As he approaches retirement, William Wooden, MD, struggles to remember a time when surgery wasn’t part of his life. Reflecting on a career defined by substantial contributions to the field and to how surgery is practiced and taught, he traces it all back to experiences that began early in his life.
“My great-grandfather was a country surgeon,” Wooden said. “My father went on to do advanced head and neck and reconstructive surgery. That’s the dad I grew up knowing.”
As a child, Wooden watched his father build an early trauma simulation model in the basement of the Pentagon, pumping simulated blood through a mannequin to train wartime physicians.
“My brother thought it was disgusting,” Wooden recalled. “I thought Dad’s stuff was cool.”
That early fascination grew into a career shaped not only by technical expertise, but by a drive to advance surgical care and education.
“I had this wonderful foundation of incredible mentors and people who worked not only for the patient, but for the resident and the student,” he said. “I feel totally indebted to them.”
Wooden trained during what he calls the “heyday of general surgery,” completing his residency at Emory University before pursuing fellowships in surgical oncology and microsurgery, followed by plastic surgery training at the University of Pittsburgh.
Over more than two decades in the Department of Surgery at Indiana University School of Medicine, he built on that foundation, contributing to a legacy of leadership, innovation and influence on generations of surgeons.
Transforming surgery for Hoosiers
When Wooden arrived in Indiana, he saw opportunity, but also a team still in transition.
“We weren’t even on the charts in research,” he said. “We taught surgery, but we didn’t teach the future of surgery.”
Over the next 20 years, Wooden played a key role in reshaping the Department of Surgery into a nationally recognized academic and clinical unit. Serving in multiple leadership roles, he helped drive growth across patient care, research and education.
“Everything we did was as a team,” he emphasized. “Within surgery, within the School of Medicine, across the system.”
In addition to helping lead the department to national recognition, Wooden left a lasting mark through his work in surgical quality and perioperative care. He helped develop a prehabilitation approach at IU Health that focused on preparing patients for surgery before they ever entered the operating room, which is now widely recognized as “red bag” preoperative kits.
“If you really want people to have a better outcome, make them healthy before we start,” he said.
The program targeted patient-specific risk factors before surgery through interventions such as immunonutrition, infection prevention and respiratory conditioning, with the goal of optimizing health in advance rather than reacting to complications. What began as a novel idea quickly led to shorter hospital stays, fewer complications, reduced readmissions and lower costs, and has since been implemented across the IU Health system. At the time, however, the approach was not widely accepted.
“They thought I was crazy,” he said. “I’ve been accused of being 20 years ahead of everything.”
The patients who define a career
For Wooden, the measure of a successful surgical career lies not in titles or programs, but in the patients whose lives intersect with his own.
“I put it into two groups,” he said. “The lives we’ve been fortunate to touch and the patients we get to take care of.”
Over decades in practice, those patients have ranged widely in age and circumstance from young children facing complex conditions to service members with life-altering injuries, many requiring highly specialized care in moments where outcomes were uncertain and the stakes were high. His office reflects that story as clearly as his words do, with walls covered in photos, notes and letters from patients and families.
“I’ve kept these photos over the years,” Wooden said. “They’re reminders of the people, the stories and the moments that have stayed with me.”
Each image represents a second chance or a life reclaimed, serving as a constant reminder of the human side of surgery that has defined his career.
“It’s an absolute gift,” Wooden said. “A privilege, in fact, to be part of that.”
A legacy that continues
As Wooden steps away from full-time clinical practice, he is clear that his role in the department is far from over. He plans to shift his focus from the operating room to mentorship, education and supporting continued growth, freeing up more time to spend on his land, with his animals.
“Surgery takes a toll, but I’m okay with passing the baton on to the next generation,” he said.
That next generation is central to the legacy he leaves behind. Throughout his career, Wooden has trained and mentored surgeons who now hold leadership roles across the country and increasingly within Indiana University School of Medicine.
“My whole goal has been to pass that on,” he said. “We’ve got pins across the map, and now we’re bringing them back as faculty.”
He views the department’s culture of mentorship as a strength and is eager to continue contributing to its growth.
“My goal is to continue to support the department through mentorship, recruitment and education,” he said. “If I can help in any way, that’s my goal.”
For a plastic surgeon whose career has been defined by building programs, his commitment to leading the next generation of surgeons and improving patients’ lives ensures his influence in the Department of Surgery will continue well into the future.
