Many medical schools in the United Kingdom offer little exposure to the specialist field of Plastic, Reconstructive, and Aesthetic surgery yet it is one of the fastest growing specialties in the world, with principles and concepts that can be applied across the breadth of surgery. Almost every surgeon will come into contact with this specialty at some point during their career due to the nature of their work. We established this annual one day conference with the aim of providing students an insight into this specialist field and a better understanding of the specialty as a whole, its principles and concepts. It also aimed to allow undergraduates to meet and talk with those intimately involved in the specialty and get advice on pursuing a career in plastics.

Professor J. Nanchahal gave the opening lecture introducing possibilities of research in the field of plastic surgery before going on to outline the principles ‘Upper and lower limb reconstruction.’ His lecture encouraged an interesting discussion with the audience as to whether higher degrees and research are necessary in a career in plastic and reconstructive surgery.

Mr G. Williams introduced the art of burns management, with his lecture on ‘Burns and skin grafting’ highlighting the extensive involvement of the allied health professionals. His talk was more than just informative, it was also highly thought provoking for students, touching on the ethical dilemmas in the management of burns victims and their quality of life. The lecture also highlighted the extensive involvement of the allied health professionals in PRAS patients.

Mr S. Eccles focused on the Breast for the larger part of his talk on ‘Trunk and Breast Surgery’ expanding on the current reconstructive options after breast cancer. His lecture introduced students to the many options in plastic breast reconstruction and highlighted the recent advances in this field, underlining the importance of patient choice under the NHS for good aesthetic and psychological outcome.

Mr N. Kirkpatrick’s lecture on ‘Craniofacial surgery’ explored the vast and complex craft that is craniofacial reconstruction. Maybe one of the most complex specialties in plastic surgery the lecture drew enormous interest by presenting a multitude of craniofacial techniques and case examples. It emphasized the significant socioeconomic and psychological benefits plastic and reconstructive surgery can have on patients with facial deformities and amazed students with impressive postoperative outcomes.

Mr R. Green, the current President of BAPRAS, kindly came from Liverpool to give the closing lecture of the day on ‘ A career in reconstructive and aesthetic Surgery’ – giving an insightful view from the top as to what he saw the specialty needed from both students and the profession. Mr Green was highly engaging and was very open about how the implementation of the current disordered MTAS system has left those in training in the specialty in confusion. He offered direction to students and outlined what he saw would be needed to succeed in the specialty.

We were very grateful to have a number of fellows and Mr Kirkpatrick with a wealth of knowledge to teach students over three tutorial stations in the afternoon.

The first station was based around optimising wound healing, suture materials and practical suturing techniques, introducing students to the skills of acute and chronic wound management. Furthermore, students had the opportunity to be taught both basic and advanced levels of suturing by the plastic surgery fellows. We would like to thank Mr Liaquat Suleman- Verjee, Mr Marios Nicolaou and Mr Graham Glass for their kind support.

The Interactive flaps tutorial with Mr Kirkpatrick encouraged an insightful discussion into the principles and application of flaps, expanding on the foundations laid out in the morning’s lectures. Case studies were used to highlight key aspects allied to the management of such patients including the preoperative work up and counselling of patients in the planning for procedures such as prophylactic mastectomy and breast reconstruction. We are extremely grateful for Mr Kirkpatrick brilliant teaching.

An Interactive Burns tutorial lead by Mr Matthew Gardiner consolidated key aspects of Mr William’s earlier lecture. A number of well received and highly involving case studies with viva questions to the audience allowing the students to get a better understanding of acute care for burns victims. Again, we are grateful for Mr Gardiner’s kind support and the well prepared tutorial.

The theme of our poster competition was on ‘A significant event in plastic surgery’ targeted at promoting knowledge of the most important developments that have lead to the current ways of plastic surgery today. The posters were all extremely high level with those shortlisted for assessment by the lecturers on the day all receiving highly commended. The competition’s winning poster was by Mr John Dunne from Bristol University with his poster on ‘World War I –The Advent of Plastic Surgery’. The winning certificate was presented to him by the president of BAPRAS, Mr R. Green. [view poster - link]

It is safe to say that the conference was a great success with 50 Students coming from across the UK and from as far as field as Germany and Scotland. The breadth of knowledge and the extensive support from the plastics community allowed the students to mix with surgeons at range of levels, following various pathways and involved in all areas of the field throughout the day.

Students were able to meet and discuss career options and get advice from surgeons at all levels of the profession about the direction of the specialty and ways to stand out.

Thanks to the involving nature of the lectures and engaging speakers the conference has raised many more questions than answers about the state of the training system in the UK and how MTAS has left the training system in disarray. This has also highlighted that many students are considering their options and that many bright minds are considering whether it is best for doctors to leave the British system to progress, with better career opportunities abroad. There was also a consensus amongst the surgeons that undergraduate anatomy teaching is being seriously neglected and will affect surgery as a whole if this is not amended soon.

Through the creation of this annual undergraduate conference it has provided a platform for discussion and exchange of knowledge in plastic surgery, giving medical students the opportunity to be introduced to the field and gain a better understanding of the subspecialties it offers. This in turn has advantages both for the student and the speciality itself. While it allows students to show their interest in PRAS at an early stage and improves their basic surgical skills and knowledge, the speciality benefits by identifying and cultivating highly motivated and qualified students that will be an asset to the field.

We are glad to report that BAPRAS and lecturers have confirmed their continued support for the event and that the conference was a big success on both fronts with the students and senior lecturers. Thus with the great success and support, we look forward to holding this event on an annual basis.