Build the Case, Defend the Plan, Before You Face the Examiners

Built for the candidate preparing for the American Board of Plastic Surgery Oral Certifying Examination, this case-based review moves through reconstruction the way an examiner actually probes it: framing the clinical problem, recognizing its presentation, working through the decisions that shape an operative plan, and defending that plan under direct questioning. It spans the specialty a candidate must defend on exam day, from foundational principles and perioperative safety through oncologic, breast, craniofacial, facial trauma, hand, microsurgical, burn, and body contouring reconstruction. Each chapter closes with its own Board-Review Questions and full Answer Explanations.

A 250-question Comprehensive Exam extends coverage to the full breadth of the ABPS Written Qualifying Examination, adding a dual-format practice experience beyond the oral case format alone.

Inside, You Will Learn How To

• Defend a reconstructive plan under questioning, using structured case reasoning across every organ system an examiner can raise, from the reconstructive ladder through the elevator concept.
• Sequence breast reconstruction decisions across implant-based versus autologous selection, radiation timing, and capsular contracture and BIA-ALCL management.
• Work through craniofacial and pediatric cases using cleft timing, Veau and Regnault classification, and craniosynostosis pattern recognition by suture.
• Manage facial trauma and aesthetic cases together, from Le Fort and zygomaticomaxillary fracture patterns to facelift, blepharoplasty, and rhinoplasty selection.
• Handle hand, microsurgical, and lower extremity cases through flexor tendon zones, free flap monitoring, and Gustilo-Anderson-guided planning.
• Recognize burn and body contouring safety concerns, including Parkland resuscitation, escharotomy timing, and thromboembolism risk after massive weight loss.
• Practice at full board scale with a 250-question exam spanning the ABPS Written Examination's five core domains, every question fully explained.
• Walk into the exam room with a framework, not a script, applying one consistent reasoning pattern across all nineteen chapters.

Prepare the way the exam actually tests, case by case, defense by defense, before the day you have to do it live.