In association with the University of Massachusetts Coordinated Surgical Residency Program, the University of Massachusetts Medical School offers comprehensive one and two-year fellowships in advanced minimally invasive surgery to applicants who have completed at least 5 years of general surgery training. The program, founded by Demetrius E.M. Litwin, MD in 1997, offers one and two-year endosurgery fellowships.  Fellows will have completed an accredited general surgical residency program.  In addition to advanced training in minimally invasive surgery, there is extensive emphasis on basic and clinical research, telemedicine, clinical and technological innovations, and outcomes analysis.  Fellows play pivotal pivotal roles in identifying, participating in, and leading national clinical trials, evaluating new techniques and their clinical outcome data ranging from surgical efficacy to cost-effectiveness.

Under the direction of John J. Kelly, MD, Division Chief of General Surgery and Minimally Invasive Surgery, fellows receive advanced training in minimally invasive surgery, as well as basic science & clinical research, telemedicine, clinical & technological innovations, and outcomes analysis. The fellow will play a pivotal role in identifying research problems, participating in clinical trials, evaluating new techniques and their clinical outcomes data including surgical efficacy, patient quality of life outcomes, and cost-effectiveness.

During the first year of a two-year fellowship, the fellow’s responsibilities include coordinating clinical and basic science research efforts in the division of minimally invasive surgery, this can involve identifying a problem to be studied, developing the study design, composing the protocol application for IRB review, implementation of the protocol, collection and analysis of the data. In addition the fellow will direct weekly research meeting for the division of minimally invasive surgery, attend and contribute to weekly biomedical engineering meetings and “brainstorming” sessions for instrument and process development. Other responsibilities include providing consultation services to the Department of Animal Medicine, submitting research manuscripts and presenting findings at prestigious national surgical meetings, as well as participating in didactic and hands-on sessions during UMass Memorial sponsored courses in advanced laparoscopic surgery.

As the clinical fellow, responsibilities include participating in pre-op evaluation and post-op follow-up of patients in the in-patient and clinic settings, performing surgeries with the attending surgeons specializing in advanced minimally invasive procedures, and carry out surgical consultations on in-hospital patients. Other responsibilities include instructing the general surgery residents in the operating room as well as in the clinical setting, and lead the bi-weekly Laparoscopy Rounds, an in-house educational forum, with teleconferencing ability, for discussing basic and advanced minimally invasive techniques and outcomes. In addition, the clinical fellow will be responsible for manuscript submissions as well as abstract presentations at prestigious regional and national surgical meetings. The fellow will also participate in the didactic and hands-on sessions of the University of Massachusetts Medical School sponsored courses in advanced laparoscopic surgery.

Specific clinical projects underway include laparoscopic hepatic surgery,  laparoscopic ultrasonography, laparoscopic radical prostatectomy, laparoscopic bariatric surgery, laparoscopic exploration of the lumbosacral spine, hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery, minimally invasive cardiovascular and peripheral vascular surgery, and advanced thoracoscopic surgery. 

Applications to the fellowship program are accepted exclusively through the Minimally Invasive Surgery Fellowship Council Universal Application Process and Match. The deadline to apply to fellowship program(s) is September 1, 2004. After this date, the application process will be closed.

CURRENT FELLOWS	PAST FELLOWS
Patrick M. McEnaney, MD	John J. Kelly , MD       1997-1998
Andras Sandor, MD	Steven M. Yood, MD, MPH       1998-1999
	Kent Kercher, MD       1999-2000
	John R. Romanelli, MD       2000-2001
	Richard A. Perugini, MD       2001-2002
	Donald R. Czerniach, MD       2002-2003
	Gordie K. Kaban, MD       2003-2004
	Nicole J. Pecquex, MD       2003-2004