After graduating from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics high school in Durham, Dr. Tannan completed her undergraduate and medical school studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she was honored with numerous awards, most notably induction into the prestigious medical group, Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society (AOA). Residency training in plastic surgery took her to the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, where she excelled in both technical skills and educating medical students. She received recognition there with induction into the Gold Humanism Honor Society and the School of Medicine Humanism and Excellence in Teaching Award, among other honors.
Many procedures in plastic surgery, such as breast surgery, involve complex techniques taking tissue from one part of the body and transplanting to another part. They often involve microvascular surgery using an operating microscope to sew together vessels as small as 1-2 mm. To further establish herself as an expert plastic surgeon, Dr. Tannan completed fellowship training in microvascular and hand surgery at the world-renowned Hand Center of San Antonio in Texas. There she trained with leaders in plastic, reconstructive, hand and orthopaedic surgery.