History
The Wright State University School of Medicine was established in 1973 by the Ohio General Assembly. From about 1973 to 1998, a Wright State University Plastic Surgery Residency Program existed under the direction of Drs. Thomas Graul, Ralph Snider and James Apesos. This program trained many outstanding plastic surgeons. However, the loss of a sponsoring institution with the closure of St. Elizabeth's Hospital was instrumental in the voluntary withdrawal of the training program in 1998.
Dr. R. Michael Johnson subsequently re-established the Wright State Plastic Surgery Residency Program with the assistance of Premier Health Partners (PHP), the parent company of Miami Valley Hospital (MVH) in 2006. PHP recommended an investment be made by the institution to fund a plastic surgery residency program to help with the long-term specialty service needs of the community by training physicians interested in remaining in the Dayton community.
Initially, the program trained one resident per year. In 2019, the residency complement increased to two residents per year due to the additional support of Kettering Health Network and Dayton Children's Medical Center. Over the years the breadth and scope of plastic surgery practice has widened in the Dayton area. Our program has an excellent mix of all aspects of plastic surgery. Miami Valley Hospital is a Level 1 trauma center with an active Orthopedic Trauma and Lower extremity reconstruction program as well as the Adult Regional Burn and Wound center with a 17-county referral base. In addition, there are over 100 head and neck microsurgical cases performed yearly at MVH. Kettering Health Network has an active breast reconstruction program, including over 100 cases a year of microsurgical breast reconstruction. Dayton Children's Hospital has 2 full-time pediatric plastic surgeons performing cranial vault reconstruction as well as cleft lip and palate surgery. In addition, the Shriner's Hospital of Ohio is now located at the Dayton Children's Hospital and is a leader in the care of pediatric burn and craniofacial patients from the US and international locations.
The Plastic Surgery Institute of Dayton has been a primary teaching location for the Wright State Plastic Surgery residents since the inception of the program in 2006. This private practice plastic surgery group of outstanding cosmetic and reconstructive surgeons is the primary location for the residents to experience outpatient cosmetic and reconstructive surgery.
Our program has maintained full accreditation status since inception. We are dedicated to continuous improvement of our resident's education. Our alumni have obtained fellowships in craniofacial and hand surgery, and many have entered practice directly after completion of training. Our faculty are dedicated to provide the best possible educational experience, while providing state of the art plastic surgery care to all age groups in our community, as well as to those patients seeking specialty care throughout the region.
