Rewriting the Code of Connection: Reflections on Innovation from #PSTM25
Every year, Plastic Surgery The Meeting feels less like an event and more like a living snapshot of where our field is headed — a convergence of art, science, and the relationships that hold it all together.
This year in New Orleans, that convergence began at sunrise. Hundreds of us gathered for the Close the Loop 5K, supporting the Breast Reconstruction Awareness (BRA) Campaign, an initiative of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) and the Plastic Surgery Foundation (PSF).
Watching our Symplast Runners team take off, I was reminded that connection isn’t something technology can build for us — it’s something people create together. Our $2,500 donation to the cause felt small compared to the collective impact of an entire community running with purpose — for patients, for awareness, for one another.
Conversations That Reminded Us Why We Build
Inside the exhibit hall, the pace didn’t slow — it just shifted. From the moment the doors opened, there was a current of curiosity, energy, and shared ambition. Our booth was a gathering place for conversations that went deeper than demos — they were about what really matters: time, trust, and patient connection.
Every story I heard — about administrative chaos, disconnected tools, lost efficiency — reinforced why Symplast exists. We’re here to simplify the complex. To bring every part of a practice together — clinical, operational, and human — into one flow.
What I love most about events like this is that they remind me how technology isn’t the hero. People are. The surgeon who wants more time to focus on the art of their craft. The office manager who keeps the lights on and the schedules running. The patient who just wants to feel seen.
Seeing Our Mission Reflected on Stage
One of my favorite moments came during Dr. Williams’ session, when he mentioned Symplast in his talk about innovation and patient experience. Our own Jessica Wisner joined the Q&A afterward, bridging the gap between the clinical and the digital, helping attendees see how thoughtful technology can strengthen—not replace—the human touch.
That moment meant a lot. It’s one thing to build software; it’s another to see it recognized as part of the broader movement shaping the future of our field.
What I Took Home
As I left New Orleans, my suitcase was heavier — not just with badges and brochures, but with gratitude. Gratitude for the conversations, the laughter, the challenges, and the ideas shared with those who care as deeply as we do about this specialty.
What struck me most is that progress doesn’t always look like disruption. Sometimes, it looks like connection. It looks like people coming together — across roles, across technologies, across miles — to make the patient experience safer, smarter, and more personal.
At Symplast, that’s our purpose. To help every practice — and every person in it — operate with precision, grow with intention, and never lose sight of the humanity that makes this field extraordinary.
Learn more about how Symplast helps practices grow through connection: