About the Minimally Invasive Surgery Fellowship
This is an all-inclusive fellowship that includes general, robotic, MIS, bariatric, and trauma.
The fellowship has been accredited by the Fellowship Council in both advanced minimally invasive surgery and minimally invasive bariatric surgery. The fellowship is in its fifth year of existence and has graduated four fellows. An eighth fellow is currently in training and has an anticipated graduation date of June 30, 2016. The mix of cases in the fellowship is quite varied but is equally split between advanced minimally invasive non-bariatric surgery (hernias, colons, Nissens, etc.) and minimally invasive bariatric surgery.
The fellow will achieve the required number of cases for the advanced minimally invasive non-bariatric portion of the fellowship (150 MIS cases) and also achieve the required number of cases for the minimally invasive bariatric surgery portion of the fellowship (50 gastric bypasses, 10 restrictive – Lap-Bands and sleeves), and 5 revisions for a total of 100 cases). The minimum number of cases the fellow will complete is 250.
The fellow must be available for call but is rarely called in. The fellow will share weekend rounding responsibilities with the senior resident on the service, i.e., round on the service every other weekend. Call is out of the hospital and is minimal. No trauma. Half day per week of clinic responsibilities. Attend one national conference during the year of the fellowship with fees covered, guaranteed salary and some clinical research.
The average fellow will graduate with approximately 400 cases and near 500 procedures. This is a very hands-on minimally invasive fellowship. The fellow will be expected to start scrubbing from day one and there is no acclimation time, that is, no “holding the camera” for a month or two. The fellow will learn how to set up a bariatric practice. The half day in clinic is dedicated to seeing a variety of patients and diseases, but the fellow will learn how to perform Lap-Band fills and manage these fills with some autonomy. The fellow will also follow-up on post gastric bypass and sleeve patients. At the end of the year, the fellow will be able to manage bariatric patients through all stages of surgery, i.e., pre-operative, peri-operative and post-operative.
The fellowship is clearly geared toward minimally invasive surgery in general. There are very few “open procedures” performed by the fellow, since the senior resident on the service will do most of these cases. Although there is a strong bariatric component (approximately 200 cases), there is also a very strong advanced minimally invasive component, i.e., laparoscopic colectomies (approximately 40 cases/year), laparoscopic fundoplication (approximately 15 cases), laparoscopic inguinal hernia repairs (approximately 40 cases) and laparoscopic ventral hernia repairs (approximately 60 cases).
Duration of fellowship: one year, from August 1 – July 31
Vacation: three weeks