University of Tennessee College of Medicine at Chattanooga Program

Program Identity & Fit

This is an independent (5+2) three-year Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery residency at UTHSC Chattanooga, requiring prior completion of an accredited general surgery residency, and based at Erlanger Health, a Level I Trauma Center with helicopter transport serving a broad regional catchment. The five-faculty department is organized around distinct areas of expertise (hand surgery via the Hayes Hand Center, microvascular reconstruction, aesthetic surgery, pediatric plastics, burns, craniofacial/maxillofacial trauma), giving residents broad exposure across reconstructive and cosmetic domains rather than a single subspecialty focus. Faculty maintain private practices affiliated with the Plastic Surgery Group, and graduate outcomes are overwhelmingly community and private-practice oriented, with a smaller subset pursuing fellowships (craniofacial, hand, aesthetic, breast) or academic positions. The program explicitly frames its goal as producing a "well-rounded, caring" general plastic surgeon prepared to practice broadly in any community setting, reflecting a comprehensive-training identity over a research- or academic-pipeline identity.