Can I get plastic surgery (body lift) at a lower cost by a resident at a teaching hospital?

Hello Melissa.Hello and thanks for your post. For a high quality body lift operation by a certified surgeon it is best to save up your money and when you're financially ready then have your surgery. A residency program can be less expensive, but there will be some potential additional risks. I also don't think the results are comparable to a seasoned board certified plastic surgeon's results.However, some residency programs are stellar. I suggest you do a lot of research about how much the faculty is involved with residency surgery. Stanford has a residency program and you can contact the plastic surgery section for more information.Best wishes, Dr. Aldo.

Thank you for your question. The short answer is yes, if it is available, you can often get cosmetic surgery prices for less by doing them through a resident or fellow teaching clinic where a plastic surgeon in training performs your procedure under the supervision and guidance of an attending physician. The only problem is that because of legal issues with these types of clinics, many educational centers have done away with them. Having this type of setup is great for the patient and the trainee, but when things go wrong, people get upset and start suing people, and this puts the institution at great legal risk, and so many are not willing to risk it.Your best bet would be to find out what university medical centers near you have a plastic surgery training program (UCSF, Stanford?) and call the coordinator of that residency or fellowship program and ask them if they have a resident or fellow cosmetic clinic. That would be a good place to start, but do not be surprised if you find that most universities and training programs no longer offer this service due to the litigious nature of our society.  Best of luck!

You can find out which university hospitals near you have a Plastic Surgery Residency Program. Then call that university and ask to speak to the Plastic Surgery Department. They will be able to tell you if the residents have a surgery clinic of their own.