Core Curriculum
The resident curriculum is a series of weekly lectures covering the full gamut of a plastic surgery over a three-year cycle. Conference is taught using a variety of formats including case-based discussion, anatomic dissection, journal article review, didactic lecture, and hands-on workshops by attending plastic surgery faculty. All residents are excused from duties to attend.
Center for Human Appearance Conferences
The Edwin & Fannie Gray Hall Center for Human Appearance (CHA), founded in 1987, is a first of its kind multispecialty group of physicians and psychologists all of whom have an academic and clinical interest in appearance. They are plastic surgeons, dermatologists, oral & maxillofacial surgeons, oculoplastic surgeons, head & neck surgeons and psychologists. The mission of CHA is to support and promote research, education and treatment for ALL problems of appearance from birth through old age. (CHA website)
Among the CHA activities are monthly clinical conferences at which members of the Center present a leading-edge topic related to each specialty’s perspective about appearance, with an active discussion following. Also, the CHA disburses small grants to support clinical and basic science research to the specialties involved on a competitive basis annually. The CHA then supports a research conference each spring focused on presentation of the results from each of the supported projects, and with an internationally known scientist as the additional feature for the day. In the fall a clinical symposium is held with rotating responsibility among the specialties, aimed at a multispecialty audience.
The Center was founded by Linton A. Whitaker, MD who continues as its director. The Edwin Hall II TRUST supports the Center’s activities.
Grand Rounds
Plastic Surgery Grand Rounds are held weekly on Thursday morning at 7am. Grand rounds are delivered by senior residents and faculty, as well as national and international experts in the field of plastic surgery. Visiting professors present several times per year, with special Ivy and Whitaker lectureships taking part each Fall and Spring. Morbidity and Mortality conference is held once monthly during Grand Rounds.
July 2025 - June 2026
| Date |
6:00 am |
7:00 am |
8:00 am |
| 3 |
Resident Orientation
(6:30 am start) |
Resident Orientation
(6:30 am start)
|
No Conference
|
| *8 |
Casting Session (5:30 pm) |
Casting Session (5:30 pm)
|
Casting Session (5:30 pm)
|
| 10 |
Hand Bootcamp
Jason Wink, MD |
Welcome Message
Joseph Serletti, MD |
No 8:00 am Conference |
| *15 |
Casting Session (5:30 pm) |
Casting Session (5:30 pm)
|
Casting Session (5:30 pm)
|
| 17 |
Faculty Meeting
Evidence for Compassion
Geoffrey Sisk, MD |
Patient Safety Conference |
Seminal Article Discussion
(Makhoul/Gudbranson) |
| 24 |
Hand Conference |
Grand Rounds
Jordan Swanson, MD, MSc |
Consult Review
HUP Consult Team |
| 31 |
Face Bootcamp
Samir Shakir, MD |
Resident Grand Rounds
Will Piwnica-Worms, MD
|
Seminal Article Discussion
(Zapatero/McAuliffe)
|
August 2025
| Date |
6:00 am |
7:00 am |
8:00 am |
| 7 |
Billing and Compliance Session
|
Billing and Compliance Session
|
No 8 am conference
|
| 14 |
Oral Boards Prep/Negotiating for Job
Said Azoury, MD |
Resident Grand Rounds
Sharbel Elhage, MD
|
Craniofacial Pearls
David Perrault, MD
|
|
21
|
Oncoplastic Surgery
Justin Broyles, MD
Faculty Meeting
|
Patient Safety Conference
|
Seminal Article Discussion
(Rubenstein/Villavisanis)
|
| 28 |
Hand Conference
|
Syndactyly
Ben Chang, MD
|
Penn Micro
|
September 2025
| Date |
6:00 am |
7:00 am |
8:00 am |
| 4 |
Professionalism Series
Ines Lin, MD, MEd
|
Replantation
Ines Lin, MD |
Seminal Article Discussion
(Terry/PG3 repeat)
|
| 11 |
Pediatric Plastic Surgery
Cassie Ligh, MD |
Resident Grand Rounds
Liz Malphrus, MD |
Seminal Article Discussion
(Deldar/Yang) |
| 18 |
No Faculty Meeting
Conference
|
State of the Department
Ron DeMatteo, MD
|
No Conference
|
| 25 |
No Conference
|
Combined Grand Rounds
Michael T. Longaker, MD, MBA
|
No Conference
|
October 2025
| Date |
6:00 am |
7:00 am |
8:00 am |
| 2 |
No Conference
|
Ivy Lectureship
Bernard Lee, MD
|
Ivy Lectureship
Bernard Lee, MD
|
| 9 |
Micro Skills (Loupes)
Alex Au, MD |
Micro Skills (Loupes)
Alex Au, MD
|
Micro Skills (Loupes)
Alex Au, MD
|
| 16 |
Resident Lecture
Jason Bloom, MD
Faculty Meeting
|
Resident Grand Rounds
Dustin Crystal, MD
|
Seminal Article Discussion
(Wilson/Davis)
|
| 23 |
Hand Conference
|
Resident Grand Rounds
Carrie Morales, MD
|
Consult Review
Hand Fellow(s)
|
| 30 |
Gender Affirming Surgery
John T. Stranix, MD
|
Patient Safety
|
Craniofacial Pearls
David Perrault, MD
|
November 2025
| Date |
6:00 am |
7:00 am |
8:00 am |
| 6 |
No Conference
|
CHA Conference
|
CHA Conference
|
| 13 |
Hand Conference
|
Restore Update
Suhail Kanchwala, MD
|
Seminal Article Discussion
(Morales/Humar) |
| 20 |
Lower Extremity Reconstruction
Raj Parikh, MD
Faculty Meeting
|
Resident Grand Rounds
Alex Wilson, MD, PhD
|
Consult Review
HUP Consult Team
|
| 27 |
No Conference - Thanksgiving
|
No Conference - Thanksgiving
|
No Conference - Thanksgiving
|
December 2025
| Date |
6:00 am |
7:00 am |
8:00 am |
| 4 |
Oral Exam
Azoury |
Oral Exam
Azoury
|
Oral Exam
Azoury
|
| 11 |
Lymphedema
Michael Tecce, DO
|
Resident Grand Rounds
Liz Card, MD
|
Seminal Article Discussion
(Wilson/Davis)
|
| 18 |
No Faculty Meeting
Conference
|
Combined General Surgery/Plastic Surgery Grand Rounds
Paul Cederna, MD
|
No Conference
|
| 25 |
Holiday Weeks
|
No Conferences
|
No Conferences
|
January 2026
| Date |
6:00 am |
7:00 am |
8:00 am |
| 1 |
Holiday Weeks
|
No Conferences
|
No Conferences
|
| 8 |
Skills Workshop
Jess Rose
|
Skills Workshop
Jess Rose
|
Skills Workshop
Jess Rose
|
| 15 |
Faculty Meeting
|
Resident Grand Rounds
Robyn Rubenstein, MD
|
Seminal Article Discussion
(Card/Varagur)
|
| 22 |
Hand Conference
|
Resident Grand Rounds
Romina Deldar, MD
|
Said Azoury
Oral Boards Prep |
29
|
Oculoplastic
Cesar Briceno, MD
|
Patient Safety Conference
|
Consult Review
Hand Fellow(s) |
February 2026
| Date |
6:00 am |
7:00 am |
8:00 am |
| 5 |
Lehr Lecture?
|
Lehr Lecture?
|
Seminal Article Discussion
(Elhage/Byrns)
|
| 12 |
CHA
|
CHA
|
CHA
|
| 19 |
Faculty Meeting
Dr. Chang Hand Inservice Review |
Patient Safety Conference |
Craniofacial Pearls
David Perrault, MD
|
| 26 |
Hand Conference |
Resident Grand Rounds
Zack Zapatero, MD
|
Seminal Article Discussion
(Piwinici-Worms/Habarth-Morales)
|
March 2026
| Date |
6:00 am |
7:00 am |
8:00 am |
| 5 |
In Service Exam |
In Service Exam
|
In Service Exam
|
| 12 |
Microfellow Cases
|
Grand Rounds
Stephen Kovach, MD
|
Consult Review
HUP Consult Team
|
| 19 |
Joe Sobanko, MD, MBA
Faculty Meeting
|
Patient Safety Conference
|
Penn Micro
|
| 26 |
Hand Conference
|
Resident Grand Rounds
Peyton Terry, MD |
Seminal Article Discussion
(Malphrus/Zhang)
|
April 2026
| Date |
6:00 am |
7:00 am |
8:00 am |
| 2 |
Microfellow Cases
|
Grand Rounds
Jason Bloom, MD
|
Craniofacial Pearls
David Perrault, MD
|
| 9 |
Microfellow Cases
|
Craniofacial Fellow
Grand Rounds
|
Seminal Article Discussion
(Crystal/Kurtzman)
|
| 16 |
Sashank Reddy, MD
Faculty Meeting
|
Grand Rounds
Sashank Reddy, MD
|
Sashank Reddy, MD
(8-830 am)
|
| 23 |
Hand Conference
|
Resident Grand Rounds
Alan Makhoul, MD
|
Said Azoury
Oral Boards Prep
|
| 30 |
Microfellow Cases
|
Patient Safety Conference
|
Hand Consult Review
Hand Fellow(s) |
May 2026
| Date |
6:00 am |
7:00 am |
8:00 am |
| 7 |
Microfellow Cases
|
Combined General Surgery GR
Robert Montgomery, MD, PhD
**TIMES Top 100 most influential people 2025 |
Consult Review
HUP Consult Team
|
| 14 |
No conference
|
CHA conference
|
No conference |
| 21 |
No conference
Faculty Meeting |
Whitaker Lectureship
Kant Lin, MD
|
No Conference |
| 28 |
Hand conference
|
CHOP Research Update
Grand Rounds |
|
June 2026
| Date |
6:00 am |
7:00 am |
8:00 am |
| 4 |
Chief Cases Presentation
6:30-8:00 pm |
Chief Case Presentation
6:30-8:00 pm
|
No conference |
| 11 |
Chief Case Presentation
6:30-8:00 pm |
Chief Case Presentation
6:30-8:00 pm
|
No conference
|
| 18 |
Faculty Meeting
|
|
|
|
25
|
Hand Conference
|
Patient Safety Conference
|
|