Fellowship in Head and Neck Surgical Oncology and Reconstructive Surgery

Department of Otolaryngology
Johns Hopkins Outpatient Center
601 N. Caroline Street, 6th floor
Baltimore, MD  21287

Program Director: Carole Fakhry, M.D. 
Phone: (443) 287-2024

One yearlong position is available each year, with an option of an additional research year which must be partially/wholly funded. Other parallel fellowships: Pediatrics, Otology/Neuro-otology, Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Rhinology, Laryngology, Head and Neck Endocrine.

Program Description

Objectives

The objective of this fellowship is to promote and develop leaders in the field of academic head and neck surgical oncology and reconstruction. Emphasis is on broad clinical training, including all aspects of head and neck surgical oncology and reconstruction. Fellows will have a faculty appointment at the Instructor level that includes a mentored experience focused on a transition to independence. In particular, fellows develop skills in clinical teaching within the context of our residency program. 

During the clinical year, fellows will participate in clinical and surgical care of patients within the faculty practices, but will also have an individual, mentored clinical surgical practice. Fellows completing the program will have finely honed skills in surgical diagnosis and treatment of tumors of the head and neck and reconstruction if desired. Training will cover the entire gamut of head and neck surgery including endocrine, robotic, skull base, minimally invasive and reconstructive approaches. Interested fellows can also get training in free flap and pedicled reconstruction as well as skull base surgery.

Fellows may choose to do an additional year of research. We offer a rich environment of translational research bridging surgical oncology and molecular biology pertaining to head and neck cancer. The research training may serve as the basis to seek grant funding in order to facilitate the initiation of an academic career and is particularly attractive to those candidates seeking a career as a clinician-scientist. Fellows may set up an individualized research training experience in consultation with the fellowship director. Often fellows will perform research in molecular biology of head and neck cancer. Other studied areas have included bioinformatics and a variety of opportunities are available throughout Johns Hopkins University.

Curriculum

A weekly journal club including the multidisciplinary faculty and trainees, led by the fellow and chief resident, reviews landmark and current literature for head and neck oncology. For microvascular reconstruction, there is a journal club dubbed “Microvascular Club” that meets once or twice a month. Led by reconstructive faculty, the club discusses key topics from distraction osteogenesis to site-specific defect reconstruction.

History

The Head and Neck Oncology and Reconstruction Fellowships at Johns Hopkins began in 1986. It received approval of the American Head and Neck Society in 1993.

Requirements

Board eligibility in Otolaryngology, General Surgery or Plastic Surgery.

All interested applicants are to apply through the American Head and Neck Society website.  The administrative barriers to accepting a fellowship candidate who has not completed a residency in the United States are considerable and we currently are only accepting applicants through the American Head and Neck Society.

Description of Medical Center

The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions are world renowned for leadership in clinical medicine, public health and basic biomedical research. Johns Hopkins is a busy regional referral medical center encompassing the full range of clinical medicine with training programs for medical students, residents, and fellows in all major fields. The Head and Neck Oncology Service performs more than half of all major head and neck resections in the state of Maryland as well as drawing from four state regions. Over 500 new cases of HNSCC are managed each year at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Fellowship Caseload

The following is a list of all cases available to the head and neck fellow for the fellowship period. During the year, the fellow performed approximately 400 cases, of which 300 were major procedures. Approximately 20% of all cases are performed by the fellow as primary attending with mentorship support provided by a faculty mentor. Available cases include:

  • Salivary gland surgery: 143
  • Nose and paranasal sinus and skull base surgery: 89 Lip surgery: 14
  • Oral cavity surgery: 144
  • Neck surgery: 336
  • Larynx and pharynx surgery: 333
  • Thyroid and parathyroid surgery: 234
  • Tracheal surgery: 82
  • Ear and temporal bone surgery: 15 Regional/myocutaneous flaps: 45
  • Microvascular Reconstruction 107

Strengths

We offer one of the largest head and neck oncology and reconstruction teams in the country with a very busy clinical service. The fellow will develop increasing comfort in managing complex head and neck oncology patients within a multi-disciplinary framework. Dedicated clinical faculty provides mentorship to help develop skills and knowledge needed for an academic career. The academic milieu includes one of the finest Otolaryngology residency programs in the country, with excellence in every aspect of the field. The tumor biology research program of the Johns Hopkins Department of Otolaryngology is world renowned as a leader in clinical translational research pertaining to HNSCC. Trainees have been highly successful in launching clinical translational academic careers.

Head and Neck Surgical Oncology Fellow

Fellowship Faculty

A=Ablative, M=Microvascular, R=Research

Endocrine Surgery

Medical Oncology

Neuroradiology

Pathology

Radiation Oncology

Speech Language Pathology

Fellowship Alumni

  • 1986-87: Glenn Peters
  • 1987-89: Wayne Koch
  • 1989-90: Robert Briggs
  • 1990-92: Richard Scher
  • 1992-93: Anthony Clifford
  • 1992-94: Joseph Brennan
  • 1996-98: Shelly McQuone
  • 1997-99: Michael Spafford
  • 1998-00: David Huchton
  • 2000-01: Robert Ferris
  • 2002-03: John McClure Brockenbrough
  • 2002-05: David Goldenberg
  • 2004-06: Anthony Chuang
  • 2006-08: Edward M. Stafford
  • 2007-09: Melonie Nance
  • 2008-10: Kavita Malhotra Pattani
  • 2010: Carole Fakhry
  • 2010-12: Martin P. Curry
  • 2011-13: Geoffrey D. Young
  • 2013-14: Ryan H. Sobel
  • 2014-15: Mazin Merdad
  • 2014-15: Zhen Ghoii
  • 2015-16: Hamad Chaudhary
  • 2015-17: Andrew Day
  • 2016-18: Christopher Britt