Robert Malcolm Goldwyn was an American surgeon; an author, activist, Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School, and Chief of Plastic Surgery at the Beth Israel Hospital from 1972 to 1996.
Education
Goldwyn was senior class president and graduated from Worcester Academy in 1948 with second honors. He matriculated to Harvard College, then graduated as a Doctor of Medicine from. During his internship and residency (1956–1961) at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts he was also the Harvey Cushing Fellow in Surgery.
His training in plastic surgery was at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center from 1961 to 1963.
Career
He was the editor-in-chief of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery for 25 years. from Harvard Medical School. In 1960, he worked with Doctor Albert Schweitzer in Lambaréné, Gabon for two months. In 1972, he established The National Archives of Plastic Surgery in the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine.
As a writer, he authored or co-authored more than 350 articles, more than 50 chapters, and edited books including The Unfavorable Result in Plastic Surgery: Avoidance and Treatment, Reconstructive Surgery of the Breast, Long-Term Results in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Reduction Mammaplasty, The Patient and the Plastic Surgeon, The Operative Note, The Physician Traveler (18 volumes), and an autobiography, Beyond Appearance: Reflections of a Plastic Surgeon.
Marking his retirement in 2004 as editor-in-chief of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Goldwyn was presented the American Society of Plastic Surgeons Special Recognition Award during the Plastic Surgery 2004 opening ceremonies in Philadelphia. His final book, Retired not dead: thoughts plastic surgical and otherwise, was published in 2008.
At the age of 79, he died in his home in Brookline, Massachusetts on March 23, 2010 after a 16-year battle with prostate cancer.
Membership
He was a founding member of Physicians for Social Responsibility and wrote articles on world peace, opposition to chemical and biological warfare, and medical ethics. Goldwyn was a Visiting Professor to more than 70 institutions, universities, and hospitals in the United States and abroad and was an honorary member of more than a dozen national and international societies of plastic surgery.