One HIGHLIGHT of my recent trip to Germany
Arriving in Hinterzarten in Germany is a bit like driving through the fairy tales of my childhood, driving slowly and intimately through the Black Forest. The first time I made this journey was over a year ago. It was my first trip to Germany and I was filming lipoedema surgeries and interviewing doctors and patients from one side of Germany to the other. This time, March 17, 2014, I am journeying with several others. This story is about the surgeons Dr. Mark Smith and Dr. Joe Dayan, and the magic that happened with Dr. Földi, who is amazingly elegant, brilliant and considered the top expert in the world on lymphology (she wrote the book on it! Földi’s Textbook of Lymphology: For Physicians and Lymphedema Therapists). I call her the Zen Master of Lymph.
Dr Joe Dayan and Dr Földi
Drs Smith and Dayan presented their break-through leading edge imaging lymphangiography techniques in performing lymph-node transfer in advanced stages of lymphedema in Barcelona and at the Gathering in Frankfurt. They presented their work to Dr. Földi. She was engaged, inquisitive, thoughtful, and then shared her work with us. I sat mesmerized as I watched their interactions, speaking in the language of science, of lymphology, of understanding the intricacies of the human body and it’s capacity for recovery, even from the devastation of drastic lymphedema and the possibilities for understanding and curing lipoedema. Well, it was magic.
with Dr Földi March 17, 2014
We stayed all day, for over 6 hours. And the pinnacle, as we were leaving, Dr. Földi turned to these docs and said “You are the two best surgeons that I have ever met. You think, not only cut.” We were all beaming! We continue to work together towards convening the 1st International Symposium of Lipedema scheduled for April 2015. Very exciting!