University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio Joe and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine Program

Program Identity & Fit

UT Health San Antonio's plastic surgery residency is an academic, independent-model three-year program built around a safety-net clinical core—University Hospital (Bexar County) and the Audie L. Murphy VA—supplemented by Christus Santa Rosa Children's Hospital for pediatric craniofacial work and Methodist Hospital for microsurgery and aesthetics. The program emphasizes broad subspecialty exposure (microvascular reconstruction, craniofacial/pediatric surgery, hand, aesthetics) through a structured three-year didactic cycle and a dedicated microsurgery lab, and it feeds an in-house one-year Reconstructive Microsurgery fellowship with high flap volume (300+ cases/year). Research is a mandatory, mentored component of training rather than optional, with residents expected to complete and present a scholarly project, reflecting the program's stated goal of producing academically engaged practitioners who advance the field. Progressive autonomy, faculty-supervised independent operating, and a regionally-focused mission to serve South Texas's underserved and veteran populations further define the training identity.