Portrait of Dale Podolsky

Dale Podolsky

BSc, BESc, MD, PhD, FRCSC
Assistant Professor
Division of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery
Temerty Faculty of Medicine
University of Toronto

Bio

Prior to medical school at the University of Toronto, Dr. Podolsky completed concurrent degrees in both Mechanical Engineering and Physics at Western University.

Dr. Dale Podolsky completed residency training in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at The University of Toronto where he was enrolled in the Surgeon Scientist Training Program completing a PhD in Biomedical Engineering. Following residency training, Dr. Podolsky completed fellowship training in Pediatric Craniofacial Surgery at The University of Washington at Seattle Children’s Hospital.

During his PhD he developed a novel robotic instrument for cleft palate repair using a high-fidelity cleft palate simulator and founded the company Simulare Medical to commercialize the simulator resulting in widespread adoption in over 60 countries worldwide. The company was acquired by Smile Train, the worlds largest cleft organization in 2020. Dr. Podolsky’s academic career has resulted in numerous international patents, awards, publications and presentations.

Dr Podolsky is now a surgeon-scientist in the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at The Hospital for Sick Children. His clinical interests include cleft, craniofacial and ear reconstruction.

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Research
Interests

  • Surgical simulation
  • Application of robotics in pediatric cleft and craniofacial surgery
  • Outcomes in pediatric cleft and craniofacial surgery

Recent Relevant
Publications

Cleft Lip Revision.

Podolsky DJ, Wong Riff KWY, Fisher DM. Oral Maxillofac Surg Clin North Am. 2026 May;38(2):223-232

Complex Facial Clefts.

Podolsky DJ, Wong Riff KWY, Fisher DM. Oral Maxillofac Surg Clin North Am. 2026 May;38(2):317-327.

Bilateral Cleft lip Simulation.

Zaga-Galante J, Tse R, Hopper RA, Arnold A, Fisher DM, Wong-Riff KW, Podolsky DJ. Cleft Palate Craniofac J. 2025 May;62(5):829-834.

Simulation in Cleft Care: Evolution, Evidence, and Training the Future Surgeon.

Diaz AL, Kantar R, Podolsky DJ, Flores RL.Plast Reconstr Surg. 2025 Oct 1;156(4S-2):56S-71S.

Technical skills assessment during simulated cleft lip repair.

Kaimi P, Fisher DM, Yasabala B, Wong Riff KW, Podolsky DJ. J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg. 2025 Apr;103:102-113

Surgical Anatomy of Cleft Palate: A 3-Dimensional Computer Model.

Podolsky DJ, Lupu A, Wong Riff KWY, Fisher DM. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2026 Mar 1;157(3):528-541.

Radical Overlapping Intravelar Veloplasty during Primary Cleft Palate Repair Results in Decreased Secondary Speech Surgery.

Podolsky DJ, Fischbach S, Wong Riff KWY, Saggaf M, Klaiman P, Fisher DM.Plast Reconstr Surg. 2025 Jun 1;155(6):997-1008

Principles and Techniques to Reduce the Incidence of Fistula: A Review of over 1000 Cleft Palate Repairs by a Single Surgeon.

Podolsky DJ, Riff KWYW, Saggaf M, Fisher DM.Plast Reconstr Surg. 2026 Jun 1;157(6):1047-1057.

PubMed profile

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