Message from the Program Director — Plastic Surgery Residency

Keith Brandt, M.D.

Thank you for your interest in the Plastic Surgery Residency Program of the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Washington University in St. Louis. The faculty has worked hard over the years to design a training program with complete, in-depth, didactic presentations and an extensive clinical experience. The program is continuously evaluated and updated to provide cutting-edge training that prepares residents and fellows to be leaders in the specialties of plastic and reconstructive surgery and hand surgery.

The residency program is a coordinated program that provides three years of prerequisite general surgery training under the auspices of the Washington University Department of General Surgery. The Division has worked diligently to fine tune the prerequisite general surgery experience to maximize the learning of basic surgical skills and the requisite clinical knowledge. A total of 12 months during the three pre-requisite years of general surgery are spent with the plastics division or on selected sub-specialty areas. 

Plastic surgery residents then matriculate into a three-year independent plastic surgery training program that provides the full range of plastic and reconstructive surgery experience, with advanced training in microsurgery, hand surgery, peripheral nerve and brachial plexus surgery, craniofacial surgery and all aspects of flap reconstruction. Interested medical students are encouraged to pursue a senior elective rotation of at least two weeks with the plastic surgery division here at Washington University.

Barnes-Jewish Hospital is the main teaching hospital for the residency program. U.S. News and World Report consistently has rated Barnes-Jewish as one of the top 10 hospitals in the nation since the magazine initiated its survey. Barnes-Jewish is a state-of-the-art medical facility, with 53 operating rooms running at capacity every day. Outpatient clinics and ambulatory procedures are conducted at the Center for Advanced Medicine, a new patient-friendly facility that allows expedited care of ambulatory patients. A significant portion of the training also takes place at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, which is located on the Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University Medical Center campus.

The Plastic Surgery Residency Program is associated with Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Washington University’s medical school was recently ranked as the third best in the nation by U.S. News and World Report and consistently has been ranked among the top medical schools in the survey. Approximately 1,200 Washington University faculty members practice at either Barnes-Jewish Hospital or St. Louis Children’s Hospital. The most recent edition of America's Top Doctors – published by Castle Connolly Medical Ltd. – selected more than 80 Washington University faculty members as top doctors, including two faculty members in the Division of the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

Please take a moment to review the attached “Applicant Process” link, which provides more information regarding the program.

Keith E. Brandt, M.D.
William G. Hamm Professor of Surgery and Program Director