AAPPS Bulletin Brief February 2025

There have been several positive developments within the American Association of Pediatric Plastic Surgeons (AAPPS) since my last message to membership sent in October 2024, and I thank all of you for working with me in these developments.

1. Bylaws Changes:
   
   All proposed Bylaws changes were approved through an electronic vote of the membership. The updated Bylaws are posted in the AAPPS website.
   
   To summarize these changes and the votes cast:
   
   
   • Addition of Life Member category - 100% approval
   • Ability to adjust dues based on a vote by the membership - 97% approval
   • Definition of quorum to be 50% of the voting membership – 97% approval
   • Freezing of Executive Committee Terms until November 2026 – 97% approval

   
   One would not expect every initiative to have a 100% approval, but I want to shed some light on the rationale for those changes for which approval was not unanimous:

   • Ability to adjust dues based on a vote by the membership: The membership dues have been fixed at $100 per year for over 10 years, and no organization would remain solvent if they did not have the authority to adjust dues and expenses to compensate for inflation.
     
     
   • Definition of quorum to be 50% of the voting membership: We want to be certain that all votes and changes be reflective of at least half of the voting membership of the AAPPS. I realize that this would not be possible if all votes were conducted at the annual breakfast meeting. We have therefore initiated electronic voting, and I encourage all members to participate.
   
   
2. Amendment to Bylaws: Freezing of Executive Committee Terms until November 2026.
   
   The Executive Committee would normally turn over at the breakfast meeting to be held at PSTM25 in October 2025. This proposal freezes turnover of officers for 13 months to align with our parent organization, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). After becoming president, I realized that we have been out of synchrony with the AAP for over 10 years, and as a result we have never been able to function with a full Executive Committee. As stated in the Bylaws, All members of the AAPPS Executive Committee must be members of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Section on Plastic Surgery (SOPS). The Executive Committee of the AAPPS also serves as the Executive Committee of the AAP-SOPS. To comply with this requirement, nominees for the Executive Committee of the AAPPS must first be ratified by the AAP and conform to the timeline for election of officers:
   
   
   • Nomination of officers due: Feb. 6
   • Voting to confirm nominees for officers: March 3
   • Notification of accepted officers: early April
   • Officer terms start: Nov. 1

   
   At present, the AAPPS has two unfilled members of the Executive Committee: Member-at-Large, and Resident Representative. Nominees for these positions are currently being vetted by the AAP, and we will plan to start their terms after AAP approval in early April. This will be the first time that the AAPPS will have had a full complement of Executive Committee members in the last 10 years. The two new members of the AAPPS Executive Committee will initiate their terms on the AAP-SOPS Executive Committee as of Nov. 1, 2025. From this point forward, we will maintain synchrony between leadership of the AAPPS and the AAP-SOPS, which entails initiation of new members of the Executive Committee of both organizations on Nov. 1 each year. This is the rationale for freezing the term of all officers of the AAPPS Executive Committee through Nov. 1, 2026.
   
   

3. Dual membership in the AAPPS and the AAP-SOPS. As of December 2024, the AAPPS had 107 voting members, of which 39 were not members of the AAP Section on Plastic Surgery (SOPS). Note that to be a member of the AAP-SOPS, one must first become a member of the AAP, for which there is an annual dues of $692. Whereas the AAPPS only requires AAP membership of its Executive Committee, we strongly encourage our members to also join the AAP, which enables them to become members of the AAP-SOPS. The Founders of the AAPPS made the decision to have the AAP serve as our parent organization, thereby increasing awareness of pediatric plastic surgery amongst pediatricians. Their vision of partnering the AAPPS with the AAP-SOPS demonstrates recognition and support for pediatricians, who serve as the major referral base for pediatric plastic surgeons. Joining the AAP also confers the honor of being named a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics (FAAP) and recognition by our fellow pediatricians. One must be aware that, upon joining the AAP, that you specify that you would also like to enroll in the Section on Plastic Surgery (SOPS), since the association is not automatic. The AAPPS will send a reminder to those 39 members who are not currently members of the AAP-SOPS should they wish to join this organization.
   
   
4. Clinician of the Year and Keynote Speaker 2025: We are pleased to announce that Jack Yu has been selected by the AAPPS to serve as Clinician of the Year and Keynote Speaker during our upcoming breakfast meeting to be held in New Orleans on the weekend of October 11-12. We invite all of you to attend the annual breakfast meeting, and to invite medical students and residents who you wish to inspire towards careers caring for children through pediatric plastic surgery.
   
   
5. Certificate of Added Qualification (CAQ) in Craniofacial Surgery: A CAQ in Craniofacial Surgery is being developed by the American Society of Craniofacial Surgeons (ASCFS). The ASCFS has partnered with the American Society of Maxillofacial Surgeons (ASMS) and the American Association of Pediatric Plastic Surgeons (AAPPS) to develop criteria for this CAQ, to begin with a written exam that all fellows will take upon completion of fellowship to receive the CAQ. The Executive Committee of the AAPPS is currently developing a question bank to represent fundamental areas of knowledge that craniofacial fellows should be familiar with upon completion of their fellowship. We anticipate working with the ASCFS to improve the education of craniofacial fellows in the future, to include standardized lectures, and recommendations for minimum case requirements in common aspects of pediatric plastic surgery. This effort will ensure that all fellows who obtain the CAQ have both didactic and practical knowledge necessary for the competent care of children with common plastic surgery needs.

I thank all of you for allowing me to serve as President of the AAPPS. I sincerely hope that the initiatives I have described will make the organization of considerable value to all craniofacial and pediatric plastic surgeons.

Respectfully,

Arun Gosain
President, American Association of Pediatric Plastic Surgeons

Donate to AAPPS

Please consider an additional donation to AAPPS to support the activities and initiatives of the organization, which include hosting the annual breakfast, providing a combined research grant with PSF, and the new best paper award.
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AAPPS / PSF Combined Research Grant

The PSF, along with the AAPPS, recognizes the importance of promoting innovative research in academic plastic surgery related to research and stimulating fundamental research in plastic surgery. Together, we are dedicated to fostering the development of surgeon scientists and are committed to increasing the amount of research dollars, in order to fund pilot research studies that set the stage for investigators to apply to larger funding agencies.

American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Pediatric Plastic Surgery

AAPPS partners with the AAP Section on Plastic Surgery (SOPS) to host the annual meeting and activities and initiatives that benefit both organizations. The SOPS, founded in 1987, is dedicated to quality cost-effective health care for infants, children, and adolescents by providing an educational forum for the discussion of problems and treatments related to plastic surgery. The AAP is home to a diverse group of general pediatricians, medical subspecialists, and pediatric surgeons–all dedicated to the health and well-being of children. Including the initials FAAP after your name lends certain legitimacy and indicates that you are a specialist in the care of children and part of an organization that puts children first.

AAPPS Best Paper Award

From a list of pediatric papers published in 2023 in all plastic surgery journals, the Executive Committee has selected:

Nonsedated Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Visualization of the Velopharynx in the Pediatric Population
Kotlarek KJ, Sitzman TJ, Williams JL, Perry JL.
Cleft Palate Craniofac J. 2023;60(2):249-252.
https://doi.org/10.1177/10556656211057361