A new survey published this month in the journal Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery has gathered information on facial plastic surgeons in practice only a few years. Researchers at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Division of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, created a survey to help understand trends among younger surgeons in practice in the United States.

Seventy-three of 227 surveys were completed (a 32% response rate). Over 86% of those who participated in the survey worked in a metropolitan location versus a rural setting. In terms of practice type, almost half reported working in a private practice. Physicians in an academic practice or in a private practice with an academic affiliation were nearly equal in number (17 and 20, respectively). Also, over 50% reported that at least 91% of their practice was spent performing facial plastic and reconstructive surgery.

Overall, more than 40% of those surveyed earned at least $400,000. When comparing the differences in income between those in practice for 1 year or facial plastic surgeons who dedicate over 90% of their practice to facial plastic surgery with the group overall, researchers found the differences were not statistically significant (P = .22 and P = .73, respectively). Half of the facial plastic surgeons in their first year of practice earned $200,000 to $299,000, and one-third (33.3%) earned at least $400,000. Over half of those who responded as having 91% to 100% of their practice devoted to facial plastic surgery earned at least $400 000. Over 50% of young facial plastic surgeons in private practice and 40% of those in private practice with an academic affiliation reported earning over $400,000.

Approximately one-fifth (20.8%) of surgeons reported performing 51 to 100 procedures, and approximately one-fifth (19.4%) procedures completed over 300 cases. The rest of the group had a near-equal number performing 0 to 50 (11.1%), 101 to 150 (15.3%), 151 to 200 (12.5%), and 201 to 250 (13.9%) procedures overall in the previous 12 months. There was a smaller subset (6.9%) that performed 251 to 300 procedures in the previous 12 months.

The researchers also examined the number of surgical procedures each subgroup reported over the past 12 months and found some interesting results. For instance, of those whose practice was composed of over 90% facial plastic and reconstructive surgery, over 35% had performed more than 300 procedures in the previous 12 months.

More (registration required).

[Source: Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery]