Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

Apply for Residency 

Hello and welcome to the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery website at P.C.O.M.  As the newly appointed program director, I would like to thank you for your interest in our program.   We are currently undergoing some exciting changes that I would like to share with you.  We will be transitioning into a six year integrated fomat starting in 2012.  During this transition, we will continue to accept traditional applicants, i.e., those who have completed their general surgery training.  The training period for these applicants will be three additional years in plastic surgery.  Our program offers top notch training for our fellows through seven clinical rotations; fulfilling a thorough spectrum of disciplines within the plastic and reconstructive surgery specialty.  We are extremely fortunate to be affiliated with world renowned facilities such as the Jefferson Hand Center, St Christopher’s Hospital for Children, West Chester Medical Center, NY, Reading Hospital and Medical Center and Crozer Chester Medical Center.  Our program consists of an ambitious academic schedule led by our faculty.  This includes journal club, morbidity and mortality conference, grand rounds with visiting professors and a cadaver lab.  We welcome the opportunity to meet with you during your clinical rotation at PCOM .  This can be arranged through the GME office via e-mail at gme@pcom.edu.  Please do not hesitate to contact me personally if you have any questions about our program.  I look forward to meeting you in the near future. 

Benjamin Lam, D.O., F.A.C.O.S.

Director Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine

The Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship is a Consortium based Program at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, one of the five largest medical schools in the United States.  Among the benefits of this Consortium is access to the vast resources of the Medical College including use of campus facilities such as classrooms, computer laboratories, anatomy, physiology and biochemistry laboratories, patient simulation and a comprehensive medical library with an electronic journal database.  This residency is currently approved for eight positions offering seven major services which are briefly described as follows:

Service I is a rotation at New York Medical College, Valhalla, New York.  Westchester Medical Center is a major University service supervised by full time plastic surgeons Andrew Salzberg, M.D and Michael Koch, MD.  The experience at Valhalla includes areas of Plastic Surgery such as general reconstruction, trauma, maxillofacial surgery, hand surgery, microvascular surgery, aesthetic surgery, a burn unit and a cleft lip/cleft palate clinic.

Service II takes place at Reading Hospital and Medical Center. The Reading rotation offers an outstanding opportunity to participate in a Plastic Surgery service at an extremely busy community hospital. The Reading Hospital Emergency Room maintains the most significant number of visits/year in the State of Pennsylvania and houses a major trauma center.  It is the most recent addition to the rotation schedule offering an all-encompassing experience in general community plastic surgery. Fellows will participate in aesthetic surgery, hand surgery, maxillo-facial trauma and a  variety of reconstruction cases.

Service III is a Philadelphia-based aesthetic and reconstructive rotation combining the practices of Dr. Paul Glat, MD and Dr. Kenneth Morgenstern, MD. This rotation utilizes local surgicenters and hospitals in which Fellows participate in a variety of aesthetic and reconstructive procedures.  Fellows have the opportunity to perform oncoplastic surgery at the Cancer Treatment Hospital in Philadelphia and they also are provided with a unique opportunity to work on a major oculoplastic surgical service in the city of Philadelphia.

Service IV takes place on the Plastic Surgical service at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, in Philadelphia, a premiere center for pediatric care.  This large, well-established pediatric hospital is associated with the Tenet Health System and houses a pediatric burn unit while the  Chief of Service is Paul Glat, M.D.    The rotation includes coverage of an emergency trauma service, a cleft lip/cleft palate service and clinic, craniofacial service, pediatric burn center, and a variety of other general reconstructive cases such as soft tissue tumors, vascular anomalies and other congenital defects.  Additional training opportunities are available in breast reconstruction and aesthetic surgery as well.

Service V is based at St Mary Medical Center/Bucks County Plastic Surgery. Co-Chiefs of Service are Robert Skalicky, D.O and Benjamin Lam, DO.  Surgical case load provides training in general reconstruction and aesthetic surgery while additional clinicians on this service will provide experience in breast reconstruction, hand surgery and facial rejuvenation.

Service VI is a hand surgery rotation at Jefferson University Hospital, a world leader in this field offering training in all hand- related pathology/injuries. At Jefferson, Fellows  have the unique opportunity to participate in microsurgery while learning techniques from national leaders in this specialty. The hand surgical service satisfies a core-competency in plastic surgery training.

Service VII is located at the Crozer Chester Medical Center in suburban Philadelphia. The trainers at Crozer provide a strong experience in burn care, hand surgery, reconstruction and aesthetic surgery. Crozer Chester Medical Center has one of only two adult burn centers in the greater Philadelphia area and also maintains an extremely active Trauma Service.  While on this service, the fellow will also get the opportunity to work with Dr. Sherman Leis, the founder of the PCOM Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery fellowship.  The fellow is provided with a unique opportunity to participate in gender reassignment surgery. 

All rotations provide academic conferences as well as several didactic sessions throughout the Fellow’s training.  Fellows are required to attend weekly plastic surgery conferences which include textbook and selected readings, chapter review, Journal Club, morbidity/mortality case review and weekly service reports. Fellows also utilize cadaver  labs at PCOM and participate in required in-service training examinations. 

For more information about our program please contact the PCOM Graduate Medical Education Department at 215-871-6690 and/or Dr. Benjamin Lam.

Benjamin Lam, D.O.

• Program Director, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

Education/Training

• BS, University of Michigan, 1988
• DO, University of Osteopathic Medicine and Health Sciences, 1992
• Internship, Delaware Valley Medical Center, 1992-1993
• Anesthesia Residency, Thomas Jefferson University, 1993-1994
• General Surgery Residency, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medidine, 1994-1998
• Plastic Surgery Fellowship, Philadelphia College ofOsteopathic Medicine, 1998-2000