General Surgery Residency Program

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• Colorectal Surgery
• Communicative Disorders
• General Surgery
• Otolaryngology
• Transplant
• Communicative Disorders
• Pediatric Surgery
• Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
• Surgical Oncology
• Thoracic and Cardiovascular
• Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapeutics
• Hand Surgery

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This website, louisvillesurgery.com, provides information on a broad range of surgery related topics. The site is designed to provide information about general aspects of surgery for students, patients and concerned persons. The information provided should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or a disease. It is not a substitute for professional care. If you have or suspect you may have a health problem, please consult your physician immediately. < Close >

UofL Department of Surgery surgeons are the first in Kentucky to use the da Vinci Robot to treat patients with colorectal and head and neck conditions. The Robot enables surgeons to perform delicate operations with breakthrough precision. It provides the surgeons with exceptional vision, precision, dexterity and improved access to the treatment site. As a result, patients experience less pain and quicker recovery.

Colorectal surgeon Dr. Jeffrey Jorden, Assistant Professor, Division of General Surgery, is the first in the region to use the technology to treat colorectal patients. In April, otolaryngolgists Drs. Jeffrey Bumpous and Kevin Potts teamed up to complete the first daVinci TransOral Robotic Surgery (TORS) in Kentucky and surrounding region. They were able to remove the cancerous tissue without any major incisions.

TORS is a minimally invasive surgery where the surgeons can access the cancerous area through the throat. As with all minimally invasive procedures the goals are to minimize incisions, preserve function, reduce pain and facilitate quicker recoveries.

“As you can imagine there is nowhere more important than the head and neck,” Potts said. “It’s where we swallow, breath and speak.”

Operating through the mouth is not new, but doing it using the daVinci opens up new possibilities. Previously, surgeons had to use long instruments, over one foot in length, which can magnify hand tremors. Older procedures also carry visibility limitations.

The daVinci eliminates those complications with smooth movements and a 3D HD camera, Bumpous said, “The daVinci puts the camera at site of the cancer and gives us the ability to see everything. It ultimately results in better outcomes for our patients.”

U.S. News & World Report has listed 13 Department of Surgery physicians as Top Doctors as part of the publication’s online health services program, which provides referral information on thousands of physicians nationwide.

The Department of Surgery represents 38 percent of the 34 total physicians from the Louisville Metro area named to the list.

According to U.S. News, physicians selected as “Top Doctors” have been “nominated by their peers and named to a highly selective list of America’s top physicians by achieving national recognition for outstanding work.”

The 13 Department of Surgery providers recognized by U.S. News are:

• Sheldon J. Bond, MD, Pediatric Surgeon
• Jeffrey Bumpous, MD, ENT-Otolaryngologist
• Robert N. Cacchione, MD, Surgeon
• Mary E. Fallat, MD, Pediatric Surgeon
• Michael B. Flynn, MD, Surgical Oncologist
• Susan Galandiuk, MD, Colon and Rectal Surgeon
• Michael H. McCafferty, MD, Colon and Rectal Surgeon
• Kelly M. McMasters, MD, Surgical Oncologist
• J. David Richardson, MD, Thoracic Surgeon
• Mark S. Slaughter, MD, Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery
• Gordon R. Tobin, MD, Plastic Surgeon
• Gary Vitale, MD, Surgeon
• Bradon J. Wilhelmi, MD, Plastic Surgeon

For more information, go to http://health.usnews.com

Dr. Frank Miller at right.

Trauma surgeon Dr. Frank Miller, Professor of Surgery, Division of General Surgery, recently returned from overseeing a Physicians for Peace medical training project at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre, Malawi. Physicians for Peace, an international non-profit based in Norfolk, VA, has recently assumed responsibility for recruiting volunteers to serve as surgical faculty overseeing the Malawi hospital’s Surgical Intern Training (SIT) Project. Dr. Miller was the first volunteer surgeon sent by Physicians for Peace to lead the training at this large (1,000+ bed) hospital.

The SIT Project is designed to train interns and registrars (known as residents in the US) in basic surgical techniques. According to Physicians for Peace President and CEO, Brigadier General Ron Sconyers (USAF-Ret), “Because of the shortage of trained surgeons in Malawi, this project is a critical training ground for recent graduates and of the Malawi College of Medicine. We are very thankful to Dr. Miller for his volunteer service and for sharing his surgical craft to ensure that future Malawi surgeons have the skills needed to provide surgical care to their patients.”

The project has a dedicated clinic and operating space, along with a clinical officer. Physicians for Peace surgical faculty will typically accept a 3-month volunteer assignment. The role of the volunteer surgeon is to provide hands on training and guidance to the interns through this clinic.

Identifying qualified surgical faculty for the SIT Project is not easy. First the surgeon must be available for a 3-month period. In addition, Physicians for Peace is looking for surgeons who will focus on the education and training aspects, not only on clinical care. Finally, a successful medical volunteer must be culturally sensitive and be able to adapt to the conditions of the local country and hospital. Dr. Miller was able to bring each of these strengths to the project.

“Dr. Miller has enjoyed a distinguished career as a surgeon and educator in the Department of Surgery at University of Louisville School of Medicine for several decades. In addition to treating patients with great skill and compassion even in the most difficult circumstances imaginable, Dr. Miller is a professor who uses his surgical expertise to train generations of surgeons,” said Dr. Kelly McMasters, Ben A. Reid Sr., MD Professor and Chairman of the Department of Surgery at the University of Louisville. “He has touched the lives of innumerable patients and students.”

Dr. Miller, who has a long history of international medical service in Tanzania, Vietnam, Ghana and Nigeria, learned of the Physicians for Peace opportunity through the American College of Surgeons’ Operation Giving Back Program. Operation Giving Back encourages humanitarian service by helping surgeons find volunteer opportunities best suited to their expertise and interests, both in the US and internationally. Despite his extensive international experience, Dr. Miller notes: “This surgical faculty rotation was different from all my other international medical experiences. There is a tremendous need for experienced surgical faculty, because this large hospital is where the most complicated cases in Malawi are transferred. I saw cases I would never see in the US.” Dr. Miller was actively involved in teaching, and explained: “The medical students were enthusiastic and wanted to learn, just like medical students in the west.”

The University of Louisville moved on Thursday, Feb. 16 to rename the Department of Surgery after its former long-time chairman Hiram Polk, M.D. The new name is the Hiram C. Polk Jr., M.D., Department of Surgery.

“Dr. Polk’s leadership was instrumental in our Department of Surgery’s growth in clinical care, teaching and research,” said Dr. James Ramsey, president of the University of Louisville. “He helped to create the foundation that has made people seek out our department for the surgical clinical care, education and training it provides.”

As part of the renaming, the University has received nearly $6 million for the Hiram C. Polk, Jr, M.D., Endowment from some 300 people throughout the nation to support the clinical and research needs of the department.

“This funding is vital to our ongoing effort to recruit and retain the best and brightest faculty with an interest in independent investigation,” said Dr. Kelly McMasters, Ben A. Reid, Sr., M.D., Chairman, Department of Surgery. “As the NIH budget dwindles, it has become increasingly difficult for young academic surgeons to launch and maintain their research programs. This endowment will provide startup and bridge funding to assure that surgical investigators have the best possible chance to develop and maintain their research projects. It also allows us to remain at the leading edge of academic surgery and provide the latest and best treatments for our patients, as well as the best educational opportunities for our residents and students.”

Dr. Charlie Shields, a 1969 UofL School of Medicine graduate who completed his general surgery residency at UofL, and Jack and Debbie Oxley through the Oxley Foundation each provided $1 million to the endowment. Dr. Jim and Diane Payne donated $500,000. Dr. Payne was a plastic surgery resident at UofL.

“The generosity of our alumni, community members and other friends is enormous,” Ramsey said. “They have shown yet again how much they value our University and the people who make it such a great place.”

Polk served as the Ben A. Reid, Sr., M.D., Professor and Chairman of Surgery at the University of Louisville from 1971 to 2005 when he was named the Ben A. Reid Sr., M.D., Emeritus Professor of Surgery. Polk became not only the longest serving chair of a surgery department in the country but also one of the world’s best-known and respected surgeons. During his 34-year tenure, the department saw the development of a prominent trauma center, as well as advances in control of surgical infection and was the site of the first self-contained mechanical heart and hand transplants. The department’s resident physicians, fellows and former faculty hold major positions of organizational and institutional leadership on five continents.

A native of Jackson, Miss., and alumnus of Millsaps College and the Harvard Medical School, Polk trained in Surgery at Washington University in St. Louis. He was a fellow at the Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine in London while at the University of Miami and at the Institut Pasteur in Paris.

In 1971, he was recruited to the University of Louisville as Chairman of Surgery and oversaw the development of the department into a well-respected center for research and surgical education. His further commitment to medical student education was defined by more than two dozen Golden Apple awards to different members of the surgical faculty during that period.

More than 230 surgical residents trained with him at UofL and as many other specialists in all surgical fields: literally, multiple generations of physicians.

Dr. Polk constantly studied and emphasized the causes, prevention and treatment of many diseases requiring surgical attention, for which he was honored by Presidencies or Chairmanships of more than a dozen national and international surgical organizations.

Polk’s most significant contribution to medicine is his landmark research into the use of perioperative antibiotics. Additionally, Polk helped develop some protocols for malignant melanoma treatment that are currently in use worldwide.

In 2008, Polk succeeded Dr. Michael DeBakey as chair of the Board of Governors of the Foundation for Biomedical Research. In 2011, he was named an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, standing alongside his prior election to the world's oldest surgical College in Edinburgh, Scotland (founded 1505).

“This significant milestone is a true testament to the impact Dr. Polk has made in the lives of our students, faculty, staff, patients and friends,” Dr. McMasters said. “We extend our heartfelt thanks to all who have donated to the Polk Endowment to see his legacy realized.”

Dr. Glen Franklin, Associate Professor of Surgery, Division of General Surgery, and Medical Director for the Surgical Intensive Care Unit and Burn Unit at University of Louisville Hospital, is featured in a new ULH commercial about his role as a trauma surgeon. He also is featured in ULH’s “Sharing Our Story” blog. To view the commercial and read the blog, please go to: uoflhealthcare.org.

Dr. Kelly McMasters received the William J. Rothwell Faculty Award. The annual award honors a faculty member who has distinguished him/herself amongst colleagues in the area of development.