We were lucky to catch up with Todd Hanna recently and have shared our conversation below.

Todd, appreciate you joining us today. Over the course of your career, have you seen or experienced your field completely flip-flop or change course on something?

At the moment I feel the industry of facial bone modification and facial implants should be completely custom and minimally invasive. We now have the ability to use scans of someone facial bones and soft tissue, and change the shape of their facial structure by augmenting the actual bone, or by creating implants, specifically for that person. We can make patient-specific (custom) bone cutting guides and fixation plates, or custom implants and use them during the surgery. This allows us to use much smaller incisions, have much more predictability in outcome, and have significantly faster recoveries. The nuances of how each surgeon applies this technology is different, but no doubt, it is totally superior to non-custom work.

Todd, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

So my niche is in esthetic maxillo-facial surgery (specifically the face, jaws, chin, and lips), and reconstruction for tumors and cancers of the entire head and neck. Essentially I knew I was going to be a surgeon from a very young age. I was bitten by a dog at 5-years old and had multiple surgeries to repair the wounds on my lip. The reconstructive surgeon was an artist and would make sketches of the wound and planned repair, and share them with me. My mother, also an artist, cultivated an aptitude for drawing and sculpting in me at a young age, so this really resonated with me. I would go home after doctor visits and spend hours recreating his sketches. It turned something that could have been very traumatizing into something very inspirational. I think this is why I see esthetic and reconstructive surgery as very much related. It’s about restoring proper form and function which could have been lost through a trauma, a tumor, aging, or just never developed in a harmonious way. It’s about creating or restoring what “should be” or “once was”. What I’m most proud of, beyond any degrees or professional accomplishment, are the relationships that we (me and my entire team) form with patients. We have a very intimate practice where we really get to know the people that we treat. For me that’s the only way to do it.

If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?

Never. I’d do it all over again in a heart beat. The training course was long and tortuous but it was exciting and gave me the skills to do work that is meaningful and fulfilling.

Any advice for managing a team?

I think most people yearn to feel fulfilled at work. What that means is different for everyone, and herein lies the challenge. It’s important to try to understand what motivates each team member and use that to keep them engaged and fulfilled with the work that they do. I also think learning to listen more and listen first is a great strategy, and to hone your communication skills. Let your team feel that they have a voice. Lastly I think it’s tremendously important to have team building events (diners, drinks, debriefs, ect).

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