INI SS Plastic Surgery - 3 Month Study Plan

July 13 - October 24, 2026 (Exam ~Oct 24, 2026 November session)

Exam Overview (Know This First)

Resources (What to Use)

Primary (Must cover)

1. Grabb & Smith's Plastic Surgery - the standard reference, MCQs directly from this
2. S.D. Das - Plastic Surgery - concise Indian text, great for quick revision
3. Previous year INI SS / NEET SS Plastic Surgery MCQs - 2018-2025 (most important)
4. Mathes & Nahai (Vol 1) - only for flaps and wound healing, rest skip

Supplementary

• Your Bailey knowledge covers: wound healing, skin grafts, burns basics - do NOT re-read these, just revise
• Roshan Verma or Rajamahendran's surgery revision notes (if available) for quick surgery crossover topics

Month-by-Month Plan

MONTH 1: July 13 - August 12

• Wound healing (you know Bailey - just upgrade to Plastic-specific details: growth factors, wound contraction, scar formation, keloid vs hypertrophic scar)
• Skin anatomy and physiology
• Skin grafts: STSG vs FTSG, take, failure, donor sites, tie-over dressing
• Z-plasty, W-plasty, geometric broken line closure
• Daily: 2-3 hours reading + 20 PYQs at night

• Classification of flaps (random, axial, perforator)
• Delay phenomenon
• Key named flaps: TRAM, DIEP, Latissimus dorsi, Pec major, Groin flap, SCIA
• Free flaps: basics, anastomosis, monitoring
• Fasciocutaneous vs musculocutaneous flaps

• Burns: rule of nines, Lund & Browder, depth classification
• Fluid resuscitation: Parkland, Muir-Barclay formulas
• Burns management: escharotomy, fasciotomy, silver sulfadiazine
• Inhalation injury, carbon monoxide poisoning
• Contracture release, burn scar management
• Bailey background helps hugely here - upgrade the details

• Cleft lip: anatomy, embryology, Millard rotation-advancement, Tennison-Randall
• Cleft palate: Veau-Wardill-Kilner, Furlow palatoplasty, timing of repair
• Nasal reconstruction: forehead flap, composite grafts
• Ear reconstruction: Nagata technique, Brent technique
• Facial palsy reconstruction

MONTH 2: August 13 - September 12

• Anatomy: zones of flexor tendons (Bunnell's no man's land), extensor zones
• Dupuytren's contracture, trigger finger, De Quervain's
• Replantation: indications, sequence, contraindications
• Nerve injuries: Seddon and Sunderland classification
• Tendon repairs: Kessler, Bunnell sutures, early mobilization
• Intrinsic/extrinsic tightness tests

• Breast reconstruction: implant vs autologous, TRAM, DIEP, LD flap
• Nipple-areola reconstruction
• Gynecomastia: Simon classification, surgical options
• Abdominal wall reconstruction
• Chest wall reconstruction
• Poland syndrome, Tuberous breast deformity

• Rhinoplasty: anatomy, approaches, tip techniques
• Blepharoplasty: anatomy of eyelid, approach
• Facelift: SMAS anatomy, approaches
• Liposuction: tumescent technique, wetting solutions, complications
• Abdominoplasty: types, Matarasso classification
• Botox and fillers: mechanism, sites, complications

• Hemangiomas vs vascular malformations (Mulliken classification)
• Kasabach-Merritt syndrome
• Lymphedema: Charles procedure, Thompson procedure
• Skin tumors: BCC (rodent ulcer), SCC, melanoma staging, Breslow thickness
• Keloids: treatment options (triamcinolone, pressure, radiation)
• Hypospadias (crossover from Uro - you already know this well!)
• Epispadias, exstrophy

MONTH 3: September 13 - October 20

• Microsurgery principles, instruments, sutures
• Free flap complications, salvage
• Lymphatic surgery: VLNT, LVA
• Nerve grafting, conduits
• Toe-to-hand transfers

• Craniosynostosis: types (Crouzon, Apert, Pfeiffer), surgical correction
• Hypertelorism correction
• Orthognathic surgery basics: Le Fort I, II, III
• Mandibular distraction
• Pressure sores: Shea/NPUAP staging, flap options per region

• Rapid re-read of all short notes made in Months 1-2
• Focus on high-yield tables: formulas, classifications, named techniques
• Do topic-wise PYQ clusters (not random)
• Weak area targeting based on mock performance

• Daily 80Q full mocks with strict timing (90 min)
• Analyze every wrong answer - look up source
• Revise only short notes, no new topics
• Oct 18-20: Light revision only, sleep well, no new topics

High-Yield Topics That Appear Every Year

1. Wound healing phases and growth factors
2. Delay phenomenon mechanism
3. Cleft lip/palate embryology and repair techniques
4. Tendon zones and repair methods
5. Burn formulas (Parkland, Muir-Barclay)
6. Flap classification and blood supply
7. Breslow thickness and melanoma staging
8. Dupuytren's - mechanism and treatment
9. Hemangioma vs vascular malformations
10. SMAS anatomy for facelift
11. Replantation sequence (BOVE: Bone, tendon, artery, vein, nerve - remember order)
12. Craniosynostosis types and syndromes
13. Free TRAM vs pedicled TRAM - differences
14. Z-plasty: angle, gain in length formula
15. Rule of nines vs Lund-Browder - when to use which

Daily Schedule (Weekdays)

Special Notes For You

• Your Uro prep is not wasted. Hypospadias, epispadias, genitourinary reconstruction overlap directly with Plastic. Use those answers.
• Bailey wound healing = 70% done. Just add the plastic-specific layers on top.
• Do NOT start with Grabb & Smith cover to cover. Use it as a reference when you hit topics. SD Das first for orientation, then Grabb for depth.
• PYQs are king. INI SS Plastic has a strong pattern of repeating questions. After 2019, pattern stabilized significantly.
• Stage II (if you crack AIIMS/PGIMER cutoff): Brush up on recent advances in flap surgery, free tissue transfer outcomes, and negative pressure wound therapy. Your clinical thinking from surgical training will carry you here.