I obviously don't know what your whole situation is, but I would say you have a much better chance at matching into ortho by taking the research year (graduating or not) than by matching into general surgery. There is certainly no guarantee (for anyone) to get a spot, but if you can truly afford to delay your training a year in order to chase your dream, then in 15 or 20 years, that year may seem like a nominal investment to achieve your goal. Those with family commitments (children, etc) may not be able to afford to take the chance, but even if you try and fail, you could always scramble into a GS program, or apply to both next year and rank GS programs further down the list. I am by no means an expert, but taking a year to dedicate to ortho research will likely go farther to demonstrate your passion and commitment to ortho than by spending a year as a GS intern. As alluded to above, as a GS intern, you will likely have little time to boost your application and make yourself a stronger candidate.
Also, I'm not bashing GS in any way, but from my experience, THE most miserable GS residents I worked with were those who wanted to go into a surgical sub-speciality, but "fell back" on GS instead. GS is vastly different from ortho, ENT, plastics, etc and only those who seem to have a passion for GS seem to enjoy it. You can always subspecialize after GS residency, but 6+ years is an eternity to spend sweating it out in something your heart is not in.
Just my 2 cents, far from an expert opinion.
ED
