Dr. MyChi Le ’03
Plastic Surgery Resident, University Hospital Dr. MyChi Le, 26, was born in Vietnam and her family immigrated to Kansas City when she was 6. When Le came to the Missouri Academy, she was just 15 years old and was unsure about leaving the security of her Vietnamese community. “I had an excellent RA who was always there for me. She even put together a Lunar New Year party for me,” Le said. “The friendships I made are priceless, and I was able to take classes I never dreamed of taking at my high school.” After graduating from the Missouri Academy in 2003, she attended the University of Missouri for two years and received a bachelor’s in biochemistry, and four years later she graduated from Kansas University Medical School. She’s currently in the second year of a six-year integrated plastic surgery residency at University Hospital, which is part of University of Missouri Health Care in Columbia. While she’s on track to complete the program in 2015, Le may then pursue a fellowship, adding another year to her academic career. When her formal academic pursuits are accomplished and she receives board certification, Le plans to return to Kansas City to start her own practice in general plastic surgery, or she may remain in the academic environment if she decides to pursue pediatric plastic surgery.
Tell us about your plastic surgery residency. Residency involves three years of general surgery and three years of plastic surgery, so right now the bulk of my time is in general surgery. However, I have monthly rotations where I focus on areas such as plastic surgery, general
surgery, orthopedics and trauma. I’m also on call, and I spend a lot of time in the OR and in clinic. It’s very hands on in regards to patient care. When I meet with patients, I remind them that I am a physician. You see, I’m 5 feet tall and 26 years old, so patients don’t believe that I’m a doctor – especially elderly patients because they think I’m a child or a nurse.
What’s the best part about your current position? I enjoy the patient interaction and being able to touch a patient’s life. It’s so gratifying, especially when working with children with a cleft lip and cleft palate because it impacts so much – their speech, their self esteem, their ability to eat. The initial reason I pursued plastic surgery was because of pediatrics, and I was really focused on doing surgical mission work. However, now that I’ve learned more about it, I also enjoy the variety. My favorite is working with breast cancer survivors.
What are some examples of research in which you’ve been involved? As an undergraduate, I worked on research related to spinal cord injuries for two years, and in med school I worked with a surgical oncologist on thyroid cancer research. Right now I'm working on several projects involving carpal tunnel release, cleft palate repair and craniosynostosis.
I’m 5 feet t all and 26 years old, so patients d on’t believe that I ’m a doctor - especially e lderly patient s because they think I’m a child or a nur se. Dr. MyCh
i Le
Dr. MyChi Le ’03 applied to all 50 integrated plastic surgery residency programs in the country and couldn’t have been happier to be matched with the program in Columbia, so close to her family in Kansas City. 15