Exposure to Plastic Surgery During General Surgery Training and Production of Independent Plastic Surgery Residents: A National Query of 341 Programs

OBJECTIVE: Exposure to plastic and reconstructive surgery is critical for general surgery residents to develop interest in pursuing plastic surgery as a career. This study aims to quantify trends in exposure to plastic surgery among general surgery residents and exposures relationship to pursuing independent plastic and reconstructive surgery match. DESIGN: This was a retrospective cross sectional observational study using publicly available data and program correspondence. SETTING: Data on program curriculum and rotation schedules were collected from general surgery program websites and communication with general surgery program coordinators (maximum 3 attempts). PARTICIPANTS: In total, 416 general surgery graduates from 341 programs from 2016 to 2024 were included in this study. RESULTS: General surgery programs with more exposure to plastic surgery through dedicated rotations produced more independent plastic surgery residents, with programs producing only 1 matched applicant found to have 1.84 months of exposure, compared to programs with 4+ matched applicants averaging 2.48 months of exposure (p-value = <0.0001). Furthermore, affiliation of a general surgery program with an independent plastic surgery program was more strongly associated with successful applicant matching than affiliation with an integrated plastic surgery program. CONCLUSIONS: GS residencies with an affiliated independent PRS program are more likely to match interested residents into PRS than those without. There is not a similar benefit for GS programs affiliated with integrated programs alone. Exposure to PRS through dedicated rotations is positively associated with increasing matched applicants following GS residency.