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Abdominal Transplant Surgery Fellowship

Since its inception, the Baylor Annette C. and Harold C. Simmons Transplant Institute has performed more than 7,850 abdominal transplants.

The Abdominal Transplant Surgery Fellowship program with Baylor Annette C. and Harold C. Simmons Transplant Institute at Baylor University Medical Center, part of Baylor Scott & White Health, is approved by the American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS) to train in liver, kidney and pancreas transplantation.

The two-year program is designed to provide a board-certified or board-eligible general surgeon (or the equivalent) with a broad, multifaceted education in abdominal transplantation, including the preoperative evaluation, intraoperative management and postoperative care of the transplant recipient.

The Baylor Annette C. and Harold C. Simmons Transplant Institute consists of the transplant services at Baylor Dallas and at Baylor Scott & White All Saints Medical Center – Fort Worth.

We accept one surgery fellow per year.

Curriculum

Our multifaceted teaching is provided during formal rounds, didactic sessions, oral examinations, web tutorials and weekly transplant surgery conferences, which includes a monthly journal club, division morbidity and mortality and invited lecturers.

Fellows are encouraged to participate in clinical research including retrospective chart reviews and prospective clinical studies. They are responsible for the inception, planning, implementation, presentation and manuscript phases of research projects.

Pre-renal transplant patients are worked up by nephrologists on the medical staff. These cases are presented at the weekly kidney transplant selection committee for approval. The committee consists of transplant surgeons, nephrologists, social workers, transplant coordinators and other consultants.

After the kidney transplant, the recipient is under the primary care of the transplant surgical team.

Fellows participate in:

  • Evaluation and admission of the pre-renal transplant recipients
  • The kidney transplant
  • Intensive care management
  • Basic medical management
  • Immunosuppression management
  • Diagnosis and management of surgical complications
  • Evaluation of post-renal transplant patients with potential surgical complications

Higher-level management of complex medical problems is handled by medical specialists. Fellows and the attending physician work closely with the specialists to support a quality outcome for the kidney transplant recipient.

Fellows' surgical responsibilities for kidney transplantation include:

  • Completing a kidney transplant as primary surgeon
  • Completing the number of kidney transplants as described by American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS) certification guidelines (40 cases)
  • Participating in deceased donor renal procurements
  • Becoming familiar with and using renal perfusion pumps
  • Performing workup and operative management of post-kidney transplant complications

Living donor renal transplantation makes up nearly a quarter of the kidney transplants performed at Baylor Dallas. Fellows participate in the living donor nephrectomy. The donor nephrectomies are performed laparoscopically and robotically by attending physicians on our transplant team.

The living donor recipient operation is performed by a transplant surgeon and fellow.

Candidates for liver transplantation are evaluated by hepatology physicians on the medical staff at Baylor Dallas along with the fellows. Cases are discussed at the weekly meetings of the liver transplant selection committee, which consists of transplant surgeons, hepatologists, and other specialists on the hospital’s medical staff, along with social workers and transplant coordinators. Once a candidate is approved for transplant, the patient is listed according to United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) guidelines.

Fellows participate in the admission and workup of patients at the time of surgery. After transplant, Fellows continue to care for the post-liver transplant recipient in all aspects of his/her medical and surgical needs.

Surgical responsibilities include:

  • Completion of a liver transplant
  • Completion of number of liver transplants to achieve ASTS certification for liver transplant (45 cases)
  • Pre- and post-transplant ICU medical and surgical management
  • Participation in both living and deceased liver harvests
  • Diagnosis and management of surgical complications (nontransplant related) after liver transplant
  • Diagnosis and management of surgical complications after living donor hepatic lobectomy

Intensive Care Unit

Intensive care unit management of the liver transplant patient is intense and complex. Fellows take an active part in the management of the patient’s care, including:

  • Fluid and transfusion management
  • Immunosuppression management
  • Ventilator management
  • Management of vasoactive agents
  • Interpretation of PA catheter data
  • Medical management

Inpatient Care

Inpatient liver transplant care also is provided by fellows, who are involved in all patient care until discharge. The basics of inpatient management include:

  • Fluid/diuretic management
  • Immunosuppression management
  • Analysis of liver function tests
  • Diagnosing rejection
  • Management of co-morbid conditions
  • Workup of infectious causes

Outpatient Care

Fellows also see patients in the outpatient clinic. Patients may require readmission for infection, rejection or observation. Transplant patients are seen annually after transplant. Fellows learn to perform bedside liver biopsies and interpret results of the follow-up studies.

Fellows participate in and learn about donor and recipient selection for pancreas transplantation. The patient will either receive simultaneous kidney-pancreas transplant, pancreas after kidney transplant or pancreas alone transplant. Fellows acquire various techniques of pancreas implantation and learn to manage these patients post-transplant.

Deceased donor harvests are completed by fellows and a supervising transplant surgeon. Fellows are expected to become the primary surgeon on the organ and tissue procurement and preservation team. Livers, kidneys and pancreases are the principal organs harvested.

Fellows gain experience in:

  • Deceased donor whole liver transplant
  • Deceased donor kidney harvest
  • Deceased donor pancreas harvest (for whole organ and islet)
  • Knowledge of preservation solution types
  • Deceased donor multi-organ harvest techniques (i.e., donation after cardiac death [DCD] donors)
  • Management of the unstable donor
  • Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

    Baylor University Medical Center, Graduate Medical Education (GME) is committed to advancing and passionately promoting a training environment where all feel welcomed and valued.
    A culture of inclusion encourages innovation, and is a catalyst for building dynamic teams that serve our communities.

How to Apply

Starting on January 16, 2019, our Abdominal Transplant Fellowship will be using the San Francisco Match, which includes an application and instructions. The use of the Centralized Application Service (CAS) i is mandatory for both applicants and programs.

Visit SFMatch.org to apply


Learn more about Baylor Scott & White's housestaff appointment eligibility, including guidelines for international medical graduates.

Contact Us

Preston Leger
Program Administrator
Phone: 214.820.4543
Preston.Leger@BSWHealth.org

Verification Requests: BUMCGMEVerifications@BSWHealth.org

Abdominal Transplant Surgery Fellowship
Baylor University Medical Center
Barnett Tower, Suite 904
3600 Gaston Ave.
Dallas, TX 75246

Working at Baylor Scott & White Health

Compensation and Benefits

In addition to competitive stipends, we offer our fellows a full menu of employee benefits. We help offset the cost of many of these benefits; others are options you can choose to pay for yourself.

Life in Dallas

Dallas provides access to metropolitan entertainment and culture while maintaining the lowest cost of living among the top 10 largest U.S. cities.

Why Baylor Scott & White

As the largest not-for-profit health care system in Texas and one of the largest in the United States, Baylor Scott & White Health includes 48 hospitals, more than 900 patient care sites, more than 6,000 active physicians and more than 40,000 employees.

Check out all of our programs in North and Central Texas