Chung KC

Plastic surgery is a field that demands perfection, yet despite our best efforts errors occur every day. Most errors are minor, but occasionally patients are harmed by our mistakes. Although there is a strong ethical requirement for full di…

As the health care landscape in the United States changes under the Affordable Care Act, providers are set to face numerous new challenges. Although concerns about practice sustainability with declining reimbursement have dominated the dial…

[BACKGROUND] Federal research funding is decreasing, forcing specialty organizations to have an increasingly important position in developing and fostering research. As the research and innovation arm of the American Society of Plastic Surg…

[BACKGROUND] There is a growing concern for microbial resistance as a result of overuse of antibiotics. Although guidelines have focused on the use of antibiotics for surgery in general, few have addressed plastic surgery specifically. The …

Educational reforms in resident training have historically been driven by reports from medical societies and organizations. Although educational initiatives are well intended, they are rarely supported by robust evidence. The Accreditation …

Outcome studies help provide the evidence-based science rationalizing treatment end results that factor the experience of patients and the impact on society. They improve the recognition of the shortcoming in clinical practice and provide t…

[INTRODUCTION] Surgical volunteer organizations (SVOs) focus considerable resources on addressing the backlog of cases in low-resource countries. This model of service may perpetuate dependency. Efforts should focus on models that establish…

[BACKGROUND] The authors' aim was to conduct a national survey of hand surgery fellowship program directors to determine differences of opinions of essential components of hand surgery training between program directors from plastic and ort…

Evidence-based medicine is analyzed from its inception. This article takes the reader through the early formation of scientific medicine that has evolved into the multipurpose tool it has become today. Early proponents of evidence-based med…

Patient-reported outcomes serve as an essential and perhaps more relevant means for assessing patients' response to treatment than clinical measures alone. Many of the procedures performed in plastic surgery are associated with aesthetic ou…

In recent decades, the expansion of health services research has created an opportunity to crate salient, evidence-based guidelines for diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis. However, for many aspects of care, incorporation of new scientific …

This article presents an introduction to economic outcomes for the plastic surgeon investigator. Types of economic outcomes are introduced and the matter of perspective is discussed. Examples from the plastic surgery literature are presente…

The article presents an objective view of evidence-based medicine application to aesthetic surgery. The challenges are discussed and the points that create them are analyzed. Psychological and external factors in decision-making for aesthet…

Surgeons are at risk for injury in the operating room daily. Because of the ubiquity of occupational hazards, injuries remain prevalent and expensive. Although occupational hazards can include musculoskeletal conditions, psychosocial stress…

[BACKGROUND] The traditional method of teaching in surgery is known as "see one, do one, teach one." However, many have argued that this method is no longer applicable, mainly because of concerns for patient safety. The purpose of this arti…

[BACKGROUND] Countless articles have demonstrated and emphasized the importance of mentoring in academic medicine. However, the upcoming role of mentors in the evolving medical field is poorly defined. As translational medicine, collaborati…

Clinical data registries are commonly used worldwide and are implemented for a variety of purposes ranging from physician or facility clinic logs for tracking patients, to collecting outcomes data, to measuring quality improvement or safety…

[BACKGROUND] Plastic surgery has a well-known history of innovative procedures and products. However, with the rise in competition, such as aesthetic procedures being performed by other medical specialties, there is a need for continued inn…

Outcomes measured from the patient perspective are particularly important in plastic surgery, where many of the treatments are aimed at improving physical function, psychosocial function, and quality of life. Understanding the measurement o…

Patients expect to receive quality medical care by relying on the concepts of evidence-based medicine. This quality care is expected to be provided at decreased costs for payors, some of whom have stopped reimbursement for cases involving "…

[BACKGROUND] Rigorous methodology increases the quality of clinical research by encouraging freedom from the biases inherent in clinical studies. As randomized controlled studies (clinical trial design) are rarely applicable to surgical res…

[PURPOSE] We assessed hand surgery program directors' opinions of essential components of hand surgery training and potential changes in the structure of hand surgery programs. [METHODS] We recruited all 74 program directors of Accreditati…

The Maintenance of Certification program has been well received by many physicians but has faced significant opposition from others who complain that it is overly tedious, costly, and irrelevant to their practice. This article offers a cons…

[BACKGROUND] The American Board of Plastic Surgery Maintenance of Certification program includes the submission of 10 consecutive cases in one of 20 tracer modules for Performance in Practice evaluation. This has resulted in a wealth of dat…

As the name suggests, evidence-based medicine (EBM), is about finding evidence and using that evidence to make clinical decisions. A cornerstone of EBM is the hierarchical system of classifying evidence. This hierarchy is known as the level…