By David Wong, MD

After 28 years of the private practice of hand surgery I recently decided to retire. I am in great health and nearly all of my peers are still working. I loved operating and being able to positively impact so many lives. I will miss all the great people I was privileged to work with and I suspect that not having constant affirmation of my worth from patients and colleagues will be an adjustment.

It’s hard for me to say how I came to make this decision. I have known for several years that financially I could retire and now I look forward to not having the stress and grind of day-to-day work. The idea of “going out on top” with my skills and enthusiasm intact is also very appealing.

With time comes an ability to reflect on one’s life, career, and the choices that were made along the way in a manner not possible while raising a family and running a busy practice. I have enjoyed doing so. In medical school, though I tried to keep an open mind, subconsciously I knew I always wanted to do surgery. I chose orthopedics because of the admittedly flawed reasoning of it being one of the hardest surgery specialties to get into and because I really identified with the orthopedic surgery residents. During residency I discovered hands and from then on I knew that I wanted to become a hand surgeon. During my fellowship at USC I watched LA burn after the Rodney King riots. It seems a fitting bookend to end my practice with the pandemic and our current social unrest as a backdrop.

Even I am surprised at how little of a distinct plan I have for retirement, yet I feel an underlying excitement for the future. I have done overseas medical aid work in the past and would like to do so again in the future. To that end I may work on improving my Spanish beyond the “doblé los dedos” stage. I want to get really good at skiing and am planning to visit Australia with my wife.

For so many years I have been “a hand surgeon” and this will always be part of my identity, even in retirement.

DW