 Per Hedén was born in Stockholm in 1951, into a family with a strong medical tradition. Both his parents and sisters are doctors, as was his grandfather. He began his medical studies at the Karolinska Institute in 1971. His first plastic surgery position after completing his medical training in 1978 was at Sabbatsberg hospital, where he worked under Professor J. O. Strömbeck. His interest in microsurgery, which was then new to Sweden, was aroused early. On his own initiative, he visited several internationally known microsurgery clinics. He studied for a period under the legendary microsurgeon Marko Godina in Ljubljana, and this led to the first microsurgical operation in Stockholm, performed in 1981. Dr. Hedén was subsequently one of the driving forces in establishing microsurgery in the region. After completing his specialist training in plastic surgery in 1982, he was offered a post in Adelaide, Australia. He stayed in Australia for over a year, during which period he was also a Visiting Fellow in Melbourne. He subsequently pursued the study of plastic surgery in the United States under Professor Elof Eriksson, first in Springfield, Illinois, and later at Harvard University in Boston. He continued his research, which dealt mostly with blood circulation and metabolism in skin flaps, at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, where he presented his thesis, “Monitoring techniques and animal models as guides for free flap surgery”, in 1988. After continuing his research he achieved a associate professorship at the Karolinska institute in 1990. In 1985, Dr. Hedén began a plastic surgery
consultant position at Karolinska Hospital. He became the head of the
microsurgery unit in plastic surgery at Sabbatsberg in 1990, thus serving
all of southern Stockholm. His microsurgical repair of facial paralyses
attracted quite a bit of attention, and today patients from all of Sweden,
and also some from abroad, are sent to Dr. Hedén for this kind of surgery.
Over the years he has published more than 50 scientific papers and held
a large number of lectures. He has also been, and continues to be, an
advisor for young plastic surgeons doing research. He began aesthetic
surgery for private patients in 1984, initially at Sophiahemet. In the
late 80s he began to look into the possibility of establishing a private
hospital for esthetic surgery in the Stockholm area, and subsequently
he and his colleague Dr. Jan Jernbeck founded Akademikliniken,
which began accepting patients in 1991.
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Dr Hedén has
since its start been the Head of Akademikliniken which now is Scandinavia’s
largest private hospital exclusively for plastic surgery: The unit has
four operating theaters and sixteen overnight beds. It is staffed by
seven plastic surgeons, along with anesthesiologists and nurses. A skin
therapy department, with skin therapists and dermatologist, is also
part of the hospital. More than 2,000 patients are operated on at Akademikliniken
in Stockholm every year. Recently Akademikliniken has become an international
organization with a clinic in London. At Akademikliniken a world leading
experience in the use of anatomical cohesive silicone breast implants
has been gained. Dr Hedén has developed new techniques applying to the
use of these devices and he has held several international workshops
on this subject. He has been invited to many countries where he has
performed operations to demonstrate his techniques.
In addition to his scientific publications and doctoral papers, Dr. Hedén has also co-authored a book on blood flow measurement with the laser-doppler method. He sits on the review board for doctoral theses in plastic surgery and has served as faculty opponent. He is regularly called on to review papers for publication in the Scandinavian journal of plastic surgery and is also on the Board of Reviewers for International Abstracts of the American journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Over the years he has participated in a large number of national and international plastic surgery conferences, often giving lectures or serving as a moderator. He is a member of and participates regularly in the meetings of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) and the International Confederation of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery (IPRAS). He has visited and studied in a large number of internationally known clinics. He has held several instructional plastic surgery courses on “Body Contouring” at the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery meetings. He has also been invited lecturer and guest professor on several international meetings. Dr Hedén has also organized and held several weekly long annual Alpine Plastic Surgery Courses for general practitioners. Dr. Hedén is also a member of the Swedish Plastic Surgery Association (where he has served on the board). Dr Hedén has previously written a book on plastic sugery: “Plastikkirurgiboken” published in Swedish 1996. It has been translated and published in Russia and it is aslo the basis for the present book. “Plastikkirurgiboken” has been printed and sold in 5,000 copies in Sweden. The photographs of patients in this book show a few examples of what Dr. Hedén has accomplished over the years. Dr. Hedén lives in Stockholm, is married and has three children. |