Women in Microsurgery Fellowships: Trends and Impact on Future Practice Patterns

Area of Science:

• Plastic Surgery
• Microsurgery Fellowship Training

Background:

• Plastic surgery is historically male-dominated, with women comprising only 15% of practicing surgeons.
• Microsurgery is perceived as a particularly male-centric subspecialty within plastic surgery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess female representation in microsurgery fellowship programs.
• To evaluate the impact of microsurgical fellowship training on career progression for women.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of microsurgery fellowship match data from 2010-2019.
• Identification of fellows via program websites and direct contact.
• Assessment of current practice type and microsurgery performance through web searches and direct inquiries.

Main Results:

• Over 10 years, 31.5% of microsurgery fellows were female (100/317).
• A statistically insignificant annual increase of 2.7% in female fellows was observed.
• Significantly fewer females (75.0%) continued to practice microsurgery compared to males (85.7%).
• No significant difference in practice types (academic, private, non-academic) between genders.

Conclusions:

• Women are underrepresented in microsurgery fellowships at rates similar to overall plastic surgery.
• While female fellowship enrollment shows a slight upward trend, a significantly lower proportion of women continue practicing microsurgery.
• Further investigation is needed to understand the factors contributing to the disparity in continued microsurgery practice among female surgeons.