After 31 years of practice, Dr. Scott Biest, Chief of the Division of Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery, retires on June 30, 2024.
Dr. Biest earned his bachelor’s and medical degrees in the combined program at the University of Missouri Kansas City. After he completed his residency at Washington University, Dr. Biest joined Drs. David Weinstein and Jerry Sachar in private practice at Barnes-Jewish Hospital (BJH) and Missouri Baptist Medical Center (MBMC). In 2011, he was recruited back to Washington University as the inaugural Division Chief of Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery (MIGS) and brought his practice with him.
Dr. Biest has been widely recognized as an expert in MIGS and sees patients from across the nation. He is consistently listed as a “Top Doctor” of St. Louis. He has retained a strong presence at MBMC where he established an AAGL Center for Excellence for MIGS and created a proctoring program for gynecologic surgeons. This program has provided continuous education in surgical skills for community gynecologic surgeons and has decreased complication rates at MBMC.
At Washington University, Dr. Biest led a highly productive clinical practice and contributes one of the largest gynecologic surgery volumes to both BJH and MBMC. To support the growth in clinical volume, Dr. Biest expanded the MIGS division to a total of four faculty members. He has also contributed to the academic mission as a member of multiple committees including the Residency Clinical Competency, Program Evaluation Committees, Quality Improvement and Operating Room Committees at BJH and MBMC.
Over the years, Dr. Biest has been instrumental in trainee education through designing and implementing a surgical skills curriculum, creating a fully equipped simulation laboratory, and leading pig and cadaver anatomy laboratory protocols. He secured a da Vinci robotic simulator for the residents to continue to train outside of the operating room. Dr. Biest has mentored residents, fellows, and faculty and has received numerous teaching awards, including multiple awards for excellence in resident education from CREOG. Under his leadership, the first ACGME accredited MIGS fellow started in 2023. In addition, the division has created a large database for research focused on chronic pelvic pain, endometriosis, and fibroids.
We offer our congratulations and support to Dr. Biest and his team upon his retirement. We sincerely thank him for his dedication, leadership, and many contributions to our department over the years and we wish him all the best.
