Fellowship
Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
The Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center is a one-year, non-ACGME-accredited program that accepts one fellow per year. It is accredited by the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS).
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The Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship is a brand-new training opportunity that covers the breadth of academic facial plastic surgery. Fellows will be exposed to both reconstructive and cosmetic cases of the face, head and neck. Depending on the fellow’s specific interests, there will be opportunities to enrich learning within craniofacial surgery (cleft lip and palate), oculoplastic surgery, and advanced head and neck reconstructive surgery.
Because this fellowship incorporates all areas of reconstructive and cosmetic facial plastic surgery, the fellow will be able to tailor their training to their individual interests and career aspirations. There will also be opportunities to mentor both medical students and residents and to perform research in an area of their interest.
Program Overview
One of the unique features of this program is the multidisciplinary nature in which the fellow can spend time with colleagues in plastic surgery, oculoplastic surgery and cosmetic dermatology. We also will have the fellow see patients in our multidisciplinary cosmetic clinic, where the fellow will have half a day of clinic per week. The fellow will also be involved in both clinical and surgical treatment of facial nerve disorders through our collaborative facial nerve disorders clinic.
Dr. Heather Schopper, facial plastic and reconstructive fellow; Dr. Jessyka Lighthall, fellowship program director; chief resident Dr. Nicole Ruszkay; and Dr. Alyssa Givens, PGY-2 otolaryngology resident, perform reconstructive surgery in the image to the right.
Learn More about the Fellowship
The fellow will be appointed as a clinical instructor and blend learning with clinical responsibilities within all realms of facial plastic and reconstructive surgery.
The weekly schedule will be tailored to the fellow’s needs, but would include a half day of fellow cosmetic clinic, one to two days per month of facial nerve clinic and one to two days per month of academic facial plastic surgery clinic. The remainder of the time will be spent between the Hershey Medical Center campus and Hershey Outpatient Surgery Center enriching their skills in the operating, both as a primary and first-assist surgeon.
Autonomy will vary depending on the complexity of the case and overall training progression of the fellow.
In addition, the fellow will have opportunities to observe craniofacial cases, in addition to, oculoplastic cases depending on scheduling.
Interested applicants can find the full application details on the AAFPRS Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery webpage and submit the application with all required materials. Applications should be submitted by Feb. 1 of the academic year two years prior to the fellowship; for instance, applications for fellowships starting July 2024 will apply in 2022-2023.
Humanitarian outreach trips not only provide critical care for patients, who may travel for days to receive treatment, but are also a deeply fulfilling endeavor for the our attending physicians and fellows. The Division of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery has completed surgical mission trips to Peru, Ecuador, and Ukraine, and will be heading to Zimbabwe in the new year.
Leadership and Contacts
Program Coordinator, Otolaryngology Residency, Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship and Head and Neck Oncology Fellowship, Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery
