Plastic Surgery

Plastic surgery is a broad, varied and exciting field of surgery. Primarily concerned with the restoration of form and function, plastic surgeons manage conditions affecting all areas of the body and all age groups, from neonates to the elderly.
Although most consultants participate in on call rotas and maintain a broad base of skills, most develop a specialist interest in one or more of the following areas:

• Head and Neck Surgical Oncology
• Cleft Lip and Palate Surgery (including craniofacial abnormalities)
• Breast Surgery
• Hand and Upper Limb Surgery
• Burns surgery
• Skin and soft tissue tumours
• Lower limb trauma
• Aesthetic surgery
• Academic Plastic Surgery
• Paediatric Plastic Surgery

One of the most fulfilling aspects of plastic surgery is the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues in other surgical specialties. Plastic surgeons often operate alongside surgeons working in otolaryngology, maxillofacial surgery, trauma and orthopaedics, general surgery and breast surgery.

Plastic surgery is also closely allied to aesthetic surgery; the techniques learnt as part of reconstructive training can readily be applied to alter parts of the body to improve their appearance.

Plastic Surgery is the most diverse of all the surgical specialties operating on all age groups from the newborn to elderly, male and female and as you can see from the sub-specialties throughout the body. As a result there is a field of Plastic Surgery to welcome almost any surgical trainee.

Trainees start or rotate on the first Wednesday of October.  

The hospitals included on the Plastic Surgery rotation are as follows:

• Bradford Royal Infirmary
• Castle Hill Hospital, Hull
• Leeds General Infirmary
• Northern General Hospital, Sheffield
• Pinderfields General Hospital

View full details of all hospitals. 

Training begins at ST3 level and comprises of rotation through the units involved on the particular rotation through to completion of the ST8 year. Training is directed toward the attainment of a Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) and appointment as a Consultant in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Full details of all hospitals can be found on the School of Surgery section.

Trainees are encouraged to sit the FRCS(Plastic Surgery) examination at the end of ST6 allowing the final years of interest to allow development of training in a particular sub-specialty of one’s choice. At this stage the placement of a trainee is more tailored and can be across either of the rotations. Trainees are encouraged to undertake Interface Fellowships in the UK that are available in Oncoplastic Breast Surgery, Hand Surgery, Cleft Lip & Palate, Head & Neck Surgery, Trauma and Aesthetic Surgery. Fellowships overseas are encouraged and recently trainees have been to Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Teaching and Training

Trainees are encouraged to attend biannual educational courses arranged by the British Association of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery (BAPRAS) and the British Society for Surgery of the Hand (BSSH).

Trainees are expected to engage in audit and research aiming with a view to presenting their output at the annual meetings of either BAPRAS or BSSH. Similarly, publication of academic work in specialist plastic surgical journals would be expected.

Attainment is assessed regularly against the standards set out in the Reference Guide for Postgraduate Specialty Training in the UK known as the ‘Gold Guide’. Trainees are expected to record their progress and achievement using the Intercollegiate Surgical Curriculum Project (ISCP). Progress will be formally assessed at an Annual Review of Competency Progression (ARCP) at which all members of the Specialist Training Committee (STC) and the head of the School of Surgery will be present.

Study leave is available through the curriculum delivery process. The Deanery no longer assigns a set study budget to each trainee. In order to meet the curriculum requirements and individual training needs, trainees may receive more funding at one level then another.

Useful links

• British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS)
• Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgeons (BAPRAS)
• The British Society for Surgery of the Hand (BSSH)
• Plastic Surgery Trainees Association
• E-learning for plastic surgery