Craniofacial and Pediatric Plastic Surgery Fellowship

 A doctor wearing a mask bumps fists with a young patient in a doctor’s office.
Erik Wolfswinkel, M.D., is the program director for the Craniofacial and Pediatric Plastic Surgery Fellowship at OHSU. The cleft and craniofacial team at OHSU make up the largest and most experienced craniofacial care program in Oregon.

The one-year Craniofacial and Pediatric Plastic Surgery fellowship program at OHSU will expose you to all aspects of pediatric and adult craniofacial reconstructive care in a high-volume, academic, quaternary care setting.

The cleft and craniofacial team at OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital is the largest multidisciplinary team in Oregon, bringing together experts in more than 20 specialties. We have a 60-year history of providing comprehensive care at the highest level to children born with congenital head and neck anomalies.

Fellowship objectives

A doctor walks with a child patient down a hallway in a hospital.
Lori Howell, M.D., the residency program director for the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery program at OHSU, serves as the other primary educator for the Craniofacial and Pediatric Plastic Surgery Fellowship. The focus of this fellowship is caring for pediatric patients, though you’ll also have exposure to a high volume of adult head and neck reconstructive needs.

OHSU sees a high volume of pediatric and adult cleft and craniofacial patients. As a fellow, you will be exposed to all facets of cleft and craniofacial care, including medical, surgical and other supportive care.

Your primary focus will be caring for pediatric patients diagnosed with conditions like:

  • Cleft lip and palate
  • Craniosynostosis
  • Facial paralysis
  • Microtia
  • Congenital jaw and/or facial bony skeleton abnormalities
  • Vascular malformations
  • Congenital nevus
  • Traumatic and/or burn reconstructive needs
  • Other congenital or acquired soft tissue deformities

You will work alongside care providers from many disciplines in our collaborative clinics, including cleft, craniosynostosis, orthognathic, vascular anomalies, torticollis, sleep and facial paralysis clinics. The cleft and craniosynostosis clinics alone see about 1,400 unique patients each year who live in Oregon and five other states.

In addition to pediatric care, you will have broad exposure to a high volume of adult head and neck reconstructive needs. As a fellow, you will work alongside experts in other surgical specialties such as neurosurgery, OMS, oculoplastic surgery and otolaryngology. You will learn comprehensive care treating facial trauma and will perform scalp and skull reconstruction.

Research

Research can be another critical component of the fellowship. You will have the opportunity to join a craniofacial research team of medical students, residents, nurse practitioners, orthodontists, speech language pathologists and other adjunct surgical faculty. You will be able to participate in research efforts to analyze and improve patient outcomes and gain a better understanding of barriers to care among our patients.

As a fellow, you will be able to participate in global health outreach initiatives to help train craniofacial surgeons and provide surgical care in low- and middle-income countries. You’ll gain a better understanding of medical and surgical needs in developing countries and learn best practices to help children born with craniofacial anomalies.

Fellowship curriculum

Core surgical curriculum includes:

  • Cleft lip and palate
  • Craniosynostosis
  • Craniofacial microsomia
  • Rare craniofacial clefts
  • Orbital hypertelorism
  • Midface hypoplasia
  • Pierre-Robin sequence
  • Orthognathic surgery
  • Craniofacial tumors
  • Nasal anomalies
  • Ear anomalies (prominent ear, microtia)
  • Vascular anomalies
  • Facial palsy
  • Congenital nevus
  • Microsurgical soft tissue coverage
  • Traumatic craniomaxillofacial reconstruction

We will encourage you to help build programs, work across disciplines and engage with the community. You will also take part in weekly patient care discussions with providers across disciplines.

You'll interact and spend time in the clinic with experts in:

  • Plastic surgery
  • Oral maxillofacial surgery
  • Otolaryngology
  • Neurosurgery
  • Genetics
  • Orthodontics
  • Dentistry
  • Pediatrics
  • Speech and language pathology
  • Audiology
  • Psychology

As your fellowship year progresses, you’ll start to lead your own clinic days and operative cases. Program leaders will tailor your curriculum and access to the knowledge and experience you need based on your career goals.

In addition to the core surgical curriculum, you will have the opportunity to learn:

  • General plastic and reconstructive surgery
  • Facial feminization and masculinization surgery
  • Oral and maxillofacial surgery

You can also participate in outreach and education initiatives. This is a non-ACGME fellowship.

How to apply

Complete an application through the American Society of Craniofacial Surgeons (ASCFS) and register for the SF Match.

Eligibility requirements

To be eligible for the Craniofacial and Pediatric Plastic Surgery fellowship, you must:

We use the SF Match to manage applications for this fellowship. Refer to SF Match for application requirements.

Important dates

The Craniofacial and Pediatric Plastic Surgery fellowship lasts one year, from Aug. 1 to July 31.

Find application deadlines and other important dates from the ASCFS.

Fellowship leaders

Erik Wolfswinkel, M.D., directs OHSU’s Craniofacial and Pediatric Plastic Surgery fellowship. He is an assistant professor in the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and serves as medical director of Doernbecher Children's Hospital’s cleft and craniofacial program.

    • Appointments and titles

      • Assistant Professor of Surgery, Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, School of Medicine
    • Areas of interest

      • Cleft Lip and Palate
      • Craniosynostosis
      • Microtia
      • Craniofacial Anomalies

Other program leaders include:

Apply now

Contact us

Erik Wolfswinkel, M.D.
Program Director
wolfswin@ohsu.edu

Lizzandra Trueba-Mejias
Program Coordinator
mejias@ohsu.edu