The Plastic Surgery Foundation
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Grants We Funded

Grant applicants for the 2023 cycle requested a total of nearly $4 million dollars. The PSF Study Section Subcommittees of Basic & Translational Research and Clinical Research evaluated nearly 140 grant applications on the following topics:

The PSF awarded research grants totaling over $1 million dollars to support nearly 30 plastic surgery research proposals.

ASPS/PSF leadership is committed to continuing to provide high levels of investigator-initiated research support to ensure that plastic surgeons have the needed research resources to be pioneers and innovators in advancing the practice of medicine.

Research Abstracts

Search The PSF database to have easy access to full-text grant abstracts from past PSF-funded research projects 2003 to present. All abstracts are the work of the Principal Investigators and were retrieved from their PSF grant applications. Several different filters may be applied to locate abstracts specific to a particular focus area or PSF funding mechanism.

Evaluation of Simulation in Plastic Surgery Residency Training

Principal Investigator
Alexes Hazen MD

Year
2010

Institution
New York University School of Medicine

Funding Mechanism
National Endowment for Plastic Surgery Grant

Focus Area
Education, Technology Based

Abstract
Similar to how flight simulators are used to train pilots, computer-based surgical simulators provide a milieu to train physicians in a safe environment. Past technical limitations were prohibitive in creating robust 3D simulation software, but recent advancements in processing power and graphic cards now allow real-time rendering and interaction with complex, highly detailed anatomic models.

The benefits of surgical simulation have been well documented in the literature and are an integral component of surgical training in most surgical disciplines. As true innovators in the fields of medicine and surgery, we should utilize technology to further advance this unique specialty. The construction of a 3D virtual reality library of plastic surgery simulations would be a progressive advancement and its impact on plastic surgery has the potential to be revolutionary.

An interactive surgical simulator that will engage the surgeon, ask questions, test competency and provide feedback has the potential to quantify surgical knowledge. Internet connectivity allows for rapid deployment of surgical modules, networked testing formats, data aggregation, comparative analysis and guided tutorials. Combined with the approval of a surgical society, the Association of Academic Chairman of Plastic Surgery, this platform has the potential to set measurable quantitative surgical standards for residency training.

Although the benefits of simulation training have been reviewed in the literature, we want to validate our model by conducting a proof of concept study prior to developing additional simulators. We will extend this initial pilot to a multi-center project to determine the efficacy of simulator training in plastic surgery education. We anticipate this collaborative effort involving experts from outstanding institutions will pioneer the integration of surgical simulation in training and provide the groundwork for standardized curriculum development.

Biography
Alexes Hazen graduated from Brown Medical School in 1996 and went on to Residency in the combined General Surgery/Plastic Surgery program at NYU. After completing Residency at NYU she did a one year Microsurgical Fellowship at NYU. In 2001 she began work as an Assistant Professor in Plastic Surgery at NYU and Bellevue Hospital. She is the Director of the NYU Aesthetic Center. In 2004 she became Chief of the Manhattan Veterans Administration in Plastic Surgery performing reconstruction on veterans. She has done research focused on lipoaspirate and developed an animal model to study lipoaspirate as well as an animal model to study radiation damage. Her previous PSEF and National Foundation Grant focused on her work in examining the mechanism by which lipoaspirate alters the environment in which it presents. She has done research on developing 3D animation and surgical simulation to help educate both patients and residents regarding surgical procedures. This grant will focus on the evaluation of surgical simulation and 3D animation to educate surgical residents in specific procedures.