What Are Your Thoughts About Plastic Surgery at a Lower Cost by a Resident at a University?

Question

I wear a bra size 38DDD and I need a breast reduction but have no health coverage. Would getting one done in a plastic surgery residency be a good idea? Like UCLA? I been told the surgery can be kind of complicated, would an inexperienced surgeon be able to perform this surgery?

Ronald J. Edelson, MD · Answer

I certainly performed cases like yours as a resident and support the idea as helping both the patient and the resident in training. A breast reduction is a procedure that the resident has probably done many times during residency. Go for a consult and meet the resident to see is you are comfortable ask the resident how many of these they have done. UCLA has an excellent program and you should be in good hands.

Kenneth Hughes, MD · Answer

This may be a reasonable thing to consider. You can always check the price on this option and several other plastic surgeons in the community. Kenneth Hughes, MD Los Angeles, CA

Scott C. Sattler, MD, FACS · Answer

Each of the surgeons on this forum has benefitted from patients allowing us to hone our surgical skills under the careful guidance of a board certified plastic surgeon in a university based plastic surgery training environment. I would recommend contacting the plastic surgery at your local university hospital and inquiring about a 'plastic surgery residents clinic'. You may have to pay out of pocket for the procedure since you lack insurance.

Robert L. Kraft, MD, FACS · Answer

I have performed thousands of these procedures during my years of practice and, of course, experience counts. A resident will be working alongside and with a board certified plastic surgeon on the faculty of the academic program. UCLA is a very fine program. If you are unable to afford the procedure in a private practice setting, it is well worth investigating but the teaching programs no longer perform surgeries for free. The cost may be higher than you anticipate but definitely do the research.

Suman K. Das, MD (retired) · Answer

It is a very good idea and as Chef and Programme Chairman at University of Mississippi I had such a programme to train residents in cosmetic surgery ,particularly Breast Augmentation,Reduction and Face Lift.An attending must scrub and help and ultimate responsibility is that of the Attending.It will be attending's job to decide that the Resident is trained enough to take individual responsilities.The Resident see the patient by himself,plans it and then present it to the Attending who is ultimately resposible for the patient.The patient is cognizant from the begining that the surgery will be done by the Resident for which he or she charged much reduced fee.This money usually go to Resident Fund for attending our Society meetings.

Ronald V. DeMars, MD (Retired) · Answer

The residents are supervised by their Plastic Surgeon instructors. You should have no trouble getting a satisfactory result. If residents didn't have a chance to do surgery, none of us would be here and there would be no future surgeons to replace us as we retire.

What Are Your Thoughts About Plastic Surgery at a Lower Cost by a Resident at a University?

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