Plastic Surgery:
Cleft and Craniofacial Surgery Fellowship
Overview
The Cleft and Craniofacial Surgery Fellowship provides trainees with a solid clinical and research foundation prior to beginning a career in craniofacial and pediatric plastic surgery. The program exposes the Fellow to all aspects of pediatric craniofacial surgery, including the full spectrum of care for children with cleft lip and palate, major craniofacial malformations, vascular anomalies, and dentofacial deformities. The Fellowship is a one-year program that includes a combination of clinical training and research, individually tailored to meet the fellow’s needs and career goals.
As one of the largest and most experienced pediatric plastic and oral surgery centers in the world, we evaluate thousands of children living with cleft and/or craniofacial congenital conditions, from across Massachusetts and New England as well as across the globe. As our Craniofacial Fellow in the Department of Plastic and Oral Surgery, you will gain exposure to many rare and complex conditions such as cleft lip/palate, Apert syndrome, Pfeiffer syndrome, Crouzon syndrome, craniosynostosis, hemifacial microsomia, microtia, and encephalocele.
For more information about the match: ASCFS - Craniofacial Surgery Fellowship Directory
Apply here: ASCFS: Match Application
Fellowship History
The Craniofacial Fellowship Program at Boston Children’s Hospital was started in 1986 by Dr. John B. Mulliken, and since that time, the Department faculty have trained over 30 fellows. Graduates of the fellowship have gone on to successful careers in pediatric plastic and craniofacial surgery around the world (see alumni list). With excellent mentorship, the highest quality clinical and research training, and a tremendous breadth and depth of conditions treated, our Fellowship at BCH/Harvard has prepared several decades of Fellows for leadership within the field of craniofacial surgery. Boston Children’s Hospital Craniofacial Fellowship produced the highest number of academic surgeons among craniofacial fellowships over the past decade (Luby et al., 2020) and is among the top three fellowship programs in North America to produce Chiefs of Pediatric Plastic Surgery (Egro et al., 2020).
Boston Children’s Hospital Craniofacial Fellowship alumni
Responsibilities and Expectations
The Plastic Surgery Craniofacial Fellowship is a year of focused clinical and research education. It is composed of four-month rotations with core faculty: Dr. Meara and Dr. Proctor (craniosynostosis); Dr. Mulliken, Dr. Ganske, and Dr. Rogers (cleft lip and palate); and Dr.Greene and Dr. Balkin (head and neck). As desired, the Fellow may experience other facets of pediatric plastic and oral surgery, including pediatric breast surgery, facial trauma, vascular anomalies, gender surgery, cleft care through the Cleft Clinic in Maine (with Dr. Ganske), and other departmental activities.
At Boston Children’s Hospital, we treat patients from prenatal diagnosis through well into the early adult years, offering the full spectrum of plastic and oral surgery care through completion of facial growth and beyond.
Specific Fellow expectations include attending clinics and operations pertinent to each rotation, and participating in research and projects that lead to national and international presentations and published work.
Fellows hold full staff privileges and work closely with the Chief Resident in Plastic Surgery and senior surgery residents. The Fellow is considered a teacher, and advisor, to the residents and is involved in formal and informal teaching of junior trainees (for example, helping with cleft simulator sessions, journal clubs, and staffing inpatient and emergency room plastic surgery consultations).
The Fellow attends specialty clinics occurring every Friday, which include the craniofacial, cleft lip/palate, and vascular anomalies clinics. At the twice-monthly craniofacial conferences, the Fellow prepares and presents patients to the multidisciplinary team. The Fellow also attends the Wednesday Vascular Anomalies Center’s weekly evening consultative conference and is encouraged to attend the weekly Harvard Plastic Surgery Program Grand Rounds on Wednesday mornings. The Fellow is also a major participant in the weekly Friday morning Craniofacial Conference (covering craniofacial anomalies, pathology, and complications), often presenting cases and work-in-progress.
The Craniofacial Fellowship offers an abundance of resources, providing our trainees with a solid clinical and research foundation prior to beginning a career in craniofacial and pediatric plastic surgery. Graduates from this program have demonstrated the highest probability of establishing academic pediatric careers in the top craniofacial programs in the country.
Surgical Case Mix
Our Department performs around 2,000surgical procedures each year and these range from routine to the most complex. While specific case volumes can vary greatly from year to year, above is our expected annual volume for specific Cleft and Craniofacial related procedures.
Expected Yearly Volume
(i.e. bone grafts, speech operations, rhinoplasty)
At Boston Children’s Hospital, we treat patients from prenatal diagnosis through well into the early adult years, offering the full-spectrum of Plastic and Oral Surgery care through completion of facial growth and beyond.
