Custom 3
Dr. Thomas J. Zaydon
Dr. Thomas J. Zaydon
Those who knew Dr. Thomas J. Zaydon, Sr. HU '44—including former colleague Bernabe Vazquez, M.D., F.A.C.S. and his son Dr. Thomas J. Zaydon, Jr. HU '78—describe him as a quintessential gentleman and the epitome of a compassionate physician. He was a strong patriarch, a great father and a highly respected teacher and leader in the international plastic surgery community.
His bequest to Drexel University's College of Medicine, which came last year after his untimely passing, helps to serve as a reminder of his love for Hahnemann and Drexel, stated his son Thomas, Jr.
"He loved Hahnemann," he says. "Nothing would make him happier than how the Hahnemann name is such a crucial part of the Drexel identity. So many of the medical schools of that time have disappeared. It's not a hotel, it's not a country club; it is still there."
One of Miami's first plastic surgeons and a pioneer in the plastic surgery community there, Dr. Zaydon, Sr. practiced medicine for 55 years after graduating from Hahnemann College, which came after serving as a Captain in the Air Force during World War II. Before moving to Miami, his work at the Valley Forge Military Academy, where he treated injured soldiers, including many burned aviators, helped guide his career.
Dr. Zaydon's early volunteer work in the plastic surgery ward at Valley Forge, the largest ward for injured soldiers at the time, was with Dr. James Barrett Brown, one of the founding fathers of plastic surgery. Dr. Brown promised him a job once he earned his Hahnemann medical degree. The two would go on to work together at Washington University and co-author a textbook together, entitled The Treatment of Facial Injuries. Dr. Zaydon would soon become renowned for his work with nasal surgery, facial fractures and early palate defects.
Dr. Zaydon's deep-seated compassion and technical expertise prompted him to start outreach programs in Haiti, Ecuador and war-torn Lebanon repairing cleft palates and other congenial deformities. This would lead the way for future generations of plastic surgery relief programs, like today's well-known non-profit organization, "Operation Smile."
"When he did these medical missions, he was everything," his son says. "He was the organizer and the surgeon and everything else. It was a one-man show. He was one of the first people to reach out in this way."
Relocating his life and career in Miami in 1953, he became the third Board certified plastic surgeon in Florida. He served as the Chief of Plastic Surgery at Mercy Hospital, Miami Heart Institute, Mt. Sinai Medical Center and St. Francis Hospital. He was the founder and president of both the Miami Society of Plastic Surgeons and the Florida Society of Plastic Surgeons.
Thomas, Jr. said that lending support for Drexel University in the form of a bequest is exactly the kind of lessons his father taught him and his siblings, and that he would be proud that Drexel University has carried on the tradition of Hahnemann.
"My father felt that giving back was part of his responsibility; it was a way to thank society," he says. "In fact, before he passed, he wanted me to know the most important message is that it's what you do for other people that matters."