Plastic Surgery was accredited as a residency at UTMB Galveston on
November 30, 1949. It continued as an independent program for three
residents yearly until converting to a five-year integrated program in
1998. Six years later, the residency program was approved for expansion
to a six-year integrated program to enhance education and to meet new
ACGME requirements.
In
2014, the Plastic Surgery residency was expanded from three to four residents per year, corresponding to the increase in surgical volume at UTMB. Residents are primarily based at UTMB Galveston and at Shriners Hospitals for Children Galveston, located
across the street. Education and training take place in Galveston and at the off-island UTMB League City Campus. Our residents also rotate at Shriners Hospital Houston, St. Joseph's Hospital, the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and in
several affiliated private practice offices. While away at rotations in Houston, our residents can stay in a well maintained nearby 3-bedroom apartment for free. Residents experience progressive complexity of cases and independence as they rotate
through the services. There are no Hand, Craniofacial or Microsurgery fellowships currently at UTMB, whereby giving residents even more responsibility and exposure. After the last site visit, Plastic Surgery at UTMB was afforded full accreditation,
4-year cycle, no citations.
Many residents at UTMB have multiple publications during their residency. Residents are also active participants in regional and national plastic surgical societies, with presentations at many meetings. Residents also participate in committees of national
plastic and hand surgery organizations. In addition, our residents have an educational fund and full access to numerous on-line versions of plastic surgical texts. Opportunities for overseas trips are also available. Many of our recent graduates have
moved on to premiere fellowship programs in hand, micro and craniofacial surgery around the country.
Please look at our surgical simulations labs (below) and the visiting professors program.
Below is a sample rotation schedule.
2024-2025 Block SchedulePGY-1 |
Acute Burn Care
1 Month | General Surgery
1 Month | Otolaryngology
1 Month | Pediatric Surgery
1 Month | Transplant Surgery
1 Month | Trauma
1 Month | Vascular Surgery
1 Month | UTMB Galveston
2 Months | UTMB Mainland
3 Months |
| PGY-2 |
Acute Burn Care
1 Month | Anesthesia/ Dermatology
1 Month | General Surgery
1 Months | OMFS
1 Month | Trauma
1 Months | SICU
2 Months | UTMB Mainland
2 Months | UTMB Galveston
3 Months |
| PGY-3 |
Driscoll Children's Hospital
1 Month | M.D. Anderson Reconstruction
1 Month | Night Float
1 Month | Ortho Hand
1 Month | Research
1 Month | Burn Reconstruction SHC-TX
3 Months | UTMB Mainland
4 Months |
| PGY-4 |
Dell Children's Medical Center
1 Month | Driscoll CHildren's Hospital
1 Month
| M.D, Anderson Reconstruction
1 Month | Night Float
1 Month | Ortho Hand
1 Month | Research
1 Month | UTMB Mainland
1 Month | Memorial Hermann-TMC/ LBJ Hospital
2 Months | UTMB Galveston
3 Months |
| PGY-5 |
Dell CHildren's Medical Center
1 Month | Elective
1 Month | Memorial Hermann - TMC/ LBJ Hospital
1 Month | Private Cosmetic
1 Month | M.D. Anderson Microsurgery
3 Months | UTMB Mainland
5 Months |
| PGY-6 |
ACPS
1 Month | Dell Children's Medical Center
1 Month | Driscoll Children's Hospital
1 Month | Elective
1 Month | Ortho Hand
1 Month | Private Cosmetic
1 Month | UTMB Galveston
3 Months | UTMB Mainland/ Admin Chief
3 Months |
| |
Surgical Simulation Center
Simulation-based training is now a component of all 5 years of general
surgery residency. Interns participate in a "Boot Camp" program of
simulation center workshops on basic surgical skills from
suturing/knot-tying to chest tubes and ultrasound-guided central venous
catheter placement. These sessions are taught by faculty and senior
residents. All residents complete the Fundamentals of Laparoscopic
Surgery (FLS) curriculum prior to performing laparoscopic cases.
Twice-monthly workshops in the Simulation Center cover a range of topics
from vascular and GI anastomoses to advanced laparoscopic and robotic
procedures. Simulation is also used to teach and assess core
competencies such as communication, professionalism and systems-based
practice. The Simulation Center is home to a variety of specialized
curricula, educational research projects and quality improvement
efforts.
Microsurgical Skills Training Curriculum for UTMB Plastic Surgery Residents
Microsurgery is an important technique used by many surgical
specialties, including Plastic Surgery. Microsurgery generally involves
vessels of such small size that use of an operative microscope and
specialized instruments are required. Although microsurgery allows
surgeons to reconstruct defects that may otherwise be uncorrectable, it
requires a high level of skill. Individual operative technique is the
main determinant of microsurgical success. Traditionally, the
opportunity to practice microsurgical techniques has been restricted to
patients undergoing operations. Current changes in healthcare require
revision of the surgical training curriculum. At the University of Texas
Medical Branch, Plastic Surgery residents progress through a
microsurgical skills training curriculum in a microscope-equipped
laboratory. Junior residents begin with low-fidelity techniques (e.g.,
suturing small-caliber tubing) while senior residents progress to
high-fidelity techniques (e.g., rat anastomoses).
Hand Surgery Training
Residency training at the University of Texas Medical Branch's Division
of Plastic Surgery aims to allow residents to become facile with newer
techniques which are constantly evolving to finally become tomorrow's
standard of care. Hand surgery training is an important component of
plastic surgery training. Small joint replacement in the hand and wrist
is performed for post-traumatic and degenerative diseases of the joints.
Total small joint arthroplasty requires precision surgical skills to
obtain excellent results. Meticulous techniques in pyrocarbon
arthroplasty are being mastered by residents in this cadaveric workshop
prior to employing these skills to help patients in the operating room.
Junior residents perform these techniques in certain hand joints while
seniors perform technically more complex surgeries in the finger and
thumb joints. A variety of faculty-led workshops occur during the
academic year.