Paying tribute to past president of The PSF and ASAPS founder

"Madam, there is no such thing as minor surgery – only minor surgeons."

Simon Fredricks, MD, who served as The PSF president (then the Plastic Surgery Educational Foundation) in 1981, said those words to a prospective patient who had come to him for his thoughts on a procedure. The plastic surgeon with whom the patient had visited before Dr. Fredricks had assured the lady the procedure was "minor."

"It's one of my favorite quotes of his," says his prior resident Alan Serure, MD, Miami. "Perhaps it was a zing at whoever had told the patient it was 'minor' work. I suppose there was an element of arrogance to it, but he let people know who he was. He was saying how important every little detail was."

Dr. Fredricks passed away at age 92 in Houston on May 23. ASPS President-elect Alan Matarasso, MD, New York, calls Dr. Fredricks a "Renaissance man" whose memory will endure through his prodigious accomplishments and family.

"He was a friend, confidant and mentor to me, and a widely admired leader in the world of plastic surgery," Dr. Matarasso says. "His image, presence and the timbre of his voice was almost synonymous with aesthetic plastic surgery over the end of the 20th century. Dr. Fredricks had a razor-sharp intellect and keen insight, and he was incredibly articulate.

"In the course of a conversation, he could immediately drill-down to the heart of an issue and offer profound analysis and wisdom," Dr. Matarasso adds. "I would frequently seek-out his advice and opinion. We will all miss that wise counsel and loyal friendship."

Born in the Bronx in 1926, Dr. Fredricks also served in the United States Air Force during the Korean War and spent time stationed in Italy, Germany and France.

He received his undergraduate degree from New York University. He later attended Chicago Medical School and did his surgical residency at Nassau Hospital in Long Island. During that time, a visiting professor gave him a book on plastic surgery, which Dr. Fredricks would later say made him determined to merge surgery with artistry.

That was the spark for a visionary and influential career in the specialty that not only included founding and serving as president of the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, but also serving on a blue-ribbon committee to France to work with Yves Gerard Illouz, MD, who demonstrated his new liposuction technique. Dr. Fredricks was one of the first to perform the procedure in the United States.

"I was rotating with him as a senior resident when he returned," Dr. Serure recalls. "It was an exciting advancement – new techniques that change aesthetic surgery forever do not come along very often."

Dr. Serure also notes that Dr. Fredricks was one of the few plastic surgeons to allow residents to go to his office and stay with him during patient consultations, giving his residents an insider's view to how to conduct patient interviews, what questions to ask, as well as what to expect and deliver.

"He was ahead of his time, and possibly the most articulate physician I ever met," Dr. Serure says. "He knew how to teach, how to handle patients and promote himself with dignity and integrity."

Dan Mills, MD, Laguna Beach, Calif., past-president of ASAPS, says Dr. Fredricks was a visionary and remained invested in the organization, even long after he'd retired.

"He took a special interest in ASAPS leadership and would go out of his way to call and give advice on things we should be doing," he recalls. "It's amazing how whatever issues we face today, they were also happening 20 or 30 years ago. He made cogent points, and it was really helpful to listen to his advice from what he'd learned before."

Legacy of leadership

In addition to his time as president of The PSF and his work establishing and leading ASAPS, Dr. Fredricks also served as past-president of ASERF; ABPS diplomat; an ACS Fellow; and a Fellow of the International College of Surgeons. His teaching appointments included clinical professor of plastic surgery at Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Texas Medical School. He served as chief of plastic surgery at St. Luke's Hospital from 1980-89. When he retired from surgery in 2000, he continued to teach at Baylor as a voluntary full clinical professor.

"He did huge things for the house of plastic surgery and worked to push us all forward," Dr. Mills says. "He was our heartbeat for years and years, and hopefully we can continue his mission of providing the best education possible in aesthetic surgery."

ASAPS President W. Grant Stevens, MD, says he cherishes his memories of time spent with Dr. Fredricks.

"I so remember the first time I met him and was fortunate enough to sit with him at the Aesthetic Meeting's black-tie dinner with George Peck, MD, and my fellow resident, Paul Pinn, MD," Dr. Stevens recalls. "What a legacy he has given us all."

In one of his lectures, Dr. Fredricks remarked: "Plastic surgery has taught me a compassion for my fellow man and has allowed me the satisfaction and gratification that flows from worthy endeavor. It has given a quiet contentment that I chose well and have been blessed by the changes and choices of my life."

Dr. Fredricks is survived by his wife of 57 years, Rhoda; his daughter, Marta; his son, Brent, and his wife, Michelle; grandchildren Mia, Reed and Bess; sisters-in-law and brother-in-law, Lorraine and Melton Horwitz, MD; and Rhoda Brand, along with several nieces and nephews.