Mark Davidner may not call himself a pioneer, but many others insist he is. A Canadian by birth, Davidner went to school at the University of Saskatchewan, after which he moved to Minneapolis for an internship. During a rotation in his second year, Davidner shared his interest in oncology/hematology to a colleague who recommended him to Maxwell Wintrobe, the man Davidner calls “the father of our field.” During his internship, the first comprehensive treatment plan for leukemia and Hodgkin’s disease was published, which helped to revolutionize the field at the time. “I think I was kind of controversial when I came to Kansas City,” Davidner admits. “I brought a lot of new ideas I’d picked up in school and from Wintrobe.”

Davidner moved to the University of Utah for a fellowship with Wintrobe, after which he came to Kansas City to live with his uncle and aunt. The year Davidner studied to pass the oncology boards was the first year they were ever available; and just as his career and field were taking off, his personal life took off as well. Davidner’s family introduced him to the woman he would marry and have 5 daughters with.Today, Davidner speaks less of his pioneering role and more of what a blessing he considers it to have been in the right place at the right time. “I’m privileged to have worked through such a period of innovation in medicine, and I’m equally privileged to have surrounded myself with wonderful colleagues.”

Davidner and his group have opened two comprehensive cancer centers in the Kansas City area—one in Johnson County, and one in Lee’s Summit—and they have plans to open a third in southern Kansas City, Mo., soon.The word “blessing” kept coming up as Davidner recalled his experiences in medicine. His mentors were a blessing; his colleagues are a blessing; so, too, is the time he now has to spend with his wife. Even the chance to treat patients with leukemia is a blessing. But this makes sense under Davidner’s way of thinking.“When you see what leukemia can do to patients, you learn anew every day that life is itself a blessing.”

Thomas Geraghty is a fine plastic surgeon, but what truly distinguishes him is not merely his ability to erase wrinkles or improve curves. Twenty years ago while the Kansas City native was teaching through Truman Medical Center and Children’s Mercy, a friend told him about people with desperate needs in the Dominican Republic, one of the poorest countries in the world. Since that day, Geraghty has been taking regular trips abroad to perform facial reconstructive surgery for those whose poverty would otherwise prevent them from getting appropriate care.

“It’s pure medicine—taking care of real people with real needs, and not even thinking about insurance or approval or how much to charge,” says Geraghty. “I know it sounds trite to say, but I honestly feel like I get more out of it than the patients do.”

Geraghty has also been involved in trips to Bolivia, Burma and Thailand; and he has scheduled two more trips to the Dominican during the next four months. Over the years, he’s taken with him more than 50 people from the Kansas City area on his trips to the Dominican, and he’s performed more than 5,000
reconstructive operations there.

Geraghty admits he occasionally enjoys playing tennis, water-skiing and boating at Table Rock Lake in southern Missouri, “but my main hobby is taking those trips.”

A graduate of Bishop Miege High School and KU Medical School, Geraghty says he was drawn to plastic surgery because of the variety. “Every day is different. Every patient brings a unique set of challenges.”

An iconoclast at heart, Geraghty says he always preferred taking the road less traveled. Geraghty seems to appreciate variety more than anything else. He loves the opportunity to do cosmetic surgery here in the United States, because it helps him see the wide spectrum of applications to his craft.”Maybe it’s not quite an art form, but to erase lines or augment breasts in Kansas City, then only a few days later to rebuild jaws of people living in huts with dirt floors . . . it’s as great a job as I can imagine!”

“My primary focus is on delivering expert care.” For Dr. Thomas S. Helling, that focus influences every decision he makes, as both a surgeon and an educator. Helling is Professor and Vice Chairman of the Department of Surgery at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine, with which he has been associated for the past 23 years. He’s also on staff at Saint Luke’s Hospital, with offices at both the Mid-America Surgical Specialists and Saint Luke’s Multi-Specialty Clinic.

Born and raised in Kansas City, Mo., Helling attended Rockhurst High School. After graduation, he crossed the state line to begin his medical studies at the University of Kansas School of Medicine. While he was in medical school, Helling says he was drawn to surgery, because it is a field where doctors can “deal decisively” with problems encountered by the patient.

“Not all illnesses have decisive or immediate solutions; but for those that require a specific surgical procedure, my work can be tremendously rewarding.”

In 1978-79, he received a fellowship to work with Dr. Thomas Starzl, whom Helling calls “a pioneer in the field of liver surgery.” His time spent with Dr. Starzl was extremely influential, leading Helling himself to further explore and champion the field of liver surgery. Today Helling is best known for his work as a surgeon, specifically for patients with both cancerous and non-cancerous liver tumors. Aside from his work, Helling says his true passion in life is his wife and his family. Because Helling is a Kansas City native, it is important to him to see that the community continues to grow, so that those he loves, as well as future generations, will have access to all the medical and even social benefits of a large metropolitan area.

“I love this town, and a community like ours here in Kansas City deserves the finest medical care in the world. I try my best to achieve that goal. And a community like ours also deserves the best education in the world. It’s my goal to see that our
community gets what it deserves,” Helling says.