Is it safe to get a rhinoplasty at a teaching hospital/ university resident clinic?

It would depend on the level of supervision in the clinic.  Rhinoplasty is perhaps the most challenging operation in cosmetic surgery. It is hard to achieve naturally beautiful results that stand the test of time. The surgeons training and years of experience are important variables in the ultimate outcome. When I was an attending surgeon at a University clinic, I was very "hands on" in my approach - perhaps too much so in the opinion of some residents and fellows. I saw the patients in consultation and helped the resident physicians develop a surgical plan. I was present during the operation and made certain the patient had a quality outcome. I was also involved in the aftercare of the patient. I felt this was my obligation to both the physician-in-training as well as the patient that was placing their trust in the institution.   Resident physicians and Fellows need the opportunity to perform cosmetic procedures so they are prepared to treat patients on their own at the conclusion of their training. Resident Clinics serve an important function because they allow doctors to gain much needed experience while providing services at a reduced cost to the community. But not all clinics operate equally. I would want to know who will be supervising my operation, whether they will be physically present during the procedure and what remedies are available if their are any complications.I hope this helps. Best of luck to you.

Dear Jonathan, Your question is a very valid one. I agree with the answers below. It seems that you are in or near Boston, so you have the advantage of having some of the best teaching hospitals in the world, which only accept the top applicants. Nevertheless, surgical experience is surgical experience. Having trained at Massachussets Eye and Ear Infrimary myself, I can report that the professors only let a resident operate if he or she has demonstrated competence and skill at a given level and then increase the level of difficulty for them accordingly. Typically, in general a resident will not be performing a rhinoplasty and that procedure is left for the Fellows who have 5 prior years of similar specialty training.  (You can delay an elective procedure towards the end of the academic year e.g. April May June when the residents /fellows have gained more surgical experience rather than in July where they are fresh on the team.) A Rhinoplsty is not only a surgery, it is also an ART and it needs a lot of attention to detail and experience to know what maneuvers will produce what results. It is also important for the new nose to match the person's persona - their face, their body build, their ethnicity, their character. An excellent communication tool that we use in our office pre-op to ascertain these details together with our patient, is computer imaging where you could try different aspects of noses on the face in multiple views to determine together which is the best one and also delineate which is a surgically feasible one. If you are not feeling the trust and comfort level you would like to feel (regarding who will do the surgery) at your teaching hospital another option is that you seek a Facial Plastic surgeon in private practice based on his/her results and reputation and there you are guaranteed that they will do the surgery !Best of luck in your endeavors !Kind Regards, Dr. Anna Petropoulos

Dear JonathanBravo:This is a good question that is asked frequently in my practice.  As a whole, getting your rhinoplasty done at a teaching hospital does not necessarily mean that your rhinoplasty will be done by a lesser trained surgeon.  Some of the best surgeons work at teaching hospitals and their skill is necessary to properly train the next generation of surgeons.  So this does not imply that you will be getting "discount" surgery.Ask specific questions to your surgeon.  If you have reservations about having residents in your procedure, talk about this with your surgeon.  Often, you will find that the he or she is not just supervising the residents, but taking an active role in the procedure.  I wouldn't be surprised if you find that the attending surgeon is being assisted by chief/senior level residents that already have years of surgical training behind them and will be working as a team on your case.As faculty, I value having my residents in these cases assisting me.  It never hurts to have an extra set of eyes and hands that are highly trained assisting you!Overall, keep in mind that any plastic/reconstructive procedure is a team effort and you are a critical part of the team.  Communication is key - so don't hesitate to ask direct and specific questions.Good Luck!Dr. E