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Micro is most often performed by hand surgeons. 3 routes to hand. General, ortho, or plastics with 1 year of hand/micro fellowship. Ortho and plastics usually get good hand training in residency. Plastics usually gets good micro training in residency doing replants/free flaps and the like. Ortho doesn't really do micro in residency.
Plastics residency is probably one of the most competitive right now. Something like 250-275 applicants for ~75 spots this year. Ortho is competitive, but not as bad. GenSurg is becoming more competitive, but is still pretty wide open.
Hand/micro surgeons do fairly well in private practice, but I couldn't quote any reliable numbers. Let's just say that you won't have to eat at McDonald's all the time.
Hand surgery is super-fun and you get to sit down (very nice). Micro can be tedious sometimes.
Plastics residency is probably one of the most competitive right now. Something like 250-275 applicants for ~75 spots this year. Ortho is competitive, but not as bad. GenSurg is becoming more competitive, but is still pretty wide open.
Hand/micro surgeons do fairly well in private practice, but I couldn't quote any reliable numbers. Let's just say that you won't have to eat at McDonald's all the time.
Hand surgery is super-fun and you get to sit down (very nice). Micro can be tedious sometimes.
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The answer to your question depends on your definition of microsurgery. If you are just talking about doing surgery under an operating microscope, lots of specialties do this. Optho, ENT and Neurosurg to name a few probably spend the most time working under a scope.
If you are talking about learning to do microvascular anastamosis and microscopic nerve repair, that can be learned by the routes mentioned by maxheadroom. There are also a number of microvascular surgery fellowships available following residency in otolaryngology. These are mainly done to learn to do free flaps for reconstructions after resection of head and neck cancers.
If you are talking about learning to do microvascular anastamosis and microscopic nerve repair, that can be learned by the routes mentioned by maxheadroom. There are also a number of microvascular surgery fellowships available following residency in otolaryngology. These are mainly done to learn to do free flaps for reconstructions after resection of head and neck cancers.
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The other posters are right. Most surgical specialties have some form of micro stuff that they do. I believe that the TV show that you're refering to involved a toe being replanted as a finger.
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OK, if hand is what you're into, then there are three pathways.
1. GenSurg + Hand fellowship (not very common)
2. Ortho +/- Hand fellowship (depends upon the amount of hand performed during residency)
3. Plastics +/- Hand fellowship
1. GenSurg + Hand fellowship (not very common)
2. Ortho +/- Hand fellowship (depends upon the amount of hand performed during residency)
3. Plastics +/- Hand fellowship
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People are avoiding microsurgery in droves these days. The reimbursement for those cases is horrible considering the time & skill required. In many places the only plastic surgeons doing true microsurgery are at teaching programs. Cases that were very frequent a decade ago during training are almost not even done anymore (ie. free TRAM breast reconstruction). You still need the scope for some of the hand work, but the popularity of that subspecialty has plummeted as well for similar reasons
