Fellowship Overview

ADVANCED SURGICAL ONCOLOGY FELLOWSHIP

The Department of General Surgery offers a two-year surgical oncology fellowship to fully trained general surgeons who desire advanced training. 

The Surgical Oncology Service is composed of six full time faculty members and is a key component of the Wake Forest University National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center.  Annually, over 1,250 major operative procedures are performed and approximately 7,500 outpatient visits are seen in the surgical oncology clinics.   The overarching goal of the fellowship is the development of clinical and operative skills in surgical oncology, with emphasis on complex surgical procedures for the difficult problems seen in a tertiary referral center.  An understanding of the basic principles of surgical pathology, medical oncology, and radiation oncology, as well as an appreciation for research and academic endeavors in surgical oncology is highlighted.  The clinical experience is diverse, extensive, and includes all aspects of cancer surgery.  This fellowship is supported by a dedicated surgical oncology service staffed with several general surgery residents of all levels and supported by advanced practitioners and research staff.

Fellows will gain extensive experience in the surgical treatment of malignancies of the breast, head/neck, gastrointestinal tract, hepatobiliary/pancreas, and melanoma/sarcoma.  They will perform surgical procedures under the direct supervision of  attending physicians.  In the area of breast cancer, the fellow will learn sentinel node mapping techniques, application of the brachytherapy techniques for partial breast irradiation and also techniques for ultrasound-guided procedures.  The application of minimally invasive methods for tumor resection will give the fellow experience in laparoscopic/laparoscopic-assisted esophagectomy, gastrectomy, hepatectomy, colectomy, and pancreatectomy, as well as the emerging field of robotic surgery.  The Wake Forest surgical oncology department is internationally known for its Peritoneal Surface Malignancy program and has the second largest experience with cytoreductive surgery and peritoneal chemoperfusion in the western hemisphere.  The fellow will learn how to evaluate patients with peritoneal surface disease from appendiceal, colorectal, and primary peritoneal cancers.  The fellow will learn the techniques of peritonectomy and extensive cytoreductive surgery, as well as the application of hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy. 

During the course of the training program, the fellow will rotate through medical oncology, radiation oncology, surgical pathology, thoracic and gynecologic oncology.  There will also be the opportunity to take elective rotations in areas of specific individual interest.  The fellow is expected to attend weekly oncology core curriculum lectures for residents and fellows in all oncologic disciplines.  The surgical conferences of the Department include a weekly Grand Rounds and Morbidity/Mortality conference, weekly Multidisciplinary Tumor Board, biweekly Breast Conference, and weekly HepatoPancreatoBiliary Oncology Conference.  In addition, the Surgical Oncology faculty sponsor annual Multimodality Breast Cancer and Gastrointestinal Oncology conferences which draw participants from throughout the state.  Fellows will not only help supervise and teach residents and medical students, but they will also participate in outpatient clinics, rounds, Grand Rounds, and run a surgical oncology journal club. 

Research interests will be discussed with the fellow at the beginning of the academic year, and will include clinical/translational projects, protocol development for investigator-initiated studies, and an optional laboratory experience for basic science applications.  The goal is for the fellow to complete at least one clinical research project during the fellowship.  The Surgical Oncology Service maintains active prospective databases of patients treated in its Peritoneal Perfusion, Lymphatic Mapping, Esophagectomy and the Hepatobiliary Surgery program which provides excellent data for clinical research projects.  In addition there are full-time research coordinators available to assist with data collection and manuscript preparation.

Our goal is to produce surgeons well-trained in the broad field of surgical oncology with expertise in the multidisciplinary care of the cancer patient.

Program Director:   Perry Shen, M.D., FACS

Chief of Service:      Edward A. Levine, M.D., FACS  

Application Deadline:   November 1

Length of Program:  2 years

Eligibility:  Applicants must have completed their residency training in general surgery and have attained qualification to sit for the examination of the American Board of Surgery.

Number of positions per year:  1

How to apply:  Please email letter of interest and CV to Dr. Shen at pshen@wakehealth.edu

Phone:   336-716-0545

Address:    Wake Forest University Department of General Surgery
                    Watlington Hall, 5^th Floor
                    Medical Center Blvd
                    Winston-Salem, NC 27157