In 1999, though he had no particular affiliation to the Midwest in general or to Wisconsin specifically, Dr. Michael Bentz was intrigued enough about the opening the University of Wisconsin had for the position of Chair of the Division of Plastic Surgery that he took Dr. Layton Rikkers up on his offer to visit Madison and discuss the role. At the time, there was no way for Dr. Bentz to know the impact that he would have on the UW Department of Surgery or the impact the department would have on him and his family.
“When I came and saw the culture, met the people, the opportunities here and, particularly, Dr. Rikkers’ leadership, I was sold,” Dr. Bentz said. “Here there was a balance of research emphasis, education emphasis, high-level clinical care and also leadership development for the faculty and staff.”
“After talking with Mike for five minutes, I knew he was the right guy for the position,” said Dr. Rikkers, the Chair of the Wisconsin Department of Surgery from 1996-2008.
In his 25+ years as a faculty member in the department, Dr. Bentz made his mark in all those areas. His credentials as a leader are unquestioned, serving as Chair of the Division of Plastic Surgery from 1999-2023, Vice Chair of Clinical Affairs for the Department of Surgery since 2004 and even Interim Chair of the Department in 2016-17.
“I was so grateful and thrilled to be joining UW on the heels of Mike’s incredible leadership. Dr. Bentz was someone who I have always admired and who had been a good friend for many years,” said Dr. Minter, the current A.R. Curreri Professor and Chair of the UW SMPH Department of Surgery. “In addition to all of his outstanding qualities as a clinician and educator, he is simply the warmest, kindest and most generous leader and human I know. If you need anything or anybody, Dr. Bentz is the one you go to – the ultimate connector. He has had such an impact on so many, and if you ask anyone about Dr. Bentz they will universally say, ‘he is simply the best!’ and I feel that same way.”
As a leader, Dr. Bentz’s concentration has always been on education and developing the next generation of world-class surgeons.
“If you focus on residency and education, a lot of the other politicking falls away because it’s about patient care excellence and it’s about research mentorship and developing medical students who come through the program,” he said. “Our centerpiece has always been a residency, which is, I would say, acknowledged nationally. And one of the reasons we are able to attract the best recruits year after year from the national pool is because they know they’re going to get special attention and special care.”
The special care Dr. Bentz has delivered to trainees over the years has been recognized multiple times. In 2013, he was honored with the Department of Surgery’s Layton Rikkers Award for Medical Student Education. The following year, he was selected to be the School of Medicine and Public Health’s commencement speaker. And in 2016, Dr. Bentz received the Dean’s Teaching Award from SMPH.
“Dr. Bentz is undoubtedly why I, and many other residents, desperately wanted to match at the University of Wisconsin Division of Plastic Surgery,” said Dr. Ellen Via, currently a PGY-6 in the plastic surgery residency program. “He is the most caring person I have ever met and embodies the true meaning of being a doctor. As I move closer to graduating, I continuously strive to live up to the model that Dr. Bentz has set. I am so incredibly thankful to have learned from him.”
In his role as Vice Chair of Clinical Affairs, Dr. Bentz has helped shape the clinical care provided by the Department of Surgery for more than 20 years. He has worked collaboratively not only with those inside the department, but other clinical departments within SMPH, UW Health and the UW Medical Foundation. In his position, he provided departmental leadership in setting strategic priorities and achieving operational initiatives within the clinical care delivery system.
“Mike is a natural leader,” Dr. Rikkers said. “I called him ‘The gift from Pittsburgh’ because he made my job easier. His integrity is recognized by everyone he comes into contact with and he is highly respected across the medical center. It made communication among the various departments very easy.”
In addition to his work at UW–Madison, Dr. Bentz has been a leader nationally in the field of plastic surgery, donating his time graciously to numerous surgical societies. He has served as chair of the American Board of Plastic Surgery, chair of the Plastic Surgery Section of the American Academy of Pediatrics, president of the American Association of Plastic Surgeons, president of the American Council of Academic Plastic Surgeons and president of the American Association of Pediatric Plastic Surgeons.
Dr. Bentz was also honored with the American Association of Pediatric Plastic Surgeons Clinician of the Year Award in 2014. In 2018, he received the American Society of Plastic Surgeons Honorary Citation and the Distinguished Fellow Award from the American Association of Plastic Surgeons.
“Mike is one of the superstars of plastic surgery in the country,” said Dr. Rikkers.
Dr. Bentz is quick to downplay his many personal accolades and accomplishments, preferring to focus on what the collective Division of Plastic Surgery and Department of Surgery has a whole has been able to accomplish during his tenure.
“People come up to me at meetings and say, ‘Oh, I love your program. I heard this about your program,’ and I always say, ‘It’s not my program, it’s our program, it’s our residency, it’s our faculty,’” he said. “Having young faculty and residents commit to joining, I have an incredible appreciation for that. It’s been a privilege to be part of building a group as a team and then having people wanting to be part of it because that’s your investment in your future.”
Through his career at UW, Dr. Bentz impacted a number of people, and not just the faculty and trainees he oversaw. Everyone who came into contact with him was better for it.
“Working with Mike Bentz was the privilege of my lifetime,” said Mary Marshall, former Department Administrator for the Department of Surgery. “He embodies compassion, respect, confidence, technical excellence, integrity and honesty. His legacy in UW Surgery is phenomenal, but that pales in comparison to his impact on patients, students, residents, faculty, researchers, and clinical and administrative staff. Truly transformative.”
As big of an impact as Dr. Bentz had on others, he is quick to acknowledge his growth due to the mentorship and guidance from leaders, colleagues and trainees he crossed paths with.
“I wouldn’t be here without Dr. Rikkers. Working with him was like being enrolled in a leadership fellowship,” Dr. Bentz said “I appreciate him giving me the opportunity to be here as the division chair and then be given the Vice Chair Opportunity in 2004. Then Dr. Kent and Dr. Minter have allowed me to continue to do that and supported me in those roles, which is an amazing privilege.”
Though he is officially retiring from his faculty position on July 1, 2025, Dr. Bentz vows to remain involved and has been awarded Professor Emeritus status by the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has a passion for global surgery, which he has contributed to throughout his career at UW. In this next chapter, he hopes to devote more time to global education and even has a trip planned in October to Rwanda with Dr. Daniel Cho.
“It is definitely a way to give back, it’s a way to help others, which is what I think motivates all of us,” Dr. Bentz said. “The beauty of retiring is that now I have time to do it without impacting any patient care or local and national administrative responsibilities.”
And so what made a self-proclaimed “Pennsylvania person” who wasn’t looking to make a career change, choose the Wisconsin Department of Surgery and stay for more than 25 years?
“If you look around the country there are amazing places to work and there are amazing places to live. But there aren’t a ton of places that are amazing both for work and home, and this is that,” Dr. Bentz said. “Madison is a great city to live in. It’s a wonderful city to have children grow up in, and this is high level academic surgery, in clinical care, education and research. But with that you can make it to parent-teacher conferences and take your kid to the doctor and make soccer games. We’re able to weave that together here. And that makes us unique.”