they all carry Laub’s vision of healing the world through plastic surgery.[6]
Gender Affirmation Surgery[edit]
Laub made one of the first academic investigations into the efficacy of treating gender dysphoria with surgery.[7][8] He pioneered the rectosigmoid vaginoplasty.[9] He also invented the metoidioplasty and the post-modern phalloplasty.[10][11] These innovations elevated phalloplasty by allowing constructed male structures to naturally urinate and engage in sexual intercourse. From 1981 to 1983, he served as the second President of the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association, now known as the World Professional Association for Transgender Health. Over the course of his career as a plastic surgeon working in collaboration with Stanford and other organizations, he managed around 2,000 transgender patients, delivering his new innovations to those in need of them.[12]
Other Contributions[edit]
Laub’s further professional achievements include developing Q switched ruby laser tattoo removal[13] and the use of medical chemicals to reduce risk of skin cancer while improving cosmetic appearance.[14]
Later life[edit]
In 2000, Laub was diagnosed with aggressive intravascular CNS large B cell lymphoma, which led to his retirement from active medical practice. However, his struggle with lymphoma led him to research and teach healthful living and international service.
He and James B. Johnson developed the "alternate day calorie restriction diet," which they published in the controversial and non-peer reviewed journal Medical Hypotheses.[15] The diet prescribes a program for weight loss and longevity based on SIRT1 gene activation.[16] While calorie restriction in various forms has shown promise in clinical trials, evidence does not support long-term effects of this diet.[17]
Laub later became an Adjunct Clinical Professor at Stanford and focused on mentoring undergraduate and medical students and conveying the value of students in the field of international health. He was involved in teaching several courses at Stanford University, including: "Principles and Practice of International Humanitarian Medicine."
He maintained a blog: Many People, Many Passports, which detailed aspects of his career, as well as articles on other people with whom he worked. His autobiography: Second Lives, Second Chances: A Surgeon’s Stories of Transformation was published in 2019. [18]
He resided in Redwood City, California, where he died on April 26, 2024.
References[edit]
- ^ "More Information About the Program - Residency Program - Education - Plastic Surgery". Stanford University School of Medicine. Archived from the original on 3 June 2011. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
- ^ "Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies: Program history".
- ^ "Resurge: Our history, Antonio's story".
- ^ Laub, DR (Jan–Feb 1969). "U.S. surgical team in Mexico". Rehabil Rec. 10 (1): 5–8. PMID 5797209.
- ^ Laub, DR (Aug 1981). "Humanitarianism in plastic surgery". Ann Plast Surg. 7 (2): 99–101. doi:10.1097/00000637-198108000-00004. PMID 7294667.
- ^ Samuels, SI; Wyner J; Brodsky JB; Laub DR (Dec 14, 1984). "Interplast: a successful model for anesthesia and plastic surgery in developing countries". JAMA. 252 (22): 3152–3155. doi:10.1001/jama.252.22.3152. PMID 6502884.
- ^ Laub, DR; Ascough B (Nov 1970). "Transsexual surgery". Calif Med. 113 (5): 68. PMC 1501793. PMID 18730433.
- ^ Laub, DR; Fisk N (Apr 1974). "A rehabilitation program for gender dysphoria syndrome by surgical sex change". Plast Reconstr Surg. 53 (4): 388–403. doi:10.1097/00006534-197404000-00003. PMID 4592953. S2CID 42739374.
- ^ Laub, DR; Laub Jr DR; Biber S (Jul 1988). "Vaginoplasty for gender confirmation". Clin Plast Surg. 15 (3): 463–470. doi:10.1016/S0094-1298(20)31424-3. PMID 3292115.
- ^ Noe, JM; Sato R; Coleman C; Laub DR. (1978). "Construction of male genitalia: the Stanford experience". Arch Sex Behav. 7 (4): 297–303. doi:10.1007/BF01542038. PMID 567967. S2CID 38401247.
- ^ Noe, JM; Birdsell D; Laub DR (May 1974). "The surgical construction of male genitalia for the female-to-male transsexual". Plast Reconstr Surg. 53 (5): 511–516. doi:10.1097/00006534-197405000-00001. PMID 4856599. S2CID 24989461.
- ^ "History - WPATH World Professional Association for Transgender Health".
- ^ Apfelberg, DB; Laub DR; Maser MR; Lash H (Nov 1988). "Pathophysiology and treatment of decorative tattoos with reference to argon laser treatment". Clin Plast Surg. 7 (3): 369–377. doi:10.1016/S0094-1298(20)30525-3. PMID 7438704.
- ^ Johnson, JB; Ichinose H; Obagi ZE; Laub DR (Mar 1996). "Obagi's modified trichloroacetic acid (TCA)-controlled variable-depth peel: a study of clinical signs correlating with histological findings". Ann Plast Surg. 36 (3): 225–237. doi:10.1097/00000637-199603000-00001. PMID 8659944. S2CID 44465098.
- ^ Johnson, JB; Laub DR; John S (Mar 2006). "The effect on health of alternate day calorie restriction: eating less and more than needed on alternate days prolongs life". Med Hypotheses. 67 (2): 209–211. doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2006.01.030. PMID 16529878.
- ^ Johnson, JB, with Laub DR (2008). The Alternate-Day Diet: Turn on Your "Skinny Gene," Shed the Pounds, and Live a Longer and HealthierLife. New York: Putnam Adult. ISBN 978-1-61554-425-7.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Calorie Restriction and Fasting Diets: What Do We Know?". 14 August 2018. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
- ^ Laub, DR (2019). Second Lives, Second Chances: A Surgeon’s Stories of Transformation. Toronto ON: ECW Press. ISBN 9781770414679.