Pon Satitpunwaycha, MD, FACS, a retired general surgeon whose philanthropy transformed surgical education and research, passed away on April 17. He was 89 years old.
In addition to a long career as a practicing surgeon, Dr. Pon, as he preferred to be called, is perhaps best known for the substantial donations he gifted to surgical and health organizations. The ACS was a particular beneficiary of his largesse, as Dr. Pon donated more than $5.1 million over the years to support a wide range of initiatives.
“We are profoundly saddened at the passing of Dr. Pon. His extraordinary generosity as a donor to the College has made possible opportunities that have had, and will continue to have, a generational impact on the careers of surgeons and the lives of innumerable patients,” said Patricia L. Turner, MD, MBA, FACS, ACS Executive Director and CEO, as well as President of the ACS Foundation. “As a surgeon and a philanthropist, Dr. Pon was a true visionary who saw the potential of the ACS to benefit our field, and we will endeavor to support his legacy.”
Dr. Pon has been recognized for his commitment to altruism for many years, as he received the ACS Distinguished Philanthropist Award in 2001. After successfully investing in the stock market at the suggestion of a patient in 2008, Dr. Pon significantly increased his philanthropy, and in 2025, his $2 million donation marked the largest individual gift in the more than 20-year history of the Foundation.
His donations to the ACS have helped fund trauma surgery education, provide research fellowships and scholarships to burgeoning female surgeons in Africa, and created opportunities for surgeons to better understand and effectively integrate artificial intelligence and machine learning into surgical practice.
“Through the many decades that he supported the College’s mission to improve the care of the surgical patient, Dr. Pon remained a humble and unassuming benefactor,” said H. Randolph Bailey, MD, FACS, Chair of the ACS Foundation. “As we mourn the passing of a truly good man, the ACS and the Foundation will continue to work toward his goal—to ensure that future surgeons will have opportunities to advance their work so they, too, can continue to give back.”
Dr. Pon was born and raised in Thailand, graduating in 1962 from its well-regarded Chulalongkorn University Medical School in Bangkok. In 1964, he came to the US to complete his residency at Northwestern University Medical School (now the Feinberg School of Medicine) in Chicago, Illinois.
After completing his training, he returned to Thailand to serve as an instructor at Chulalongkorn University Medical School, helping educate and mentor the next generation of physicians and surgeons. Throughout his career, he remained committed to advancing surgical education, later supporting resident research programs and other initiatives designed to foster innovation and training in surgery.
He returned to the US in 1978 after accepting a fellowship position with pioneering cardiovascular surgeon Denton A. Cooley, MD, FACS, at The Texas Heart Institute (now part of Baylor College of Medicine) in Houston. He decided to remain in Houston, serving as a general surgeon in its rural, underserved outskirts for more than 40 years. During his decades-long surgical career, he cared for generations of patients while witnessing—and embracing—major advances in surgical care. Colleagues and patients alike remembered him for bringing high-quality surgical care to communities that often had limited access to specialty services.
Dr. Pon became an ACS Fellow in 1973, remained a proud member for more than 5 decades, and has made an indelible mark on the organization.
