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General Surgery
Hepatobiliary Surgery & Liver Transplantation
Renal Transplantation
Surgical Oncology
Trauma & Surgical Critical Care
Vascular Surgery
Application Information
Surgical Residency Table of Contents
Department of Surgery Home Page
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Divisions in the Department of Surgery
The Division of General Surgery
The Division of General Surgery is the largest Division of the Department of Surgery. The General Surgery Division has ten members in active practice in the fields of gastrointestinal and esophageal, laparoscopic, endocrine, and breast surgery. Residents at the PGY 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 levels rotate on the General Surgery Service at Vanderbilt Hospital. The Chief Resident on that service is the Administrative Chief Resident for all general surgery residents at Vanderbilt and has a central role in the coordination of patient care, educational activities for the students and residents, and general administrative duties for the residents.
The clinical activities cover the entire field of General Surgery. There are extensive programs in endocrine surgery, breast surgery, laparoscopic surgery, and gastrointestinal surgery.
Educational opportunities for the resident rotating on the General Surgery Service include didactic and interactive rounds with the faculty, multidisciplinary conferences with the gastroenterology service weekly, and multidisciplinary clinics in breast disease, surgical oncology, and GI disease. There is also a laparoscopic surgery fellowship program.
Research interests in the Division of General Surgery include active programs in oncology, shock, metabolism, biliary disease, and gastrointestinal motility. Opportunities are available for up to three years of individual research in these areas or in basic science laboratories. The residents are strongly encouraged to assist in clinical research projects, to author clinical reports and book chapters, and to present papers at regional and national surgical meetings.
The Division of Hepatobiliary Surgery and Liver Transplantation
The Division of Hepatobiliary Surgery and Liver Transplantation contributes to the General Surgery Residency Program through evaluation and management of patients with a variety of hepatobiliary disorders. Residents rotate on the service in the PGY 1, PGY 3, and chief resident years. The Division is organized with a commitment to improve clinical care of these complex patients, to further education in hepatobiliary anatomy and physiology, and to facilitate research in these areas. The clinical activities of the Division encompass close interaction with many other services including gastroenterology (hepatology), invasive radiology, general and oncologic surgery, other transplantation programs, immunology, and the Division of Surgical Research. Members of the faculty participate in cases at the Vanderbilt University Hospital and the VA Medical Center.
The liver transplantation program is part of the Vanderbilt Transplant Center which represents a major commitment to the expanding and important field of transplantation. There is close interaction with the heart, lung, bone marrow, kidney, and pancreas transplantation programs. The Division also participates in a comprehensive diagnostic and treatment program in hepatobiliary disease offered by the Vanderbilt Clinic. This multidisciplinary group evaluates patients to establish a diagnosis, assess the severity of disease, and develop a treatment plan. Treatments offered include the following:
- endoscopic, invasive, radiologic, and surgical treatment of biliary tract disease;
- portacaval shunting;
- radiologic transjugular intrahepatic portacaval shunting;
- chemoembolization;
- liver resection;
- liver transplantation;
- treatment of chronic hepatitis with newer drugs.
Residents rotating on this service actively participate in the evaluation, preoperative preparation, operative procedures, and postoperative management of patients with hepatobiliary disease, including liver transplantation. Residents become knowledgeable in the management of complicated hepatic dysfunction and the appropriate use of the different treatment options. Residents participate in donor operative procedures, providing them with extensive exposure to hepatic and retroperitoneal anatomy. Residents also participate in daily rounds, afternoon multidisciplinary faculty rounds, outpatient clinic two mornings a week, liver transplantation selection committee, and several weekly conferences including the General Surgery Conference, Mortality and Morbidity Conference, Liver Transplant Outpatient Review, GI Teaching Conference, GI Clinical Conference, and the Hepatobiliary/Radiology Review Conference.
Divisional basic research focuses on the physiology of the transplanted liver including hemodynamics and metabolic function, preservation of the hepatic allograft, stereotactic access to liver lesions, and liver regeneration. Clinical research interests include intraoperative sonography for tumor staging, ablation of liver tumors, laparoscopic ultrasonography for staging liver and biliary tract disease. We also have interest in evaluating newer radiologic modalities such as PET scanning for the evaluation of solid tumors of the liver and continue to evaluate the results of intrahepatic portacaval shunting. Residents may elect to participate in these clinical or laboratory studies and are strongly encouraged to do so.
The Division of Kidney and Pancreas Transplantation
The Division of Kidney and Pancreas Transplantation performs kidney transplants, both cadaver and living donor, simultaneous kidney/pancreas transplants, pancreas after kidney transplants, and a large volume of dialysis access procedures for patients with end-stage renal disease. In addition, Division members perform general surgical procedures in the ESRD or transplant population and are active in many different clinical research activities. The Division includes services at both VUMC and the VA Medical Center.
PGY 2 residents are assigned to this service for five-week rotations, and PGY 3 residents for 6.5 weeks. During these rotations they gain experience in management of surgical problems in chronic renal failure patients including all aspects of kidney and pancreas transplantation, as well as vascular access for dialysis, hyperparathyroidism, and problems with the alimentary tract. They also gain experience with immunosuppression and control of rejection.
Vanderbilt's kidney transplant program has performed over 2,800 transplants since the program was established in 1962. The program, performing over 125 transplants annually, has been recognized as a national leader for the number of renal transplants performed, the patient survival rates, and the long-term function of the transplanted kidney. The pancreas transplant program and the combined kidney/pancreas program provide whole organ transplantation to recipients with diabetes mellitus.
The kidney transplant program and the pancreas transplant program are a part of the Vanderbilt Transplant Center, a multi-disciplinary approach by Vanderbilt to the rapidly advancing field of transplantation. The Vanderbilt Transplant Center also includes Vanderbilt's well-established heart and lung transplant, bone marrow transplant, and liver transplant programs.
The Division of Surgical Oncology
The Division of Surgical Oncology is an integral part of the residency in General Surgery and provides intensive training in the management of patients with a variety of solid tumors. Residents at all levels have an exposure to surgical oncology cases. Besides a large operative experience with common as well as unusual tumors, residents receive outpatient experience in the surgical evaluation, preoperative planning and follow-up of a wide range of cancer patients. The surgical oncology experience includes the outpatient evaluation of benign and malignant breast disorders in the Vanderbilt Breast Center, as well as disorders and tumors of the thyroid gland, parathyroid glands, adrenal glands, and pancreas through the Vanderbilt Endocrine Surgery Center. Emphasis is placed on the multidisciplinary approach in the care of the cancer patient, and there is close interaction with the Divisions of Radiation Oncology, Medical Oncology, Gynecologic Oncology, Hematology, and Surgical Pathology. The Division also has an extensive basic research program that emphasizes molecular biology, cell biology, and tumor immunology.
The Division of Trauma
[Trauma Home Page]
 Vanderbilt University Hospital is the only Level I Trauma Center in Middle Tennessee and meets or exceeds all the criteria set forth by the American College of Surgeons for such designation. Providing trauma care for 65,000 square miles, the Division of Trauma at Vanderbilt University Hospital handles close to 2,700 acute trauma admissions annually.
Essential for the quality of trauma care provided by Vanderbilt University Hospital are its facilities. These include a 20-bed burn unit, a 22-bed surgical intensive care unit, 31-bed trauma unit, and LifeFlight, an active air medical transport program. LifeFlight provides rapid access to the tertiary care facilities of the Trauma Center for all patients within a 140-mile radius of Nashville. With over a decade of active service, the LifeFlight helicopters make over 2000 flights annually. LifeFlight and the Stallworth Rehabilitation Center allow patients to remain within the Vanderbilt system from the time of injury until their return to work. The trauma program at Vanderbilt is unique in that surgical residents gain exposure to the problems of both urban and rural trauma care. This comprehensive approach to trauma care and surgical critical care provides powerful research and educational opportunities for residents interested in a career in trauma surgery or surgical critical care.
In addition to the active clinical program, Vanderbilt offers ongoing opportunities in research, including areas of nutrition, metabolic response to injury, and the evaluation of prehospital care systems. Also, Vanderbilt offers continuing medical education programs for Advanced Trauma Life Support and Pediatric Advanced Life Support.
For information about the Residency Program in Surgical Critical Care contact:
Addison K. May, M.D.
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Division of Trauma
2100 Pierce Avenue
243 Medical Center South
Nashville, TN 37212
Phone: (615) 936-0177
Email: addison.may@vanderbilt.edu
The Division of Vascular Surgery
[Vascular Surgery Home Page]
The services in vascular surgery provide an important part of the general surgery experience in each of the Vanderbilt Integrated Hospitals. By placing senior responsibility at the Chief Resident's level, the program ensures that its graduates have extensive training in vascular surgery and are competent to manage vascular disease following completion of the residency.
Due to the unusually large number of patients served, the Division also offers a one-year fellowship in Vascular Surgery for a surgeon after completion of his/her Chief Residency year in General Surgery. Each fellowship year begins July 1 and ends June 30. We can offer a one-year or a two-year fellowship beginning July 1, 2005.
The overall goal of the Division of Vascular Surgery is to provide the resident with an in-depth knowledge of vascular disease, including knowledge of physiologic methods for diagnostic evaluation through a busy noninvasive vascular laboratory and expertise in techniques of operative interventions. Extensive experience in endovascular surgery is available. These goals are achieved by close resident-faculty interchange, weekly vascular surgery conferences, and a large operative experience.
For information about the Residency Program in Vascular Surgery contact:
Thomas C. Naslund, M.D.
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Division of Vascular Surgery
D-5237 Medical Center North
Nashville, TN 37232-2735
Phone: (615) 322-2343
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