Tampa Residents Program/Residents program anywhere

Has anyone here had any plastic surgery done with the USF Plastic surgery residents program.  They offer 50% off of the surgeons fees, and the surgery is performed by a resident and supervised by David Smith a board certified plastic surgeon.  I am looking into this program and would really like feedback from anyone that has used them.  I wouldn't mind hearing from anyone who has used a residents program either.  Thanks!!

I have not used them but I did go with a friend of mine for a consult.  She saw the resident and then had a consult with Dr. Smith.  I had been using Dr. Albear in Tampa so she also went for a consult with him.  She ended up moving to California before she could have the surgery -- but she had decided to go with Dr. Albear.

Red

When I was faculty at the Univ. of Texas Medical School in Houston, I supervised many resident cases.  I feel the care can be just as good, it all depends on the expertise of the supervising surgeon of course.  Patients must in most cases be willing to see a variety of the resident docs through their recovery however, as they rotate every few months.

I am excited myself about working with the Baylor College of Medicine here in Houston as a part of their residency program.  Still working out the details but the idea is to have me involved in the evaluation, planning, marking, and critical portions of the surgery while offering a more favorable pricing structure for patients and training for the residents.

Thanks!  I appreciate the feedback.  I have heard really good things about the supervising physician, however I did not take into account that I would need to see many different residents, although it makes perfect sense.

Hi there!

I went on a consult for that program, and I was very impressed. The only down side is that you may not actually *meet* the person who will be operating on you at all! But I felt totally comfortable with David Smith supervising, and I'd have no hesitation going there.

But here's my story: I wanted brachioplasty/mastopexy/augmentation all at once. The residency program didn't want to place implants at the same time as a lift, so they quoted me like $5800 for arms/breast lift and then $3500 later for breast implants in a second surgery.

Dr. Jeffrey Hartog in Winter Park, FL , however, was perfectly comfortable doing all three at once. He placed the implants when he did my arms/breast lift and then "pumped up" the implants a week later (today actually!). The total price was about the same, I got a board certified surgeon, ONE recovery time, and he's a lot closer to where I live (Mount Dora).

I have a quote from Tampa on the thigh lift which is what I want to have done next, and I'm going to see what Dr. Hartog charges. If the prices are anywhere near the same, I'll definitely use Dr. Hartog again because he's awesome! If not, I'd certainly consider Tampa again.

Best of luck to you! But really--I've been on 9 consults in the Orlando/Tampa area (including Dr. Albear mentioned above), and the prices were all over the map. My quotes ranged from the residency program (very lowest) up to $17,000 for the same procedures! Definitely include Hartog in your consults!

Wow!  Thanks for the info, I will defintely keep that in mind!!