Rolling admission · Istanbul · Delivered in English
Follow free-tissue transfer in a university plastic surgery department, where cases are scheduled in your dates, from the joint planning discussion through the microsurgical case to flap checks on the ward, all from outside the sterile field.
What you see depends on the department's clinical calendar during your placement; the list below describes the department's usual scope, not a guaranteed programme.
Reconstruction begins before the resection. When a head and neck, breast or limb case is discussed jointly, the resecting surgeons describe the defect they expect to leave and the plastic surgeons consider what it will need: skin cover, bulk, bone, a lining surface or functioning muscle. The reconstructive ladder, from direct closure and grafts through local and regional flaps to free tissue transfer, is a starting point; in complex defects surgeons often move directly to the option that restores function most reliably, sometimes called the reconstructive elevator.
Choosing the flap balances tissue match against donor-site cost. A thin, pliable radial forearm flap suits many intraoral defects; an anterolateral thigh flap offers a larger skin paddle with modest donor-site morbidity; a fibula flap brings vascularised bone for the mandible; abdominal-based flaps are a common choice for autologous breast reconstruction. Recipient vessels, previous radiotherapy, comorbidities and positioning in theatre all shape the decision. Which flaps you observe depends entirely on the cases scheduled during your dates.
The anastomosis is one stage of a longer pathway. Most vascular compromise declares itself in the early post-operative period, so care is organised around frequent clinical checks, often supported by a handheld Doppler, with a low threshold for returning to theatre if venous congestion or arterial insufficiency is suspected. Observers who follow a case onto the ward round see how nurses, residents and surgeons share that vigilance, and how donor-site recovery and rehabilitation are planned afterwards.
Where the parent plastic surgery page spans aesthetic, hand, burns and craniofacial work, this page concentrates on free-tissue transfer and the planning around it. Breast cancer surgery and its tumour board belong to the oncoplastic breast surgery page, and tendon, nerve and fracture work in the hand to the hand and peripheral nerve surgery page.
Graduate physicians and clinical-year students aiming at plastic surgery, along with head and neck or orthopaedic surgeons, who want to understand how a microsurgical reconstruction is planned, carried out and monitored.
Plastic surgeons with a specialist qualification for whom microsurgical reconstruction is the stated interest of a 12 to 24-month attachment to the plastic surgery department; the longer stay lets more free-flap cases be followed from planning to clinic review.
Both routes are strictly observational: observers attend theatre and clinic without patient contact, do not scrub or assist, and are not assessed on any procedure.
| Clinical Observership | Clinical Fellowship | |
|---|---|---|
| Duration | 1, 2 or 4 weeks (extension possible on request) | 12 to 24 months, agreed with the host department |
| Who it is for | Medical students in clinical years and graduate physicians from outside Turkey | Recognised specialists and family physicians seeking advanced exposure beyond standard specialty training |
| Format | Full-time, strictly observational — outpatient clinics, operating theatre, ward rounds, case discussions | Extended observational attachment to one department: daily practice, service structure and specific techniques |
| Certificate | Certificate of attendance issued by the host hospital and signed by its Medical Director | Certificate on completion issued under the accreditation of the affiliated university school of medicine |
| Start | Rotations typically begin on a Monday; dates are agreed individually | Start date planned around the date you request and the department's capacity |
One online application for both routes. State Reconstructive Microsurgery as your focus in your objectives; ATDERA reviews the file and prepares it for the Plastic Surgery department, then replies with next steps, typically within two working days.
Already started? The application page picks up where you left off.
ATDERA Global Limited (Companies House No. 17173428, registered in England and Wales) coordinates this programme for a university teaching hospital in Istanbul. ATDERA is not a hospital and does not provide clinical care; admission decisions and certificates are the host hospital's.
One online application covers both routes and all twenty-one specialties — details, programme choice and documents in five short steps. ATDERA reviews the file and replies with next steps, typically within two working days.
