ABPS Plastic Surgery study guide
ABPS Plastic Surgery · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS) Written Examination is the computer-based, multiple-choice knowledge assessment that candidates must pass before advancing to the Oral Examination in the board certification process for plastic surgery. It is intended for surgeons who have completed or are completing accredited plastic surgery training and have entered the ABPS examination process. The examination samples the breadth of plastic surgery, and the Board publishes a Written Examination Process & Requirements document, a Quick Reference Tips guide for written exam candidates, and an Examination Content outline that together define the scope and the content categories tested. ABPS also offers a practice exam, which candidates commonly use to become familiar with the item style and pacing before test day. Topics on this exam: Plastic Surgery (general content; not enumerated in source) and Comprehensive Plastic Surgery Content (not enumerated in source). The ABPS Plastic Surgery study guide has 2 sections and about 658 words.
01Plastic Surgery: Core Principles and Exam Strategy
General plastic surgery content rewards a principled, systems-based approach rather than isolated fact recall. Candidates must command wound healing physiology (hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, remodeling; the roles of platelets, macrophages, fibroblasts, and type III→type I collagen conversion), skin and soft-tissue anatomy (perfusion angiosomes, Langer lines, relaxed skin tension lines), and graft and flap biology (random vs axial flaps, pedicle design, flap monitoring, and the distinction between flap failure from arterial inflow versus venous congestion). Reconstructive ladder logic: healing by secondary intention → primary closure → graft → local flap → regional flap → free tissue transfer. Questions often test whether a candidate escalates appropriately for the defect.
346 words, about 2 min02Comprehensive Plastic Surgery: Integrated Clinical Reasoning
The comprehensive domain integrates the breadth of plastic surgery: aesthetic and reconstructive breast surgery, craniofacial and cleft care, hand and peripheral nerve surgery, burn management, microsurgery, and body contouring . Questions here test synthesis - pulling anatomy, physiology, and operative sequencing into one decision. Breast : pedicle blood supply (especially the dominant internal mammary perforators), implications of incision choice, and the difference between oncologic and reconstructive goals. Craniofacial : suture biology and timing of intervention in craniosynostosis; the principle that releasing a fused suture early permits brain growth.
312 words, about 2 min