Pediatric Craniofacial Surgery Fellowship

The Pediatric Craniofacial Surgery Fellowship Program at Baylor College of Medicine is a one-year non-ACGME accredited program, approved by the Texas Medical Board. The fellowship program, started in 2012,  is primarily at Texas Children’s Hospital in the Texas Medical Center and the largest children’s hospital in North America.

Fellows in our program have the opportunity to work with world renown Plastic and Craniofacial surgeons.   The Pediatric Plastic Surgery division at TCH is the largest in the country, with 10 plastic surgery attendings, 2 Craniofacial orthodontists, one oral surgeon, 2 speech therapists and the rest of the multidisciplinary teams. 

The scope of practice that our fellows are exposed to during their fellowship runs the spectrum of pediatric plastic surgery and craniofacial surgery. Their exposure will be comprehensive and robust during their year with us, making them highly marketable upon graduation. Multidisciplinary Cleft and Craniofacial clinics and teams compromise the majority of the work our fellows engage in, with weekly clinics and hundreds of patients visits a year. The Plastics Surgery Division at TCH covers the entire spectrum of cleft care, from prenatal consultation to finishing Cleft Septorhinoplasty. The weekly multidisciplinary Craniofacial clinic includes members from our top-rated Neurosurgery Program, including both intra and extra cranial surgeries weekly. Neurosurgeons dedicated to the mindful and compassionate treatment of patients with complex craniofacial conditions make our team one of the best in the world.

Besides Cleft and Craniofacial Care, our fellows will be exposed to the multitude of Pediatric Plastic Surgery that we encounter every day at the largest children’s hospital in the world. This includes oncologic reconstruction, microtia reconstruction, complex pediatric hand, Brachial Plexus injuries, craniofacial trauma, and complex pediatric trauma. We work closely with all the world renown specialists at TCH, providing a level of education second to none and making your year with us a rewarding and educational experience. 

A weekly didactic lecture series provides the fellowship with a structured curriculum by core fellowship faculty. Invited speakers from other affiliated specialties, including but not limited to genetics, otolaryngology, ophthalmology, neurosurgery, speech pathology and orthodontists, provide our program with the multidisciplinary educational necessary for any great fellowship experience. A monthly Craniofacial Conference allows multidisciplinary interaction of complex and challenging cases, stimulating an active learning environment. 

The training program offers ample opportunity to conduct research focused on clinical outcomes in cleft and craniosynostosis, including research on Patient-Reported Outcome (PRO) and Quality of Life (QOL) metrics for cleft patients as well as novel morphometrics to evaluate outcomes in craniosynostosis reconstruction. During their fellowship year, our fellows will help contribute to multiple manuscripts as well as have the ability to attend and present at local, regional, national, and international meetings. The fellow has the opportunity to attend instructional courses and travel nationally and internationally throughout their year.

The volume of cleft and craniofacial operations is among the highest in North America. The program exposes the fellowship trainee to all aspects of Pediatric Plastic Surgery Subspecialty including:

• Cleft lip and palate (from infancy to adulthood)
• Craniosynostosis
• Craniofacial syndromes
• Dentofacial deformity
• Orthognathic surgery
• Vascular anomalies
• Congenital hand
• Facial paralysis
• Brachial plexus
• Peripheral nerve
• Microtia Reconstruction
• Complex Pediatric Trauma
• Pediatric microsurgery