For nearly three decades, Dr. Michael Zenn’s career has been devoted to restoring form, function, and dignity in the most complex surgical circumstances imaginable. That lifelong commitment was recently recognized in Reconstructive Microsurgery, the official journal of the American Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery (ASRM), where Dr. Zenn was prominently featured in the Historian’s Corner article, “Best Case/Best Save: Celebrating 20 Years.”
The piece honors not only a legendary event in microsurgery but also the surgeon whose vision created it.
A National Honor from the Leaders of Microsurgery
The Best Case/Best Save (BC/BS) competition is widely regarded as one of the most anticipated and respected sessions at the ASRM Annual Meeting. For 20 years, it has served as a global stage where the most complex, creative, and high-stakes reconstructive cases are shared openly among peers.
What many outside the field may not realize is that Dr. Zenn created BC/BS.
In 2007, while serving as Program Director for the ASRM Annual Meeting, Dr. Zenn recognized a need within the specialty: a space where surgeons could present flawless victories, near-impossible saves, unexpected complications, and examples of the ingenuity required when plans fail.
Inspired by the tradition of candid surgical “travel clubs,” Dr. Zenn designed BC/BS to celebrate:
- Surgical creativity
- Honest discussion of failure and recovery
- Storytelling alongside technical mastery
- Community, humility, and shared learning
What began as an experiment quickly evolved into a standing-room-only event that has had a profound influence on microsurgical education worldwide.
What This Means for Zenn Plastic Surgery Patients
The cases featured in BC/BS are the same kinds of challenges Dr. Zenn has navigated throughout his career: cancer reconstruction, facial trauma, failed prior surgeries, high-risk anatomy, and situations where there is no margin for error.
Patients benefit directly from a surgeon who:
- Has seen every possible complication and knows how to respond
- Understands that the best plan may need to change in real time
- Values outcomes that are both functional and natural-appearing
- Believes shared learning makes surgeons better and safer
This mindset led Dr. Zenn to later develop the Zenn Delay™ breast reconstruction technique, now used internationally and taught to surgeons worldwide.
Teaching, Leadership, and Service
The Reconstructive Microsurgery feature also highlights Dr. Zenn’s broader legacy as:
- A former Professor with Tenure and Vice Chief of Plastic Surgery at Duke University
- A global lecturer and educator
- An author of one of the field’s most respected reconstructive surgery textbooks
- An examiner for the American Board of Plastic Surgery
- A mentor to hundreds of plastic surgeons practicing worldwide
BC/BS has outgrown its original purpose, inspiring similar sessions at regional, national, and international meetings. Its success reflects Dr. Zenn’s belief that excellence in surgery is not guarded—it is shared.
As the article notes, 2026 will mark Dr. Zenn’s final year as moderator, closing a remarkable 20-year chapter. The event he created will continue, shaped by new leadership but grounded in the values he established.
Reconstruction as the Foundation of Aesthetic Excellence
At Zenn Plastic Surgery in Raleigh, the same principles that guide complex microsurgical reconstruction guide every aesthetic procedure:
- Respect for anatomy
- Preservation of the blood supply
- Long-term thinking
- Natural, never-overdone results
- Patient safety above all else
Dr. Zenn applies the same discipline, humility, and depth of experience to every case, whether treating breast cancer survivors, patients with facial paralysis, or individuals looking for aesthetic refinement.
Experience a Legacy That Lives On, One Patient at a Time
Recognition from Reconstructive Microsurgery and the American Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery is a meaningful accolade and confirmation of a philosophy Dr. Zenn has lived by for decades.
If you are considering reconstructive or aesthetic surgery and want care guided by unmatched experience, academic leadership, and a profoundly human approach, we invite you to schedule a consultation at Zenn Plastic Surgery today.
