Geographic Distribution of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons.

Background

Distribution of the general otolaryngology workforce has been described, but not specifically for the facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon (FPRS) workforce.

Objective

To describe the distribution of FPRS within the United States.

Methods

The 2022 American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) registry was used to identify active FPRSs. Member addresses were converted into coordinates and overlayed onto a geographic representation of 2020 census data within ArcGIS software. A centroid model of U.S. counties was constructed to determine the average distances residents were from the nearest FPRS.

Results

In total, 1312 AAFPRS active members practiced in 373 counties. Thirty-three percent of all residents (115 million) resided in counties without an FPRS and 15.3% of FPRSs practiced in New York City or the Greater Los Angeles Area, which accounted for 8% of the total U.S. population. The mean and median distances a resident in a county without an FPRS was from the nearest FPRS are 63 and 49 miles (101 and 79 kilometers), respectively.

Conclusions

Metropolitan areas have greater concentrations of FPRSs than the national average and the distances U.S. residents are from FPRS services are quantifiable.