NEW STAFF
Heather Baltzer
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The Hand Program and the
Division of Plastic Surgery at
Toronto Western Hospital are
pleased to welcome Heather
Baltzer to the University of
Toronto Plastic Surgery family.
Heather’s clinical interests
are in hand, wrist and peripheral
nerve surgery.
Heather grew up in Nova
Scotia before moving to
Ontario for her training. She
completed her Master of Science in Medical Biophysics,
medical school and her Plastic Surgery residency at the
University of Toronto. Heather then spent a year at Mayo
Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota for her Hand, Wrist and
Microsurgery fellowship.
To date, she has received a number awards and honours.
Heather’s research from her year at Mayo Clinic
was recently presented as one of the top 3 papers at the
American Society for Surgery of the Hand. She received
the Group for Advancement of Microsurgery, Canada,
Fellowship Award. During her residency, she received a
Novartis Oncology Young Canadian Investigator Award
and the Canadian Society of Plastic Surgeons resident
research award for three consecutive years.
Heather’s research interests focus on health services
research with an emphasis on health economics and quality
improvement in hand surgery. Her research evaluates the
economic burden of hand and wrist trauma and conditions
and how change in models of delivery of care can impact
this for patients. Dr. Baltzer currently holds an appointment
as a Research Collaborator at Mayo Clinic, Rochester,
MN, completing outcomes research in hand surgery. She
is also a member of the Toronto Health Economics and
Technology Assessment Collaborative.
Outside of academics, Heather enjoys spending time
with family and friends, cooking and sampling new restaurants,
and traveling. She is a very active person and
her passion is long distance running.
Stefan Hofer, Chief Division of Plastic Surgery,
University Health Network
Karen Cross
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The Department of Surgery
at St. Michael’s Hospital is
pleased to welcome Karen
Cross as a Surgeon-Scientist
in the Division of Plastic
Surgery.
Karen is from St.
John’s, Newfoundland,
and completed her BSc
(Biochemistry) and Medical
Degree at Memorial
University of Newfoundland
and Labrador. During her postgraduate training in the
University of Toronto’s Plastic Surgery training program,
she was the first resident among this Division’s Surgeon
Scientist trainees to complete a PhD in the Institute of
Medical Science.
Her research interests focus on the development of
novel optical technologies to assess tissue physiology and
viability. Her initial work was applied in the area of burn
wound depth and included the development of a Multispectral
Imaging camera to assess these wounds. She
has since transitioned the technology to study complex
wounds, particularly focusing on lower extremity tissue
viability as it relates to diabetic foot ulcers and ischemic
limbs. To facilitate her research, she is cross-appointed
to Ryerson University and is a member of the Institute
for Biomedical Engineering, Science and Technology
(iBEST), a joint venture between Ryerson University and
St. Michael’s Hospital. Her laboratory is located on the
7th floor of the Keenan Research Centre at St. Michael’s
Hospital, the hub of iBEST, and is adjacent to the
Institutions’ innovation incubator, the Biomedical Zone.
Her clinical practice involves the reconstruction of
complex wounds secondary to trauma and cancer. Her
practice is expansive, caring for patients with everything
from craniofacial trauma to breast and skin cancer.
Dovetailing with her research activities, she has a special
interest in scar, skin sloughing conditions (Epidermolysis
Bullosa), delayed wound healing, pressure ulceration,
and lower extremity wounds.
To date, she has been the recipient of several prestigious
awards and grants. These include the Wound
Healing Society Young Investigator Award, the Hugh
Thompson Humanitarian Award, and Leo Mahoney
Teaching Award. She has recently been appointed to the
Diabetic Foot Canada Scientific Committee and actively
involved in the Canadian Association of Wound Care.
In her free time, Karen is an active SUP’er (Stand
Up Paddle board) and Surfer. She is class one SUP river
certified, teaches SUP to kids and adults, is a SUP Yoga
demonstrator for SUPGirlz, and loves the long board
for surfing. She has paddled in 2 continents and many
countries. If you want to find her outside of work….just
look for a body of water.
Ori Rotstein, Surgeon-in-Chief
St. Michael’s Hospital
Kristen Davidge with
her husband
Neil
and daughter Emma
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We are delighted to
announce the appointment
of Kristen Davidge
to the Division of Plastic
and Reconstructive
Surgery at the Hospital
for Sick Children. Kristen
has been appointed
Assistant Professor in the
Surgeon-Scientist-track
in the SickKids Research
Institute and will develop
her practice in the area of
obstetrical brachial plexus
palsy, peripheral nerve, upper extremity and microsurgery.
Kristen is a graduate of the University of Toronto training
program and completed a very successful residency
culminating in winning the Shafie S. Fazel Outstanding
Resident Surgeon and Investigator Award. Kristen graduated
from the Surgeon Scientist Program successfully obtaining
her Master of Science degree in Clinical Epidemiology
at the University of Toronto Department of Health Policy,
Management, and Evaluation. Following her residency,
she undertook fellowship training at the University of
Washington, St. Louis, under the supervision of former
Toronto alumna, Dr. Susan MacKinnon. She then completed
a fellowship in Pediatric Plastic and Reconstructive
Surgery at the Hospital for Sick Children. Kristen has
an interest in developing outcome measures for pediatric
upper extremity surgery and the application of nerve transfer
techniques in quadriplegia.
Kristen is married to Neil and has a beautiful 2 year old
daughter, Emma. Welcome Kristen!
Christopher R. Forrest, Chair, Division of Plastic and
Reconstructive Surgery, University of Toronto
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Bobby Yanagawa with his
wife Vanessa, and
daughter Penelope
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The Department of Surgery at St. Michael’s Hospital
is pleased to welcome Bobby Yanagawa as a Surgeon-
Investigator in the Division of Cardiac Surgery.
Bobby is a recent graduate of the University of
Toronto Residency program in Cardiac Surgery. He has
a PhD in Cardiovascular Pathology and has completed
post-doctoral fellowships at the University Wales College
of Medicine (Cardiff, UK) and National Cardiovascular
Center (Osaka, Japan). To complete his clinical training,
Bobby undertook an advanced fellowship in valvular
surgery at Mt. Sinai Hospital, NYC.
Bobby has been recognized for his academic achievements.
He is a co-author on more than 60 peer-reviewed
publications, 14 reviews, 12 book chapters, with more
projects under way. He will contribute to the translational
and clinical research underway at St Michael’s
Hospital. Clinically, he will focus on minimally-invasive
surgery including off-pump surgical revascularization,
hybrid surgical revascularization (combined minimallyinvasive
CABG and percutaneous coronary revascularization),
hemisternotomy aortic valve surgery and mitral
valve surgery through a minithoracotomy.
Bobby has returned to Toronto with his wife Vanessa,
daughter Penelope and another baby on the way.
David Latter, Hospital Head, Cardiac Surgery,
St.
Michael’s Hospital
Sebastian Tomescu with his wife Jelena
The Department of Surgery at Sunnybrook Health
Sciences Centre is pleased to welcome Sebastian
Tomescu as a Surgeon- Investigator in the Division of
Orthopaedic Surgery.
Sebastian is a recent Orthopaedic Surgery graduate
from the University of Toronto, and was part of the first
cohort of residents to complete the Competency Based
Curriculum program in Orthopaedics. His clinical interests
lie in reconstructive lower extremity reconstruction
and deformity correction.
Sebastian grew up in Kitchener-Waterloo. He received
this undergraduate degree in Kinesiology from the
University of Waterloo and went on to complete his
medical degree at Queen’s University in Kingston. He
then became one of the three inaugural members of the
Competency Based Curriculum residency program in
Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Toronto.
Since then he has completed a fellowship in Arthroplasty
with Dr. John Cameron at the Holland Orthopaedic and
Arthritic Centre and continues to pursue his graduate
studies at the University of Toronto, focusing his Master’s
research on clinical biomechanics and investigating strategies
to prevent knee injuries. His ongoing work has won
several peer-reviewed and industry-backed grants and his
research plans focus on improving total knee replacement
outcomes, understanding patellofemoral instability, and
developing wearable technologies to support rehabilitation.
Sebastian was recently married and enjoys spending
time with his wife, Jelena, and their dog, George. In
his spare time, Sebastian is an avid tech-blog reader and
enjoys fly-fishing and skiing.
Hans Kreder, Hospital Head,
Division of Orthopaedic Surgery,
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
Sarah Ward completed her Orthopaedic residency at the
University of Toronto, where she received the Lawson
Family Award in her final year of training. She then
went on to complete two fellowships at St. Michael’s
Hospital, incorporating training in hip and knee arthroplasty,
sports, trauma and upper extremity reconstruction.
Sarah joined the Division of Orthopaedic Surgery
at St. Michael’s Hospital in July 2015, where she works
closely with Dr. Jim Waddell, gradually taking over his
arthroplasty practice.
 Sarah Ward with her
husband Mark and
dog Sophie
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Sarah’s research focus will be in the area of Quality
Improvement and Patient Safety. She looks forward to
being involved in medical student and resident training
and to working with multidisciplinary teams to promote
quality improvement and patient safety initiatives both
within and beyond the Division of Orthopaedics.
Outside of work, Sarah enjoys running, spending time
with her husband Mark and dog Sophie, and cooking,
particularly with chocolate.
Timothy R. Daniels, Head,
Division of Orthopaedic Surgery,
St. Michael’s Hospital
 Augusto Zani
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After completing his Paediatric Surgical training in Italy,
Augusto Zani moved to United Kingdom for a 3-year
full-time dedicated research post, leading to a PhD at
University College London to refine his academic training.
Following this period, he was offered advanced
clinical training in the UK working in world famous
teaching institutions like Great Ormond Street Hospital
and King’s College Hospital, London, where he focused
on neonatal and pediatric surgery. During those years, he
maintained a high academic interest, which also led to
his initial appointment as honorary Assistant Professor
in Paediatric Surgery at Sapienza University of Rome.
He was promoted in 2014 to Associate Professor in
Paediatric Surgery by the Italian Ministry of Education,
Universities and Research.
Last year, Dr. Zani moved to Toronto to work at The
Hospital for Sick Children and continue his previous
collaboration with myself on stem cell therapy for necrotizing
enterocolitis.
Agostino Pierro, Hospital Head,
Division of General Surgery
Hospital for Sick Children
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