Curriculum

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A surgeon during an abdominal transplant case.

Rotation schedule

The two-year Abdominal Transplant Surgery Fellowship includes three rotations during each fellowship year:

Rotation	Length
Kidney-pancreas transplant service	3 months
Liver transplant service	3 months
Multi organ-procurement and organ perfusion	3 months
Living donor nephrectomy, clinic, academic development	3 months

You may select a one-month elective rotation in each year of your fellowship at Mayo Clinic's campus in Jacksonville, Florida, or Rochester, Minnesota, for training in kidney and pancreas procurement and transplantation, liver procurement and transplantation, or both.

Rotation descriptions

Kidney-pancreas transplant service

On the kidney-pancreas transplant service, you become proficient in kidney transplantation surgery (living and deceased donor), pancreas transplantation (deceased donor from brain death or circulatory death), laparoscopic donor nephrectomy, and the postoperative management of transplant recipients and kidney donors. You will also work with faculty and PAs to assess patients in clinic.

Liver transplant service

On the liver transplant service, you gain proficiency in liver transplantation (deceased donor and living donor) and the preoperative and postoperative management of liver recipients and living liver donors, as well as postoperative patients who have undergone liver, bile duct, or pancreas resections. The curriculum is designed to provide training in medical and surgical management of liver transplant patients.

You rotate on the liver transplant service for three months each year during your fellowship.

Multi-organ procurement and organ perfusion

Living donor nephrectomy, clinic, and academic development

You will also participate in the preoperative evaluation of prospective living donors as well as postoperative care and follow-up of living kidney donors. You will learn to perform living donor nephrectomy including operative management of complex living donors.

You will learn to comprehensively perform preoperative transplant evaluations and postoperative transplant patients during the clinic portion of this rotation.

This rotation also affords the fellows an opportunity to develop academically by providing some time to participate in and conduct independent academic research projects, including clinical, translational, health services, or education-based research.

Each service is a high-volume service supported by advanced transplant providers (PAs and NPs). Fellows will cross-cover services as needed.

You may also select a one-month elective rotation in your fellowship at Mayo Clinic's campus in Jacksonville, Florida, or Rochester, Minnesota, for training in kidney and pancreas procurement and transplantation, liver procurement and transplantation, or both. This is arranged during the fellowship through the education office and the program director.

My abdominal transplant training at Mayo Clinic in Arizona was second to none. I was well-versed in marginal organ utilization, comprehensive medical management, and a variety of surgical techniques coming out of fellowship. I had the skills and confidence to be an independent surgeon as a junior attending.

Danielle Haakinson, M.D.
Abdominal transplant surgery fellowship alumna, class of 2017

Didactic training

We have a strong didactic program with many weekly and biweekly meetings, including:

Liver Radiology and Tumor Conference
Transplant Grand Rounds
Transplant Surgery Fellow Education Conference
Kidney Academic Conference
Kidney Selection Conference
Liver Pathology Conference
Liver Selection Conference
Kidney Transplant Pathology Conference
Kidney/Pancreas and Liver Transplant Morbidity and Mortality Conference & Departmental Case Reviews
Organ Offer Review
Kidney/Pancreas & Liver Transplant QAPI Meetings
Pancreas Tumor Board
Colorectal Cancer Tumor Board
Department of Surgery Mortality and Morbidity Conference
Department of Surgery Grand Rounds

Research training

Your research opportunities at Mayo Clinic are outstanding. You are encouraged to participate in research projects with the faculty, which include opportunities for clinical studies and laboratory-based projects.

Call frequency

You are on call for each service to support the in-house PA/NPs and residents and for transplant procedures and emergencies. Fellows divide call on the weekends. The Abdominal Transplant Surgery Fellowship is acutely aware of the effects of fatigue on trainee performance and abides by the Managed Time Policy of the TACC. Work hours are tracked and logged similar to the approach applied for residency.

Evaluation

You are evaluated by the supervising surgeon(s) after each rotation throughout the course of the Abdominal Transplant Surgery Fellowship. Each fellow also has the opportunity to evaluate his or her supervising surgeon(s). Evaluations and feedback are discussed with you formally and informally on a regular basis throughout the fellowship and during the semiannual performance review.