Pediatric Surgery

Name of Host Institution: Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center

Program Specialty / Subspecialty: Pediatric Colorectal Fellowship Training Program

Program Mailing Address:
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
MLC 2023
3333 Burnet Ave.
Cincinnati, OH 45229-3039

Program Phone Number: 513-636-3240

Program Fax Number: 513-636-3248

Program Email: marc.levitt@cchmc.org

Program Director: Marc Levitt, MD

Alternate Program Contact: Julie Ludwig, residency coordinator, julie.ludwig@cchmc.org

History

This program was approved by the Graduate Medical Education Committee in January 2006. The first trainee began in July 2006.

Duration

One year.

Prerequisite Training / Selection Criteria

The trainee would need to have completed at least three years of residency in general surgery, and therefore would be a candidate eligible for application to a pediatric surgical training program. It is also possible that such an individual will have already completed a general pediatric surgery residency and now desires specialty training in pediatric colorectal surgery.

Goals and Objectives

The pediatric colorectal training program allows individuals to participate in a broad clinical and academic experience available in pediatric colorectal surgery at the Colorectal Center for Children at Cincinnati Children’s, under the supervision of Alberto Peña and Marc Levitt, who are the director and associate director of this program. This position could be filled by a general surgery trainee who comes for a one-year colorectal experience, or by a trained pediatric surgeon who desires additional colorectal experience.

The goal of this position is to enable the trainee to gain expertise in pediatric colorectal surgery, which will enhance his or her opportunity for application for a more formal general pediatric surgery fellowship in the future. For those who have completed training in pediatric general surgery, this program will enhance their expertise in colorectal surgery in anticipation of a subspecialization in this area.

Program Certifications

None at this time.

Teaching Staff

• Pediatric Surgery – Marc Levitt, Alberto Peña, Jason Frischer, Michael Helmrath and Daniel von Allmen
• Urology – Curtis Sheldon and Shumyle Alam
• Gynecology – Lesley Breech

Levitt, the training program director, will coordinate all aspects of the fellowship training program for the colorectal fellow. All of the other listed faculty will be involved in specific training experiences. The surgical faculty (pediatric general, urology, and gynecology) will supervise the colorectal fellow on all operative cases as well as on inpatient and outpatient care.

Facilities

All training is conducted at Cincinnati Children’s, a private medical center providing 523 registered beds. The hospital is one of the largest children’s care facilities in the United States in several categories: number of beds, number of emergency room visits and number of operative procedures.

During the training period, this individual will be expected to participate in the pediatric colorectal educational programs, outpatient and inpatient care and routine and complex surgical procedures. The trainee will also be involved in clinical research projects. The trainee may also participate in shared general pediatric surgery clinical and educational experiences with our current pediatric surgery trainees when deemed to be beneficial.

The goal of this fellowship position is to enable the trainee to gain expertise in the diagnosis, medical and operative management of a wide spectrum of pediatric colorectal abnormalities. This experience will permit the practitioner to enhance expertise in the treatment of colorectal problems in anticipation of a subspecialization in this area, and will expand the pool of specialists who can care for these complex patients.

The ultimate responsibility for care of the patients is the attending surgeon. No patient is admitted to the hospital, undergoes a procedure or has a consultation without the attending surgeon being made fully aware and assuming all responsibility. The fellows interact with the attendings on a daily basis to go over the patient’s progress or to raise any concerns. The attending surgeon is routinely called directly by the fellow. The fellows round with the attendings on all patients. There is frequent communication both at the bedside and in the department regarding patient management decisions.

The operative procedures and skills require at least three years of general surgery training or its equivalent. The trainees will be performing major surgical procedures including:

• Colectomy with anastomosis
• Colostomy closure
• Rectal biopsy
• Rectal prolapse repair
• Anal dilatation
• Imperforate anus repair
• Diagnostic laparoscopy
• Cloacal anomaly repair
• Cutaneous appendico-vesicostomy
• Vesicostomy
• Cystourethroscopy
• Vaginal reconstruction

Daily

• Bedside rounds

Weekly

• Pediatric Surgery Grand Rounds
• Pediatric Surgery / Radiology Conference
• Pediatric Surgery Morbidity & Mortality Conference
• Colorectal Case Conference

Monthly

• Colorectal / Urology / Gynecology Conference
• Trauma Case Review
• Trauma Morbidity & Mortality Conference
• Bowel Management Conference

Fellows are evaluated every three months by the program director, and a summary evaluation is conducted at the conclusion of the fellowship. In addition, the subspecialty residents are expected to provide formal evaluations of the individual faculty members, the program of learning and the program resources on an annual basis. This information is collated and presented to the faculty in an anonymous fashion.