Aesthetic Specialization Popularity Among Residency Graduates Through Fellowship Training
Abigail Katz*1, Olachi O. Oleru2, Anya Wang1, Max Mandelbaum2, Nargiz Seyidova2, Uchechukwu O. Amakiri1, Catherine Stratis1, Peter Taub2
1Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY; 2Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Mount Sinai Hopsital, New York, NY
With the shift to integrated plastic and reconstructive surgery programs, fellowship training has increased. Facial plastic surgery was found to be the most common fellowship after otolaryngology, but popularity of aesthetic training in other eligible fields is unknown. The present study analyzed fellowship match after plastic surgery, otolaryngology, dermatology, and ophthalmology to determine trends of aesthetic training by field compared to other fellowships.
This retrospective review collected data from The San Francisco Match, National Resident Matching Program, American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, and The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education including number of graduating residents and number applying and matching into each fellowship from 2012-2022. Ratios between the annual number of graduates and number of applicants to each respective fellowship were compared using ANOVA and t-tests to determine the distribution of residents seeking aesthetic training compared to other fellowships.
Otolaryngology had the highest percentage of residents pursuing facial plastic surgery compared to fellowships in rhinology, neurotology and pediatrics (ANOVA p<0.001). Plastic surgery had the most applicants to microsurgery fellowship, followed by craniofacial fellowship until 2020 when aesthetic surgery surpassed craniofacial (ANOVA p<0.001). In Dermatology, Mohs surgery is the most popular fellowship followed by cosmetic dermatology and pediatrics, but no significant difference was seen between cosmetics vs pediatrics (ANOVA p<0.001, t-test p=0.925). Oculofacial plastic surgery after ophthalmology was less common than fellowships in retina, cornea, glaucoma, and pediatrics but more common than neuroophthalmology, uveitis, and anterior segment (ANOVA p<0.001)
The percent of residents pursuing fellowships has increased annually, reflecting increased specialization. Aesthetic training is the most popular otolaryngology fellowship and the second most common plastic surgery and dermatology fellowships comparatively, though less common in ophthalmology.
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