Aaron J. Berger, MD, PhD, Dan A. Zlotolow, MD, FAOA

I want to thank Drs. Aaron Berger and Dan Zlotolow for sharing the responsibility as guest editors for this issue of Seminars in Plastic Surgery on “Brachial Plexus Birth Injuries” and the invited authors for sharing their experience.

Dr. Berger serves as the Chief of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the Nicklaus Children's Hospital as well as the medical director of the Brachial Plexus and Peripheral Nerve Program. He earned his medical degree and a doctorate in experimental pathology through the Medical Scientist Training Program at Yale University. Dr. Berger then completed residency training in plastic surgery at Stanford University Medical Center, followed by a fellowship in hand surgery and microsurgery at UCLA Medical Center. He was among the first recipients of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand's International Hand Surgery Fellowship, where he trained at centers of excellence in China for the treatment of brachial plexus and other peripheral nerve injuries, complex extremity trauma, and congenital differences of the upper extremity.

Dr. Berger's main surgical interests are in reconstructive surgery of the hand and extremities, including microsurgical reconstruction. His clinical practice is dedicated to the treatment of congenital hand and arm differences, brachial plexus injuries, and reconstructive plastic surgery. His primary research interests are currently focused on determining optimal treatment pathways for brachial plexus birth injuries and congenital differences of the upper limb.

Dr. Berger is board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery with subspecialty certification in hand surgery. He is a member of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand, the American Association of Plastic Surgeons, the American Association for Hand Surgery, and the American Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery.

Dr. Zlotolow is a pediatric and adult upper limb and peripheral nerve surgeon specializing in the care of brachial plexus and peripheral nerve injuries, spinal cord injuries, spasticity due to stroke, brain injury, or cerebral palsy, complex posttraumatic deformities, congenital differences, arthrogryposis, and limb deficiencies.

Dr. Zlotolow earned his medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He then completed the residency training at Albert Einstein School of Medicine Montefiore Medical Center, followed by a fellowship at C.V. Starr Hand Surgery Center in New York City and a second fellowship with Scott Kozin at Shriners Children's Philadelphia.

Dr. Zlotolow specializes in the care of children with arthrogryposis, brachial plexus and peripheral nerve injuries, spinal cord injuries, complex posttraumatic deformities, congenital differences, and limb deficiencies. He leads medical outreach missions to Havana, Cuba and Kigali, Rwanda and has founded three professional societies including Plexus Nexus and the Pediatric Hand International Society of Surgeons.

As a professor of orthopaedic surgery at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University, he is a leading researcher in the field of pediatric hand surgery. He has published over 100 papers, edited three books, including the authoritative “The Pediatric Upper Extremity,” and written over 60 book chapters.

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, he is fluent in Spanish and travels routinely to Spain and Latin America to provide patient care and physician education.

Publication History

Article published online:
26 July 2023