Plastic Surgery Residency

The residency training program in plastic surgery provides a diverse experience in plastic surgery and its subspeciality areas. Two positions per year are filled in an integrated program approved by the Residency Review Committee which involves matching into the program during the senior year of medical school. Rotations during the first three years are:

• First year -- general surgery, orthopaedics, plastics, ocular plastics, transplant, vascular, and trauma
• Second year -- general surgery, plastics, oral surgery, head & neck, hand/ortho, burn unit and research
• Third year -- plastics, head & neck, general surgery, dermatology
• Fourth-year residents transition into full-time training in plastic surgery, and operative responsibility is graduated as residents gain experience throughout the final three years.

Residents are exposed to all areas of Plastic Surgery including breast surgery, facial fractures, facial aesthetic surgery, pediatric plastic surgery, hand surgery, wound management, burn surgery and reconstructive surgery following traumatic injury and cancer resection. Residents obtain skills in microsurgical techniques during research rotations during the PGY 2 & PGY 3 years in the microsurgical laboratory, honing techniques to participate in clinical microsurgical procedures. Fifth and sixth year residents continue to gain experience as the primary surgeons and become more familiar with indications for surgery and management of complications. The sixth year resident also serves as the administrative chief resident, supervising junior residents and medical students, as well as organizing weekly conferences. There are four full-time plastic surgery faculty and one clinical part-time faculty.

Residents are strongly encouraged to perform clinical and basic research as part of their educational experience. The division sends each resident to one meeting per year, plus meetings where the research of the resident is presented.

The plastic surgery faculty are responsible for the education and training of medical students (undergraduates), residents and fellows. As a division in the Department of Surgery, Plastic Surgery shares the teaching of the surgery curriculum with seven other divisions: general surgery, neurosurgery, orthopaedics, otolaryngology, thoracic and cardiovascular surgery, and urology.

Sample Resident Rotation

CMH – Childrens Memorial Hospital
SIU/TXP - Transplant
PLS Fac – Plastic Surgery Faculty
PLS Nts – Plastics Surgery Nights
SIU – SIU General Surgery
STJ – St John’s General Surgery

Plastic Surgery Resident education at SIU School of Medicine strives to achieve the following:

• Solid foundation in the fundamentals of plastic surgery
• Broad exposure to all aspects of plastic surgery
• Technical competence and confidence as a surgeon
• Successful completion of a research project with publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Satisfactory completion of this residency qualifies residents to take the American Board of Plastic Surgery written examination.

Contact Information:

Please feel free to contact our offices at the School of Medicine with any questions you may have concerning the Plastic Surgery Residency Program:

Contact Information:

Please feel free to contact our offices at the School of Medicine with any questions you may have concerning the Plastic Surgery Residency Program:
Jean Weitekamp
Institute for Plastic Surgery
Telephone: 217-545-6112
FAX Number: 217-545-2588
E-mail: jweitekamp@siumed.edu