| Plastic Surgery Faculty |
| Other Features |
| Additional Information: |
| Graduate Medical Education |
| Residency Programs |
| About Augusta |
Other Features
Craniofacial Program:
The Medical College of Georgia
Children's Medical Center opened in December 1998. This facility has 157 beds
and offers comprehensive pediatric services. As part of the Plastic and
Reconstructive Surgery Section, the Craniofacial Center continues to grow. On
July 1, 1996, MCG's Craniofacial Center was formally recognized by the Georgia
Board of Regents and listed nationally by the American Craniofacial/Cleft Palate
Association.
MCG's Craniofacial Center works to diagnose and treat children and adults with congenital and acquired craniofacial disorders. The center tries to provide and coordinate comprehensive care for patients with these complex problems. This center serves as a central hub for students and residents in many specialties, providing them an opportunity to see and work with patients who have unusual and rare conditions and to interact with other disciplines. This interaction often kindles research projects with a ready database available in the more than 300 patients on file with our clinic.
The incidence of cleft lip with or without cleft palate in the general population is in 700 live births and 1 in 2000 for craniosynostosis. Traditionally, the cleft lip/cleft palate and craniofacial patients at MCG have been channeled through the Division of Plastic and Reconstruction. The Center currently treats over 100 patients with clefts and more than 50 patients with craniosynostosis annually.
The Cleft Lip and Palate Clinic and Craniofacial Clinic each meet once monthly, on the first and third Wednesday of each month. These are multidisciplinary clinics with representatives from Plastic Surgery, Orthodontics, Pediatric Dentistry, General Pediatric, Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology, Genetics, Speech Pathology, Pediatric Neurosurgery and Child Psychiatry.
Microsurgery:
The Microsurgery Laboratory was developed in 1991. Dr. Edmond Ritter is the
Director of the Microsurgery laboratory. The Microsurgery Course is an
intensive five day course that covers all facets of microsurgery. The design of
the course uses videotapes, demonstrations, and "hand on" microsurgery on rats.
Each student progresses at his or her own pace and is coaxed through the most
difficult of microsurgical techniques. All plastic surgery residents are
required to successfully complete the Microsurgery Course.
Research:
The section of plastic surgery is active in clinical and basic science
research. The attendings and residents are actively engaged in research. Dr.
Gamboa has a particular interest in anatomic dissections, Dr. Ritter’s interest
is in tumor cell – stem cell interaction, and Dr. Yu is working on
mechano-transduction. Each resident is required to generate either a clinical or
basic research paper during the two years here.
Clinical
Experience:
According to ACGME data, MCG plastic surgery residents had no deficiency in any
category since 1994. The clinical program is a well balanced one and gives
residents the exposure of the entire spectrum of plastic surgery. The MCG
Service residents run a staff clinic every Monday which offers a unique
opportunity to make independent decisions.
Conferences:
There will be four scheduled conferences each week. The chief resident on the
MCG Service is responsible for organizing the conference schedule each month.
Monday Morning: Case Conference - 7:00 am: Cases are presented by a resident on rotating basis and questions about case management are directed to the residents. Residents are advised to prepare the cases several weeks in advance, so that they have an opportunity to become familiar with the patient histories and read about related management issues in detail before this conference.
Monday Afternoon: Hand Conference - 4:30 pm: To be attended by all Plastic Surgery residents and the Orthopedic residents on the Hand Service. The conference includes formal talks by the residents and attendings as well as informal discussions.
Wednesday Morning: Core Review Conference - 7:00 am: A curriculum of plastic surgery will be systematically covered throughout the two years. The format is problem based learning utilizing both literature review and case studies. Topics will be assigned in advance. (Selected Readings/McCarthy)
Wednesday Afternoon: Lectures, M&M, & Journal Club - 4:30 pm: This consists of lectures by residents, attendings, and guest speakers alternating with monthly journal clubs and monthly Mortality and Morbidity Conferences.
Journal
Club:
Journal club is held the second Wednesday of each month at area restaurants.
They're generally sponsored by company representatives. The Journal Clubs will
review the journals "Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery" and "Annals of Plastic
Surgery". All residents should subscribe to these journals. Each resident is
assigned an article to review critically for Journal Club, in addition to
reading most of the articles in these journals.
Photography:
All residents must own their own digital camera (ideally with a 105 mm lens).
The photographs are kept as JPEG files in a centralized, but remote drive which
has more than 130 GB capacity.
Call:
Residents take call an average of every fourth night and every fourth weekend
(Saturday/Sunday). 80 hour/week policy is strictly enforced.
Vacations:
Residents are allowed two full weeks of vacation and one week at either
Christmas or New Year's.
Meetings:
Each year 2 residents attend the ASPS meeting and 2 attend the AAPS meeting paid
for by the Section for up to $2,000. Each resident can attending one national
or regional Plastic Surgery conference or course per year. Senior residents can
also attend the Senior Resident's Meeting each spring provided that they present
a paper. In general, if a paper is accepted at a meeting the resident may also
attend that meeting at the department's expense, at the discretion of the
Program Director.
Salary:
The annual salary for the plastic surgery resident is adjusted periodically and
may be obtained through the GME office.