Vascular Surgery Fellowship Program

First Year

In the first year, the trainee will focus on five areas

• Interventional radiology – It is essential for the vascular surgeon of the 21st century to be very skilled in interventional radiology techniques. At AGH, our vascular surgery department is fortunate to have a strong collaborative relationship with our colleagues in interventional radiology. Each vascular surgery resident will have a dedicated 3-month block in IR during the first year. The skills learned during this time are often not taught to the general surgery trainee, and they will serve as a foundation for the endovascular surgical procedures that the resident will perform in the 2nd year.
• Vascular lab – No vascular surgery training program is complete without a solid foundation in vascular laboratory training. Each vascular surgery resident will have a dedicated 3-month block in the vascular laboratory during the first year. The trainee will learn the basis of modern noninvasive vascular lab testing, and he/she will get to the point of being able to perform the studies independently. At a minimum, each trainee will get enough experience to sit for the recently introduced physician interpretation examination. We expect that some trainees will seek to get enough experience to take the RVT examination as well.
• Wound Healing and Lymphedema Center – AGH has a unique center that specializes in both wound healing and lymphedema management. Vascular surgeons have in many areas taken a lead role in treating these problems. The first-year vascular surgery resident will have the opportunity to learn up-to-date management techniques for non-healing wounds and lymphedema in the AGH Advanced Wound Healing and Lymphedema center, which has over 4500 patient visits per year.
• Clinical research – Each vascular surgery resident will choose three to four research projects, based on the large clinical volume of our division. The expectation is that each resident will have a strong enough project to submit a competitive abstract to the one of the major vascular surgery meeting, with a plan of ultimate publication in a leading vascular surgery journal.
• Stroke Service rotation – The vascular surgery resident will spend 1 month on the AGH stroke service. During this time, the resident will learn about the diagnosis and treatment of stroke, including the role of lytic therapy and intracranial interventions. This rotation reflects the importance of cerebrovascular disease as a part of the practice of vascular surgery.