Thank you for your interest in the 2-year fellowship position in laparoscopic surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center for July 1, 2005-June 30, 2007. We are looking for board-eligible surgeons interested in academic surgery positions. Applicants should have finished an approved US General Surgery residency and be eligible for a Tennessee State License.

The Laparoscopic Fellowship is designed to increase exposure to resident and student teaching, clinical research and to improve clinical skills in advanced laparoscopic surgery. The fellow has no clinical responsibilities during the first 6 months and is involved in research and teaching. During the second 6 months the fellow will be performing esophageal manometry and other physiologic testing in research subjects and patients. During the second year the fellow is clinically active while maintaining research and teaching activities. The fellowship encompasses several areas.

1. Operative Experience
   Blue Surgery Service at Vanderbilt. This has a variety of experiences in adult laparoscopic surgery. In addition to standard procedures which we consider to be appendectomy and cholecystectomy, there is a wide variety of advanced procedures. Some of the more advanced procedures are laparoscopic anti-reflux procedures, Heller myotomy for achalasia, inguinal and incisional hernia repair, colon resection, and placement of feeding jejunostomy. The Fellow is intimately involved with the residency and serves as an important resource for the resident education in advanced laparoscopic techniques, both in the lab and Operating Room.
   
   Pediatric Surgery. Dr. Harold "Bo" Lovvorn heads our pediatric surgical expertise in laparoscopic surgery. We believe that this experience in pediatric surgery exposes our laparoscopic Fellow to a wide variety of clinical problems that is not seen in other fellowships. Dr. Lovvorn participates in laparoscopic cholecystectomy, anti-reflux surgery, Heller myotomies for achalasia, and in the diagnosis of inguinal hernias.
   
   
2. Research
   Vanderbilt has the largest NIH funded clinical research center in the country. We have several protocols in which we are actively evaluating outcomes after laparoscopic Heller myotomy and Nissen fundoplication. Patients are admitted to the CRC for esophageal manometry and 24 hour pH studies in order to follow up the results of surgery. The fellow is intimately involved in the clinical research on these patients.
   
   Dr. Michael Holzman has completed advanced laparoscopic training at Duke, his surgical residency and his masters in Public Health at Vanderbilt. He has special interest and expertise in outcome studies and clinical research. He has several projects in clinical research being carried out within the department. The Fellow works closely with Drs. Holzman, Richards and Sharp in the design, data collection, analysis and presentation of clinical research in laparoscopic surgery.
   
3. Surgical Education
   The laparoscopic fellow is an important resource person for the residents and students on the surgical service. There is a laparoscopic surgery training area where the residents gain experience in suturing, knot tying and dissection techniques. In addition we have a number of labs open to teach the residents surgical skills. The fellow is intimately involved as an instructor during these training sessions.
   

Candidates for the Vanderbilt Laparoscopic Surgery Fellowship must be board eligible in General Surgery and must obtain a medical license in Tennessee. If you are interested in this position, please fill out the application form and return it to

William O. Richards, M.D.
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
D-5203 Medical Center North
Nashville, TN, 37232-2577.

The faculty will review your completed application and will schedule interviews with selected candidates during September and October. Applications will not be accepted after September 1. Applicants will be notified in the first week of December of our selection. For further information call (615) 322-0259.