Plastic Surgery Residency

65

Active Clinical Trials

$8.6M

Research Grants

140

Peer-Reviewed Publications in 2023

About the Residency

Faculty & Residents

Our Team

Message from the Program Director

The Plastic Surgery Residency Program at Houston Methodist Hospital had its beginnings 75 years ago when Dr. Thomas Cronin and Dr. Raymond Brauer began a training preceptorship based in their Houston private practice office in 1954.  In these early days they worked with mostly one young physician at a time who was interested in plastic surgery.  This continued until 1970 when it was deemed that plastic surgery training had to be in a formal residency program affiliated with a hospital. St. Joseph Hospital in Houston, Texas was chosen as the home of the residency program that has continued for 51 years, albeit now headquartered at Houston Methodist Hospital.  We like to think of our residency as a preceptorship, and continue to maintain this spirit.  We are a close knit program with relatively few core faculty who are experienced and long tenured, with little turn over, and only 2 residents per year in a 3 year Independent residency program. We are most proud that we are a stable program that gives residents a balanced experience in both cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgery in a collegial environment.

In the three quarters of a century that our plastic surgery training program has been in continuous existence, there have been only 4 program directors.  Dr. Thomas Cronin, one of the inventors of the breast implant in the early 1960’s, was the first director from 1954 until 1970, when we became an accredited residency program, and continued for another decade until 1980. After that, Dr. Brauer took over from 1980 to 1985. Along the way the then two year program had grown to having two residents in each year. In 1985 Dr. Benjamin Cohen took over as program director for an astounding 30 years. He developed a microsurgical research and training laboratory with an attached fellowship, and oversaw the transition of the residency from St. Joseph Medical Center to Houston Methodist Hospital in 2006.  In 2015, Dr. Pierre Chevray became the program director, and Dr. Donald Collins became the associate program director, positions they still hold.

Houston Methodist Hospital is the top ranked hospital in Texas, and is where our residents obtain exposure to a broad range of reconstructive and cosmetic cases with internationally known faculty expertise in facial reanimation and microsurgical breast reconstruction surgery.  Experience in trauma reconstruction is obtained at the Memorial Hermann hospital, a level one trauma center, which is literally across the street from Houston Methodist Hospital in the Texas Medical Center.  Concentrated experience in pediatric plastic surgery is obtained at the renowned Texas Children’s Hospital, also within the Texas Medical Center.  A few miles to the north in Houston is Saint Joseph Medical Center where our residents are immersed in cosmetic surgery, but also care for general reconstructive surgery patients.  Residents take charge, test their abilities, and hone their skills at the Lyndon Baines Johnson county hospital in Houston. Our residents are also exposed to private practice cosmetic surgery throughout Houston from one of many affiliated faculty.

Houston, on the Gulf Coast of Texas, is the nation’s fourth most populous city. It is diverse, has a wonderfully plentiful and varied restaurant scene, has a subtropical climate which allows year round outdoor activities, and is known for housing NASA’s Mission Control at Johnson Space Center, and the world’s largest rodeo!

Pierre Chevray, MD, PhD
Program Director, Plastic Surgery Residency Program



Program Director

Pierre M. Chevray, MD, PhD

Associate Program Director

Donald R. Collins, Jr., MD

Division Chair

Jeffrey D. Friedman, MD

Eligibility and Application

Thank you for your interest in the Plastic Surgery Residency Program at Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, Texas.

Applicants must meet the pre-requisite requirements of the American Board of Plastic Surgery in order to be eligible to apply.

At this time, we have chosen to use a centralized application/verification service for the training program, which allows residents to complete one application and furnish one set of documents for most of the programs in which they are interested. Please request an application from:

SF MATCH
Email: help@sfmatch.org
415.447.0350 (phone)
415.561.8535 (fax)

Houston Methodist is committed to improving the health of our patients, employees, and communities around us. As a health care provider, it’s our responsibility to promote a healthier environment for our employees.

Responsibility
  • Drug and Tobacco Screening- Job seekers will be tested for nicotine and drug usage during the post-offer physical. If a job seeker tests positive for nicotine use, including nicotine gum and patches, the offer will be rescinded, and individuals will be given the opportunity to participate in a free Houston Methodist-provided tobacco cessation program. Job seekers wishing to reapply after testing positive for nicotine may do so 90 days after the date the initial offer was rescinded. If the job seeker tests positive for drug use, the offer will be rescinded. Job seekers wishing to reapply after the drug screening is positive may do so one year after the date the initial offer was rescinded.
  • Background Check - Prior to employment start date, job seekers must complete a criminal background check.
Our Residents
Murad Karadsheh, MD - PGY8
Medical School: Michigan State University College of Human Medicine
General Surgery Residency: Albert Einstein Healthcare Network
Matthew Williams, MD - PGY8
Medical School: University of Vermont College of Medicine
General Surgery Residency: William Beaumont Army Medical Center
Nina Pollack, MD - PGY7
Medical School: University of Arizona College of Medicine
General Surgery Residency: University of Arizona College of Medicine
Peter Zak, MD - PGY7
Medical School: University of Toledo College of Medicine
General Surgery Residency: UPMC Mercy Hospital
Karen Burtt, MD - PGY6
Medical School: Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California
General Surgery Residency: Broward Health
Lindsay Dean, MD - PGY6
Medical School: University of South Carolina School of Medicine
General Surgery Residency: Baylor College of Medicine
Our Alumni
Class of 2024
Jack Hua, MD
Private Practice in Katy, TX
Aaron Lane, MD
Military Appointment at Fort Bragg, NC

Class of 2023
Rachel Goldstein, DO
Transgender Surgery Fellowship at University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Janak Parikh, MD
Academic Appointment at LBJ Hospital
        Class of 2022
Peter Andrawes, MD
Hand Fellowship at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center at Harmot
Mark Yazid, MD
Hand Fellowship at Medical College of Wisconsin

Class of 2021
Andrew Gratzon, MD
Academic Appointment at Houston Methodist Hospital
David Hill, MD
Private Practice in Alpharetta, GA

Class of 2020
Christian Arroyo Alonso, MD
Private Practice in Houston, TX
Ariel Ourian, MD
Microsurgery Fellowship at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, CA

Class of 2019
Christopher Balinger, MD
Private Practice in Houston, TX
Ashley Steinberg, MD
Private Practice in Houston, TX 
 

Class of 2018
Leopoldo Baccaro, MD
Private Practice in Naples, FL
Ryan Couvillion, MD
Private Practice in Houston, TX

Class of 2017
Oliver Chang, MD
Private Practice in Miami, FL
Jessica Rose, DO
Microsurgery Fellowship at University of Pennsylvania

Class of 2016
Soumo Banerji, MD
Private Practice in Houston, TX
Joseph Chen, MD
Microsurgery Fellowship at University of California San Francisco

Class of 2015
Hector Salazar-Reyes, MD
Private Practice in Chula Vista, CA
Sarosh Zafar, MD
Microsurgery Fellowship at University of California San Francisco

            Class of 2014
John McFate, MD
Private Practice in Austin, TX
Kyle Shaddix, MD
Private Practice in Jacksonville, FL


Class of 2012
Colin Failey, MD
Private Practice in Florham Park, NJ
Lars Johan Sandberg, MD
Microsurgery Fellowship at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX

Class of 2011
Alex Colque, MD
Private practice in Waukesha, WI
G. Peter Fakhre, MD
Private Practice in Wesley Chapel, FL

Class of 2010
Mark Gaon, MD
Private Practice in Orange, CA
Eric Minns, MD
Private Practice in Lubbock, TX

Curriculum

Training Program

The training plan is directed towards the goal of providing the resident with the core knowledge and experience necessary to allow that resident to graduate as a competent plastic surgeon. The plan is further directed towards preparing the resident for successful examination by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.


Curriculum

The comprehensive plastic surgery curriculum is designed along the guidelines developed by the American Council of Academic Plastic Surgeons and Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. A three-year planned curriculum controls the teaching material to ensure complete coverage of the field of plastic surgery. The attainment of cognitive skills is demonstrated by striving for exceptional performance on the plastic surgery in-service examination and, afterwards, by successful completion of the certifying and qualifying examinations administered by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.

Rotations

Residents enjoy a close and ongoing relationship with the teaching staff. During each rotation, the resident participates in both, the operative and office experience. The residents are exposed to a variety of approaches and techniques from which he or she will, hopefully, evolve his or her own approach to a specific problem in plastic surgery.

HOUSTON METHODIST HOSPITAL
The rotations at this institution expose the residents to a wide variety of plastic and reconstructive surgery patients including reconstructive surgery, breast reconstruction, and cosmetic surgery. In addition, at Houston Methodist Hospital, there are orthopedic hand and upper extremity, anesthesiology, dermatology, oculoplastic, and oral maxillofacial surgery rotations.

HOUSTON METHODIST WEST HOSPITAL
The rotation at this hospital exposes the residents to a large volume and variety of plastic and reconstructive surgery patients with an emphasis on oncoplastic surgery, facial reconstruction and breast reconstruction.

HOUSTON METHODIST WILLOWBROOK HOSPITAL
The rotation at this hospital exposes the residents to a large volume and variety of reconstructive surgery with an emphasis on peripheral nerve and upper extremity plastic surgery, and reconstructive microsurgery.

MD ANDERSON CANCER CENTER
This rotation exposes residents to a large volume of major head and neck cancer resection and complex reconstruction at the top-ranking cancer hospital in the country.

TEXAS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
This institution is one of the largest pediatric hospitals in the United States. Residents will rotate for Pediatric Plastic Surgery and develop progressive skills in the evaluation, emergency care, and perioperative management of the pediatric plastic surgery patient, with an emphasis on congenital problems, acute and chronic trauma, laser therapy, orthognathic surgery, and microsurgery.

MEMORIAL HERMANN HOSPITAL
Memorial Hermann Hospital is a Level I Trauma Center. At this institution, residents will achieve a general knowledge of the evaluation and management of burn patients. Residents will also participate in the care of trauma patients, on the Adult Trauma Service, as this rotation provides a high volume of lower extremity and craniofacial trauma. Residents also participate on the Hand Service, and care for a high volume of hand trauma patients. On the Congenital Facial and Facial trauma rotation, the residents will develop skills and techniques for pediatric plastic surgery and facial trauma, including the correction of craniofacial defects, cleft lip, and palate problems.

LYNDON B. JOHNSON HOSPITAL
The goal of the Extremity Trauma, Facial Trauma, and Tissue Transfer rotation is to allow residents maximum responsibility in the care of patients presenting to this facility primarily with reconstructive problems. Although there is direct supervision from the faculty, the residents have an increased responsibility for making patient management decisions and conducting operations. Residents have an opportunity to manage patients with unusual and often advanced diseases, deformities, and injuries of interest to plastic surgeons. At LBJ, the resident plays a large role in the ambulatory clinics and receives a good exposure to outpatient care.

THE WOMAN'S HOSPITAL OF TEXAS
The rotation at this institution provides clinical experiences in various plastic and reconstructive surgery procedures. This institution has breast reconstruction, hand, general reconstructive, and an abundance of cosmetic and cleft lip and palate cases. Faculty supervise the clinical activity of residents at all times. There are required teaching conferences at this rotation.

Get In Touch

Program Contact

Yuliya Litvak, MEd
Project Manager
Houston Methodist Hospital
Plastic Surgery Residency Program
6560 Fannin St., Suite 2200
Houston, TX 77030
713.363.7588 (office)
Email: ylitvak@houstonmethodist.org

Program Director

Pierre M. Chevray, MD, PhD
Program Director

Upcoming Academic Events

Grand rounds, tumor boards, regularly scheduled series and case presentations are offered in multiple clinical disciplines and Houston Methodist locations.
Fundamentals of Responsible Conduct of Research
Houston Methodist Research Institute

Feb 24 @ 11AM

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Ahmad Ibrahim, MD

Feb 24 @ 12PM

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55

Grand Rounds conducted in 2023
These educational events are held according to varying schedules by departments and divisions within the Houston Methodist Academic Institute

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