Plastic Surgery Fellowship

Program Overview

The MUSC Plastic Surgery Independent Program has run continuously since July 1, 1967. The residency program provides comprehensive training in all aspects of the specialty, including clinical and basic research. One 3-year position is available each year. In addition, a six-year Plastic Surgery Integrated residency program runs simultaneously with the Independent program, for a total of 9 trainees. 

The Division of Plastic Surgery performs more than 600 inpatient and 1,400 outpatient cases per year. Residents rotate through a variety of clinical settings in five hospitals, including both academic and private practice environments.  Five core faculty and several community physicians provide comprehensive training throughout all years of training. 

All major aspects of the specialty are emphasized, including but not limited to the following:

• Breast Reconstruction
• Hand Surgery
• Craniofacial Surgery
• Body Contouring
• Cosmetic Surgery
• Maxillofacial Trauma
• Oncologic Reconstruction
• Trauma Reconstruction
• Cutaneous Malignancies

In addition, residents receive training in the following surgical specialty areas:

• Trauma Surgery
• Transplant Surgery
• Orthopedic Surgery
• ENT Surgery
• Dermatologic Surgery
• Pediatric Surgery
• Oral Maxilla Facial Surgery
• Surgical Critical Care
• Surgical Oncology
• Gastroenterology Surgery
• Vascular Surgery

Through cooperation of the Medical University of South Carolina administration, full-time, part-time and volunteer faculty, the MUSC Plastic Surgery Residency offers a broad-based experience in plastic surgery with exceptional strengths in micro-vascular free tissue transfer, hand surgery, aesthetic surgery and procedures, and reconstructive breast surgery.

The program is fully accredited by the ACGME and was granted continuing accreditation through 2025.

Research

Residents are expected to participate in research projects within the Division of Plastic Surgery and will submit at least one paper annually to a peer-reviewed journal. 

Educational Activities

Plastic surgery residents participate in two weekly conferences and a monthly journal club, and attend two major regional or national meetings each year. 

Educational Leadership

Milton B. Armstrong, MD
Professor of Surgery
Program Director, Plastic Surgery Fellowship Program

Applying

The MUSC Plastic Surgery Independent Program accepts applications from PGY4 residents.  Applications are submitted through the San Francisco Match via the online website. One individual is selected each year through this process. The 2019 Match is for the 2020 position, and so forth. Please refer to the San Francisco Match website to complete your application to the program.

The program begins taking applications around October each year, once applications have been reviewed invitations will be sent via Interview Broker and the interview date will be scheduled around mid-February or March each year. Each candidate will have personal interviews with the attendings and a chance to speak more informally with residents.  On the night before the interview, an informal social event will be held for applicants and residents. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact our residency coordinator, Stephanie Mackey at mackeys@musc.edu. 

Stipend and Benefits

Policy: The following resident stipends are set for academic year July 1, 2024-June 30, 2025 and apply to all full-time, ACGME/ADA, medical/dental, specialty/sub-specialty residents contracted through the GME Office. Stipends will be reevaluated in the fall of each year. All residents will be notified if there are changes to the established stipend levels. 

• PGY1: $61,010
• PGY2: $63,101
• PGY3: $65,351
• PGY4: $68,145
• PGY5: $71,081
• PGY6: $73,780
• PGY7: $76,853
• PGY8: $81,098

Benefits

• Leave: Annual, Sick, Maternity/Paternity, Bereavement, Leave of Absence, Military
• Insurance Coverage: Health, Life, Flexible Spending, Travel, Disability, Professional Liability
• Retirement
• Parking
• In-House On-Call Meals
• Employee Health
• MUSC Wellness Center Membership
• Lab Coats
• Student Loan Payment Postponement
• Travel Allotment
• MUSC Provided Mobile Devices

Clinical Experience

The resident rotations are divided into the following six services:

• MUSC 1: Dr. Armstrong (Hand, General Reconstructive, Aesthetic, Lower Extremity Reconstruction, Ortho, Oncology,VA)
• MUSC 2: Dr. Delaney (Breast Reconstruction, Hand General Reconstruction, Aesthetic)
• MUSC 3: Dr. Herrera (VA, Hand, General Reconstruction, Lower Extremity Reconstruction)
• MUSC 4: Dr. Tavana (VA, Hand, General Reconstruction, Urology Reconstruction)
• MUSC 5: Dr. Scomacao (MUSC) (Craniomaxillofacial, Breast General Reconstruction, Hand, Aesthetic)
• MUSC 6: Drs. Hochman (The Facial Surgery Center),  O’Neill (O’Neill Plastic Surgery), Ulm (Crantford Costa Plastic Surgery), and Young (Palmetto Plastic Surgery)
• MUSC 7 : Dr. Gabriel Klein  (Microsurgery, Breast Reconstruction, Maxillofacial Trauma, General/Aesthetic Surgery)

Meet Our Residents

Our Independent and Integrated Plastic Surgery Graduates

2023-2024

Donna Mullner, MD - Hand Fellowship at the University of Kentucky in Lexington

2022-2023

Sami Tarabishy, MD - Aesthetic Plastic Surgery fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH

2021-2022

Georgina Nichols, MD - Aesthetic Plastic Surgery fellowship, The Plastic Surgery Center-Sacramento, CA

Kiandra Scott, MD - Plastic surgeon at Lexington Medical Center, West Columbia, SC 

2020-2021

Steven Hermiz, MD is a plastic surgeon at Covenant Healthcare in Saginaw, Michigan 

Busayo Irojah, MD is a plastic surgeon at UPMC Memorial Hospital in York, PA 

2019-2020

Daniel Crane, M.D. is attending a one-year fellowship in Aesthetic Plastic Surgery in Sacramento California.  

Zachary Young, M.D. joined a private practice in Little Rock, Arkansas.

 2018-2019

Craig Moores, M.D.  attended Yale for Hand Surgery Fellowship

John Simon, M.D. Ivey Simon is a plastic surgeon at Ivey Plastic Surgery in Kihei, Hawaii.  

2016-2017    

Vinay Gundlapalli, M.D., Private Practice, Vineland, NJ

Robinder Singh, M.D., Private Practice, Great Neck, NY

2015-2016    

Tahira Prendergast, M.D., Private Practice, Columbus, GA

Jennifer Dixon Swartz, M.D., Private Practice, Charleston, SC