Curriculum & Training

UC Irvine Medical Center has a broad clinical base, with a concentration in critical care, trauma and burn care. The medical center is a designated Level I trauma center. It also houses an adult and pediatric burn unit.

The clinical goals of this rotation are to become skilled in the following principles and techniques of critical care: 

• Major flap, oncologic and microvascular reconstruction, including breast 
• Acute trauma management, including craniomaxillofacial, extremity, trunk, and head and neck 
• Burn resuscitation, grafting and secondary reconstruction 
• Hand, upper extremity and peripheral nerve surgery 
• Elective craniofacial surgery 
• Gender affirming surgery 
• General surgery 

Burn Surgery Experience 

Residents participate in the comprehensive care of burn patients from acute care through rehabilitation. The multidisciplinary structure of this service also develops skills in effective interdisciplinary relationships for care of critically ill patients, which is found in few other programs. 

Hand & Upper Extremity 

This rotation is performed at UC Irvine Medical Center under the direction of Eric Wang, MD, as well as at the VA Long Beach Healthcare System and pediatric experience at Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC). Our faculty members include Sean Cantwell, MD, and Nicole Conkling, MD, who offer a variety of exposure through their practices. Residents will also have opportunities to work with orthopedic hand faculty. 

The Level I trauma center provides care for hand trauma and replantation. Plastic surgery residents and attendings provide microvascular treatment. The primary goal of this rotation is to master the principles of management, surgery, and therapy of hand and upper extremity disorders in adults and children. It also provides a strong digital and extremity replantation experience and reinforces the goals of strengthening microsurgical skills. This rotation is supplemented by several symposia in anatomy, internal fixation and microsurgery. 

Head & Neck Surgery 

Our residents receive an in-depth experience in head and neck care. The goals of education, experience and operative management in head and neck oncologic surgery are achieved by a multidisciplinary head and neck service staffed by teams from plastic surgery, otolaryngology (ENT) and general surgical oncology. The facial call is shared equally with the ENT service, alternating every other week. 

Pediatric/Cleft/Craniofacial 

This rotation is centered on the pediatric plastic surgery service at UC Irvine Medical Center, Long Beach Memorial Medical Center and CHOC. The primary goals of these rotations are to learn the principles and techniques of cleft lip and palate, craniofacial and other congenital and acquired anomalies. 

The related goals of outpatient pre- and post-operative evaluation and management of these pediatric subspecialties are gained by attendance at the interdisciplinary panels at Long Beach Memorial and CHOC. This experience takes place under the direction of Raj Vyas, MD, Miles Pfaff, MD, and Daniel Jaffurs, MD, at CHOC. 

These rotations are directed by James Black, MD. They provide a wealth of experience at Miller’s Children’s Hospital in Long Beach and a variety of clinical disciplines. 

Experience includes hand surgery, ophthalmological plastic surgery, pediatric and adult plastic surgery, and general surgery (vascular, GI, oncology, pediatrics, etc).

This rotation is directed by Donald Mowlds, MD. Residents participate in a wide range of aesthetic surgeries, with many prominent aesthetic surgeons within the Orange County community.

Under the direction of several full-time faculty, residents are exposed to a wide range of plastic and hand surgery experiences, including working with the spinal cord team and reconstruction of decubitus ulcers and upper extremity procedures.

This facility for basic and advanced training in microsurgery is located in our research laboratories. Residents have 24-hour access to a surgical microscope in the lab for ongoing additional practice. Plastic Surgery residents take part in a formal week-long microsurgery course during their third or fourth year.

This facility is devoted to anatomic dissection of fresh cadavers for training and research purposes. Materials are available for dissection as needed. Throughout the year, residents gather to perform preselected cadaver dissections under the supervision of a volunteer faculty member.

Once a month at the beginning of the academic year, residents gather to perform preselected cadaver flap dissections under the supervision of a volunteer faculty member.

Residents and faculty meet quarterly to discuss relevant clinical articles and evidence-based medicine.

Residents meet quarterly with a volunteer community plastic surgeon to discuss advanced cosmetic procedures and the fundamentals of setting up and running an aesthetic practice.

Residents gain hands-on experience in managing an injection clinic for nonsurgical facial rejuvenation with various products.

Residents receive didactic educational sessions on cutting-edge skin care health and prevention of facial aging.

A monthly dinner is held where residents network with other plastic surgeons in the community.