Pediatric Fellowships

Craniofacial Surgery Fellowship

Program Director

Craig Birgfeld, MD

Program Overview

The Craniofacial Surgery Fellowship is based on a broad clinical referral base spanning five states. Since 1993, the fellowship program has graduated more than 25 craniofacial surgeons currently practicing in academic and private practice environments. The fellowship educational experience is intrinsically linked to the Craniofacial Center, a 50-member interdisciplinary team with coordinated clinical and academic activities.

Graduates of the program have been exposed to diagnosis and perioperative care of a large clinical volume of both pediatric and adult congenital and acquired craniomaxillofacial abnormalities. The goal of the program is to train in all aspects of surgery of the craniofacial skeleton. The fellowship experience is approximately 80% pediatric and 20% adult.

The program is based at the Craniofacial Center at Seattle Children's, the pediatric tertiary care center for the Northwest. Fellows get experience treating adult craniomaxillofacial abnormalities, both acquired and congenital, at Harborview Medical Center, a nationally recognized Level I trauma center.

Clinical activity is on a supervised basis only. There is no independent patient responsibility, but active participation is expected in ongoing clinical outcome studies and case series analysis. Fellows are asked to present original clinical research at a national meeting.

This clinical position is available on an annual basis (July 1 to June 30) and includes the following:

  • Cleft lip and palate care
  • Craniosynostosis
  • Pediatric craniofacial surgery
  • Pediatric plastic surgery
  • Acute trauma and secondary trauma reconstruction
  • Orthognathic surgery and distraction osteogenesis
  • Clinical research

This fellowship is based at Seattle Children's Hospital and Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Washington. The salary for this position is commensurate with institutional guidelines relative to the educational level of the individual involved.

Board certification eligibility upon fellowship completion: None

Length of fellowship: 1 year

Number of fellowships available: 2 (through San Francisco Match)

Application Requirements

Application deadline

  • SF Match fellowship: August 31

Interview start and end dates

  • SF Match fellowship: onsite interviews held September through November

Prerequisites/post-medical school requirements:

  • Please see SFMatch.org for the most up-to-date requirements.

Materials to submit

For More Information

Fellowship Coordinator
Craniofacial Center, Division of Craniofacial and Plastic Surgery
Seattle Children's Hospital
PO Box 5371, M/S OB.9.520
Seattle, WA 98145-5005

Phone: 206-987-6504 
Fax: 206-987-3370
Email communication preferred