The Division of General Surgery
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Section of Laparoscopic Surgery |
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The Division of General Surgery at the University of Virginia currently includes nine surgeons with training representing the entire spectrum of surgical experience. All faculty members have full-time appointments to 
the University of Virginia with adjunct teaching appointments to the Salem Veterans Administration Hospital in Salem, Virginia. All members of the Division actively engage in the academic mission of the Department of Surgery - clinical excellence, teaching and research. Members of the Division of General Surgery have won Medical School and University Teaching Awards, received NIH grant support, and have spoken at national and international symposiums on a wide range of topics. All members of the Division of General Surgery are either American Board of Surgery diplomates or are Board eligible. One physician is a Director of the American Board of Surgery and several others serve on advisory committees to the Board and to the American College of Surgeons. Several have leadership positions in national surgical societies. Dr. Bruce Schirmer is the President elect of the Hepatobiliary Society.
- Section of Laparoscopic Surgery – Dr. Bruce Schirmer , Chief Dr. Robert Sawyer
Dr. Charles Friel
Dr. Eugene Foley
Dr. Reid Adams
Dr. C. Joe Northup
Laparoscopic surgery is an essential part of clinical training in General Surgery. Bruce Schirmer is a nationally recognized laparoscopic surgeon who introduced the modern techniques of laparoscopic cholecystectomy to UVA in 1990. Since then, thousands of laparoscopic procedures have been done by UVA faculty and residents. Surgical residents are exposed to laparoscopic approaches to appendectomy, colectomy, gastrectomy, pancreatectomy, hepatic resection, adrenalectomy, donor nephrectomy for transplantation, as well as bariatric procedures. Resident case loads in these advanced procedures easily exceed three times the required volume suggested by the American Board of Surgery.
A Laparoscopic Fellowship was initiated in 1999 and has been extremely successful. Dr. Joe Northup completed the Fellowship in 2004 and joined the UVA faculty to develop his own specialty practice in laparoscopy.
- Section of Colorectal Surgery – Dr. Eugene Foley, Chief
Dr. Charles Friel
Dr. Eugene Foley was recruited to UVA in 1992 to formalize a Colorectal Surgical Service. Dr. Charles Friel joined him in 2001. During this time, both have worked closely with Fabio Cominelli, M.D., Chief of the Division of Gastroenterology in the Department of Medicine, to provide a wide range of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures for patients with colorectal diseases. These procedures take advantage of a wide range of collaboration in endoscopy, laparoscopic and open colon resection procedures, as well as evaluation of patients of all ages with inflammatory bowel disease, anorectal problems and bowel malignancies. Dr. Cominelli, in 2004, secured a large NIH grant for support of the UVA Digestive Disease Center of Excellence which has been a vital collaboration for the Section of Colorectal Surgery. Currently, both surgeons perform over 300 major procedures and over 100 endoscopics each year with the Surgical Residents. This experience more than doubles the minimum requirements by the American Board of Surgery.
- Section of Trauma and Critical Care – Dr. Jeff Young , Chief
Dr. Robert Sawyer
The University of Virginia Health System has been a Level One Trauma Center since 1983. Between 1800 and 2000 patients are treated yearly on the Trauma Service headed by Dr. Young. Dr. Young was recruited to head this Section in 1993 and has been able to institute Trauma Care Protocols which have significantly reduced length of stay, morbidity and mortality over the last ten years. A well recognized teaching service in trauma evaluates and cares for critically ill patients with the important collaboration ofDr. Robert Sawyer whose research interests are in surgical infectious diseases. Dr. Sawyer has been instrumental in establishing a Surgical Critical Care Fellowship at UVA which began in 2004. Surgical Residents are exposed to trauma and critical care patients which definitely exceeds minimum requirements by the American Board of Surgery.
- Section of Endocrine Surgery – Dr. John Hanks , Chief
Dr. C. Joe Northup
Dr. Reid Adams
Dr. Worthington G. Schenk
The University of Virginia Division of Endocrinology has consistently been in the Top 10 programs in the country as evaluated by US News and World Report. Dr. Hanks has a 20 year collaboration with many members of this group in clinical and research efforts. Patients of all ages with adrenal, thyroid, parathyroid and endocrine neoplasms of the pancreas are evaluated by the group and Dr. Hanks and Dr. Reid Adams have worked closely in these efforts. Surgical approaches to these patients currently provide, in addition to internationally recognized expertise in diagnosis, the latest techniques in minimally invasive surgery, laparoscopy, image guided surgery and intraoperative hormone analysis. Dr. Hanks performs in excess of 150 endocrine procedures annually. Dr. Joe Northup has quickly established the laparoscopic techniques for adrenalectomy and Dr. Adams has extensive experience with pancreas resection. Dr. Schenk has collaborated with the division of nephrology in offering surgical services for patients with renal failure and endocrine diseases, secondary and tertiary hyperparathyroidism. UVA Surgical Residents surpass the minimum requirements for endocrine, head and neck as well as pancreatic procedures by at least twofold.
Resident Supervision
The faculty members in the Division of General Surgery are fully responsible for the clinical care and disposition of their patients. Additionally, the academic mission places strong emphasis on resident exposure in the operating room, clinics and in the research setting. To that end, the Division of General Surgery strongly believes that the Resident is a supervised colleague of the faculty member. All faculty members work to increase the individual resident's sense of responsibility in the workup and ultimate disposition in patient care. Surgical cases and clinic exposure to patients are supervised by attending faculty members. As such, the resident who obtains the level of Chief Resident has excellent credentials in patient management, clinical understanding of disease processess, as well as a background in research in a specialized area. All members of the Division of General Surgery are actively involved in resident teaching conferences and case presentations.
In the Division of General Surgery, the average caseload for an attending surgeon exceeds 300 major procedures a year. Each attending has one or two clinics per week. Chief Residents head four general surgery teams (Blue, Orange, Green and Gold) and each general surgery team has an active schedule which usually includes three operating days and two clinic days. The fifth Chief Resident heads the surgical service at the Salem VA Hospital. A Fourth Year Resident currently serves as a Chief Resident at Rockingham Hospital in Harrisonburg, Virginia. This popular community surgery program was initiated in 2002.
Facilities
The University of Virginia Hospital expanded into the new operating rooms in 1989. 23 major operating rooms are available, of which six are used by the General Surgery Division. Ambulatory surgery is performed in 6 operating rooms in the free-standing Virginia Ambulatory Surgical Center (VASC).Clinics are available in the Cancer Center, Digestive Health Center and, Primary Care Building. Ongoing renovation of the new surgery clinic was completed in July of 2003. Currently an expansion project is taking place in the main UVA Operating Rooms which will result in a total of 24 completely renovated Operating Rooms by early 2007. Research laboratories are available in the newly built MR4 facilities and allows ample research space for funded members of the Department.
For appointment or referral information visit the division pages listed above.