The Quality of Aesthetic Surgery Training in Plastic Surgery Residency

Abstract

The importance of providing high-quality exposure and training in aesthetic and reconstructive surgery during residency has come to the forefront of plastic surgery education. Adequate training in aesthetic surgery, however, has traditionally been challenging. The authors were interested in how these challenges were met abroad. A 17-item online survey was developed to assess the quality of training in aesthetic surgery in Germany. The survey had 3 distinct sections: demographic information, current state of aesthetic surgery training, and residents' opinions about the perceived quality of aesthetic surgery training. Only responses of senior residents were included in the final analysis. A total of 112 residents responded (30% response rate), of which 88 were senior plastic surgery residents. Ninety percent (n = 79) reported that a resident aesthetic surgery clinic was not part of their training experience. Eighty-eight percent (n = 77) reported that they did not have a dedicated aesthetic surgery rotation during their residency training. According to 69.3% (n = 61), no didactic training in aesthetic surgery was provided. Fifty-six percent (n = 49) of senior plastic surgery residents had performed only a maximum of 10 aesthetic surgery procedures at the time of the survey. Although only 43.2% of senior residents claimed to be interested in a predominantly aesthetic surgery practice, 90.9% (n = 80) felt that they require further training in aesthetic surgery (ie, fellowship). Deficiencies exist with respect to aesthetic surgery training among senior plastic surgery residents in Germany. Structural improvements in residency training with formal exposure and teaching in aesthetic surgery are warranted. The German Society of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons is actively addressing deficiencies identified with the goal of improving the quality of training.