Nicole Sommer
Director of SIU Cosmetic Clinic
Plastic Surgeon
Created at SIU School of Medicine in 1973, the Institute for Plastic Surgery is known nationally and internationally for its work.
Institute for Plastic Surgery
The Springfield, Illinois-based Institute has grown to include an outstanding team of physicians, a thriving residency and fellowship program, an excellent hand surgery and therapy center, and attractive facilities. Its expert faculty and staff specialize in microsurgery, hand surgery and therapy, reconstructive surgery, aesthetic surgery, and specialized care in the treatment of burns and problem wounds.
PATIENT CARE
Compassionate care, superior results
The Institute for Plastic Surgery is committed to achieving the highest standard of excellence in all areas of reconstructive and cosmetic surgery. Reconstructive plastic surgery strives to restore appearance and function for patients with defects resulting from trauma, infection, tumors, burns, birth defects or disease. Cosmetic or aesthetic plastic surgery attempts to improve the patient's appearance.
Our team
RESEARCH
In the lab
With a focus on basic and clinical research, the Institute for Plastic Surgery is working toward promoting faster, better healing, improved surgical and microsurgical techniques and novel treatments like stem cells and cold plasma technology.
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EDUCATION
Hand Surgery Fellowship
The SIU Institute for Plastic Surgery offers a one-year Hand Surgery Fellowship. Within this program, fellows will see a large variety and volume of hand pathologies and surgical procedures including fracture treatment, nerve injury and treatment, local, regional, and free flaps for hand wound care. Fellows will learn and practice the principles of plastic surgery as it applies to hand surgery.
EDUCATION
Plastic Surgery Residency
SIU’s Institute for Plastic Surgery is an integrated plastic surgery training program that is designed to give residents a diverse experience in plastic surgery and its subspecialty areas. Two positions per year are filled in a 6-year integrated program approved by the ACGME which involves matching through the NRMP into a program during your senior year of medical school.
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Latest news
SIU Medicine to address breast cancer disparities at CAP 1908
SIU Medicine is hosting an event to educate women, especially those in the Black community, about early detection, breast cancer screenings, advocating for care, supporting others who have breast cancer and options for breast reconstruction after breast cancer surgery.
Innovative technique saves man's hand
After a farming accident, reconstructive surgeon Tim Daugherty saved a man's hand through "ectopic banking," a first in the Midwest.
Dr. Jo Buyske talks about changes to American Board of Surgery certification
American Board of Surgery President Dr. Jo Buyske shared news of a change to competency evaluations for general surgery residents at the 2022 Folse-Birtch-Sumner Lectureship.
Skin Engineering
Within an operating room, surgeons sometimes notice little things that they wish they could do better. A change that could improve the medical outcome or the patient’s post-op convalescence is not to be ignored.
Latest blog articles
The silent occupational hazard: Carpal tunnel syndrome in farmers
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Important facts about facial fractures
Pop quiz: Do you know how many bones you have in your face? 14! Breaking one of these bones can be a traumatic and life changing. Seeking medical care after any trauma to the face is important to
Breast reconstruction awareness day & breast cancer awareness month for October
SIU Medicine joins other organizations and families around the country in celebrating National Breast Cancer Awareness Month during October. We're doing our part to spread awareness about this leading
Treatments for a cleft lip and palate
One in sixteen hundred. That’s how often babies are born with a cleft lip and a cleft palate in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While having a child