Complex Spinal Surgery Fellowship

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Program Leadership:
Christopher Ames, MD, Program Co-Director
Aaron Clark, MD, PhD, Program Co-Director

Administrative Staff:
Teresa Pan, Fellowship Program Administrator

Address:
UCSF Spine Center
400 Parnassus Ave., Suite A2300, 2nd floor
San Francisco, CA 94143

Phone:
(415) 353-2739 or 1-866-81-SPINE

Fax:
(415) 353-2176

Program Description

Summary

The mission for the UCSF Complex Spinal Surgery Fellowship is to educate and train clinically skilled neurosurgeons in a multidisciplinary approach for both traditional open and newer minimally invasive spinal techniques to treat spinal disorders.

The UCSF Complex Spinal Surgery Fellowship is a one-year non-ACGME fellowship program for physicians who have completed a residency in neurological surgery and who wish to further specialize in complex spinal surgery. The fellowship is part of the education and training mission of the UCSF Department of Neurological Surgery. Fellows participate in patient care in the UCSF Spine Center Clinic and the inpatient service. The objective is advanced experience with complex spinal surgery.

Location

The Complex Spinal Surgery Fellowship will be based at UCSF and will be under the jurisdiction of the Department of Neurological Surgery.

  1. Educational sites/methods
    1. Inpatient consult services
    2. Inpatient ward services
    3. Outpatient clinics
    4. Patient care conference  
  2. Evaluation tools
    1. Direct faculty observations

Duration

This will be a one-year program, which will begin on July 1, and will end on June 30.

Program Content

  • Degenerative spine disease
  • Spinal deformity (kyphosis/scoliosis)
  • Spinal tumors (primary and metastatic bone tumors as well as intradural tumors)
  • Spinal trauma
  • Osteoporotic and geriatric spinal pathology
  • Revision spinal surgery to treat failed fusions or adjacent level pathology

Ancillary Education

Fellows are expected to give several educational case presentations during the year.

Fellows are on call when their core faculty are on call.

Fellows are expected to teach residents in the operating room and medical students through neuro-anatomy and neurosurgery small groups.

Medical Knowledge Objectives

Fellows are expected to attend the weekly Neuro-radiology Spine Conference, the UCSF Neurosurgery Grand Rounds, and all pertinent educational activities.

Scholarly Activities

Fellows are expected to be involved in scholarly activities – design research studies, analyze data, author publications, and present at national conferences.

Instructors and Resources

Core Faculty

Instructional Facilities

  • UCSF Medical Center at Parnassus, San Francisco, CA

Accreditation

The Complex Spinal Surgery Fellowship is accredited by the Committee on Advanced Subspecialty Training under the Society of Neurological Surgeons.