Susan Mackinnon, MD

Director

Center for Nerve Injury and Paralysis

Sydney M., Jr. and Robert H. Shoenberg Professor

Chief

Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

Neurosciences Program
Developmental, Regenerative and Stem Cell Biology Program

Keywords:

Peripheral nerve surgery, nerve transplantation

Research:

Susan E. Mackinnon, MD, is the Sydney M. Jr. and Robert H. Shoenberg Professor and chief of the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. She performed the first nerve transplant in 1988 and is considered a leading expert in the field of peripheral nerve surgery. Mackinnon earned her medical degree from Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, and completed a plastic surgery residency at the University of Toronto. She went on to complete fellowships in neurosurgical research at the University of Toronto and Hand Surgery at the Raymond Curtis Hand Center in Baltimore.

In addition to her work in nerve transplantation, Mackinnon has developed a number of nerve transfer techniques in which healthy nerves are rerouted into areas left paralyzed by damaged ones. Her areas of clinical interest in peripheral nerve surgery include hand, upper extremity and lower extremity injury; carpal tunnel syndrome; tarsal tunnel syndrome; thoracic outlet syndrome; brachial plexus injury; cumulative trauma disorder; nerve compression; facial palsy; and hand and upper extremity disorders and injuries.

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