Challenges in developing resident training in aesthetic surgery

Adequate resident training in aesthetic surgery has been a problem and challenge for program directors in the past. In a 1982 survey of 11 former University of Toronto residents, 4 residents identified this part of their training as adequate, and 7 believed it was inadequate. To solve this problem, an Academic Aesthetic Surgery Service was established in one of the University of Toronto participating teaching hospitals (Toronto Western Hospital) in early 1986. This article outlines the organization and function of this service and reports the experience of the first year of operation. The preliminary results are encouraging; the service has been accepted by the patients, residents, and the plastic surgery community.