06/11/2026
🧐 Did you know Dr. Bonaldi began his career as a reconstructive surgeon?
He completed a Microsurgical Fellowship at the Royal Melbourne Hospital in Australia just a few years after completing a Research Fellowship, as well as a Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship.
What does someone with this advanced level of training do?
Think about all the tiny little blood vessels and nerves in your body. This specialized surgeon's skills allow them to repair these delicate structures- some of them only a few millimeters in diameter! Restoring their function gives the patient another chance at life.
Dr. Bonaldi frequently treating patients with severe tissue loss from things like traumatic injuries, cancer, severe frost bite, and congenital anomalies.
In fact, you can read about a revolutionary surgery her performed on an infamous young couple's feet- they were stranded in the snow with their 5- month old baby for 8 days 😳 You can watch their story on the show called "I Shouldn't Be Alive" - Season 1, episode 2 (Jim and Jennifer Stolpa). Incredibly, the entire family survived, but 8 days in the snow left both Jim and Jennifer with severe 4th-degree frost bite.
At the time, standard medical protocol for frostbite this severe was to amputate the entire foot, but Dr. Bonaldi utilized a highly creative microvascular reconstruction technique to preserve their long-term ability to walk without prosthetic devices.
This story deserves to be shared with all those who know Dr. B, it's a perfect testament to his advanced skills in medicine, microsurgery, his creativity, and profound kindness.
Surgery is art.
photos by 📸: our social media manager who also has a passion for art + medicine 💙 ✨
