Plastic Surgery Residency Year Influence on Surgery Duration

Document Type

Conference Proceeding - Restricted Access

Publication Date

5-8-2026

Abstract

Maintaining surgical efficiency while taking time to teach surgical residents are opposing goals in residency training programs. Currently no study has investigated the relationship between residents' presence and duration of surgery in plastic and reconstructive surgery (PRS). This study aims to understand how the presence of residents and the program year (PGY) of residents affects operative durations.

A retrospective review from 2017-2024 of all surgeries performed by the PRS department at one institution was performed. Surgeries were excluded if there was a secondary attending surgeon, a fellow, or a non-PRS resident present. Surgeries were grouped by primary procedure and duration of surgery from incision to closure was obtained. For each procedure, a Kruskal-Wallis Test was performed comparing surgery duration by PGY, and a Wilcoxon Rank Sum test was used to compare surgery duration with no resident and one resident, no resident and two residents, one resident and two residents, and no resident compared to PGY 1-6 as supporting surgeon.

A total of 12,337 surgeries met inclusion criteria. The 24 most commonly performed surgeries were included in the analysis for a total of 6,455 surgeries. Of those, 2,849 were performed with one resident as supporting surgeon, 652 with 2 residents as supporting surgeons, and 2,954 surgeries with no supporting surgeon. For a reduction mammoplasty, median duration was lower when either one or two residents were present compared to no resident (p< 0.0001, both). Compared to no resident, the median duration was higher when a PGY1 was supporting (18 minutes longer, p=0.02), no difference when a PGY2 was supporting, and 19-37 minutes shorter (p< 0.0001, all) when a PGY3-6 was supporting. Additionally, when one resident was supporting compared to no resident the duration for a cleft lip repair, cleft palate repair, alveolar bone graft, and abdominoplasty were shorter. There was no difference in duration for the other surgeries analyzed.

Having one resident as supporting surgeon in cases does not increase surgical duration, and in some cases decreases duration. Having two residents supporting in a case can in some instances extend surgery duration, possibly due to complexity of case or resident-to-resident teaching. Reduction mammoplasty duration shows an intended learning curve, with an increase in duration when a PGY-1 is supporting, most likely due to teaching time. Subsequently, there is no duration difference when a PGY-2 is supporting.

Comments

2026 Research Day Corewell Health West, Grand Rapids, MI, May 8, 2026. Abstract 2046

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