Plastic Surgery
Reconstructive and aesthetic surgery. Microsurgery, hand, craniofacial, burns.
Plastic surgeons reconstruct after trauma, cancer, congenital deformity, and burns; perform microsurgical free flaps, cleft lip and palate repair, hand surgery, and post-mastectomy breast reconstruction. Aesthetic practice is a large component for many private-practice surgeons. Technically demanding, high-volume case mix.
Lifestyle & practice
Resident hours 70 to 80. Attending highly variable: aesthetic-focused private practice can be controlled and lucrative; academic reconstructive is busier with more call. Compensation $450k to $700k+, ceiling unusually high in private practice.
Common fellowship paths
- Residency length
- 6 years (integrated) or 3 after GS (independent)
- Median comp
- $500k to $700k
High-signal external links curated for residents and applicants.
- American Society of Plastic Surgeons ↗
Specialty society. PRS Journal, advocacy.
- Plastic Surgery Pulse News ↗
Aesthetic Surgery Education Foundation site.
- Plastic Surgery forum (SDN) ↗
Long-running medical career forum with active specialty subforums.
Positions
213
All applicants
350
Seats / app
0.61
From NRMP Charting Outcomes 2024 (most recent biennial publication). Source PDFs: MD Seniors / DO Seniors / IMG. NRMP publishes Charting Outcomes every other year, so this should refresh in early 2026 with the 2025 cycle data.
| Pool | Step 1 | Step 2 | Pubs | Research | AOA % | n |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MD_seniors | 247 | 256 | 34.7 | 8.6 | 35.8 | 159 |
| DO_seniors | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| US_IMG | 252 | 267 | 7.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 |
| Non_US_IMG | 238 | 242 | 55.7 | 6.4 | — | 7 |
Per-applicant-type match rates and mean Step scores published by NRMP every two years. Each row is one applicant pool in one cycle. Step scores reflect what matched applicants in that cycle achieved, not what programs require today.
| Year | Type | Match rate | Matched (n) | Step 1 | Step 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | MD_Senior | 76.8% | 159 | 247 | 256 |
| 2024 | IMG | 22.2% | 2 | — | 267 |
| 2022 | MD_Senior | 63.2% | 146 | 251 | 257 |
| 2022 | IMG | 37.5% | 3 | 227 | 232 |
| 2020 | MD_Senior | 73.8% | 158 | 249 | 256 |
| 2020 | DO_Senior | 0.0% | 0 | — | — |
| 2018 | MD_Senior | 85.9% | 146 | 249 | 254 |
| 2018 | IMG | 10.0% | 1 | 228 | 242 |
| Pool | Share |
|---|---|
| MD_seniors | 91.0% |
| DO_seniors | 1.0% |
| US_IMG | 2.0% |
| Non_US_IMG | 6.0% |