Dr. T.S. Park

Dr. Tae Sung (T.S.) Park, MD (1947–2024) was a pioneering pediatric neurosurgeon whose contributions transformed the lives of thousands of children worldwide. A native of South Korea, Dr. Park trained at Yonsei University College of Medicine, the University of Virginia, Ohio State University, Harvard Medical School, and the University of Toronto before joining Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis in 1989, where he served for over 35 years.Dr. Park was renowned as the foremost practitioner of selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR), a surgical procedure that reduces muscle spasticity in children with cerebral palsy — a condition that can rob children of the ability to walk. Over the course of his career, he performed the procedure 5,323 times, enabling children who might otherwise have required a wheelchair to walk, run, and thrive. Families traveled from around the world to seek his care at St. Louis Children's Hospital.Among his many honors, Dr. Park received the 1999 Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award and the 2008 H. Richard Winn, MD, Prize for Meritorious Research from the Society of Neurological Surgeons. He trained more than 80 neurosurgeons over the course of his career, leaving an enduring legacy in the field of pediatric neurosurgery.Dr. Park passed away unexpectedly on August 31, 2024, while on vacation with his family. He was 77. He is remembered not only as a brilliant surgeon and researcher, but as a compassionate physician who dedicated his life to giving children the gift of movement.