The Cerebrovascular Fellowship of the University of Cincinnati Department of Neurosurgery has been in existence since 1992. The fellowship focuses attention on the training of neurosurgeons in the care of patients affecting blood vessels in the brain including major vasculature traveling to this structure as well as the spinal cord. The training is a minimum of 12 months, with the opportunity to extend the training an additional 12 months to include participation in on-going laboratory investigations. This fellowship is accredited by the Committee on Accreditation of Subspecialty Training (CAST) of the Society of Neurological Surgeons (SNS).

The educational goals and curriculum to meet these objectives are:

• The Fellow will gain expertise in the clinical management of patients sustaining ischemic and/or hemorrhagic injury to the brain and/or spinal cord including:
  • Initial resuscitation and emergency treatment/diagnostic evaluation.
  • Critical care management and treatment of ischemic/hemorrhagic brain and spinal cord injuries.
  • Transitioning patients to the neurological rehabilitation phase of their treatment.
    
    
• The Fellow will gain knowledge and understanding of the collaborative interaction between neuroradiologists, neurologists, and neurosurgeons (this constitutes the Stroke Team established at the University of Cincinnati).

• The Fellow will gain a working knowledge of the physiology and pathophysiology of ischemic/hemorrhagic brain and spinal cord injury.
  
  
• The Fellow will gain expertise in the surgical treatment and management of patients with cerebrovascular disease including aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations, intracerebral hemorrhages, and carotid artery disease.

• The Fellow will participate in available opportunities for clinical and/or laboratory research in ongoing and/or newly developed studies.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Cerebrovascular Fellow will participate as an active member of the cerebrovascular service. He/she will:

• Participate in conjunction with the Chief Resident as one of the two organizers/supervisors of the daily operation of the clinical cerebrovascular service reporting directly to faculty responsible for the service
  
  
• Participate in the assessment of patients including clinical examination and diagnostic procedures
  
  
• Participate in diagnostic procedures including radiologic and physiologic studies
  
  
• Participate in the interpretation of the above data leading to the decision making process, ultimately developing a treatment plan
  
  
• Participate as an active member of the surgical team, enabling him/her to gain the essential surgical experience to conduct these procedures efficiently and effectively
  
  
• The participant will play an active role in the perioperative management of these patients, particularly management of the patient in the Neurosurgical Intensive Care Unit. The participant will play an active role in ongoing clinical research protocols and update the patient database of the service. In addition, the participant is expected to develop an independent clinical study that he/she will bring to fruition ultimately submitting a clinical protocol to the Division Director and/or submitting the results of an independent study to a peer review journal.

Candidates who are highly academically oriented are encouraged to extend their training (12 months) to include:

• Participation in on-going laboratory investigations
  
  
• Participation in the refinement of microsurgical anatomical techniques in the Goodyear Microsurgical Laboratory
  
  
• Participation as an active member of the Stroke Team under the direction of the Department of Neurology, learning the epidemiology and treatment of ischemic disease
  
  
• Participation in Epidemiology and Biostatistics courses which are conducted at the medical center are strongly suggested

Curriculum

• The Fellow will achieve the educational goals through patient care in a center with a high volume of cerebrovascular disease and focus on research and clinical / basic research. The conceptual educational component will be provided by competently trained and experienced board certified (American Board of Neurological Surgery) neurosurgery faculty who are also active participants in on-going clinical and basic science investigations.
  
  
• Knowledge and expertise in the multidisciplinary treatment of cerebrovascular patients will be gained through interaction and collaboration with Neuroradiologists and Neurologists, e.g. attendance at clinical conferences and multidisciplinary rounds.
  
  
• An integral and essential aspect of this training involves interaction and participation with members of the Neuroradiology team.

Evaluation Process
The Fellow will be evaluated semiannually by the Director of the Cerebrovascular Fellowship program and members of the neurosurgical faculty team participating in the care of patients on the cerebrovascular service.

 

Teaching Staff
Mario Zuccarello, MD, Director, Division of Cerebrovascular Surgery
Jeffrey T. Keller, PhD, Director, Division of Education
Andrew J. Ringer, MD
John M. Tew, Jr., MD
Hwa-shain Yeh, MD

 

University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
Department of Neurosurgery
231 Albert Sabin Way
PO Box 670515

phone 513-558-5387
fax 513-558-4878

 

email: pschwab@mayfieldclinic.com

Director: Mario Zuccarello, MD
Alternate Program Contact: Jeffrey T. Keller, PhD

Cerebrovascular Fellows
1993 Kenneth Reichert, MD
1994 Troy Payner, MD
1995 Sami Rosenblatt, MD
1996 Sumeer Sathi, MD 
1997 Gary Zimmerman, MD
1998 Michael Link, MD
1999 Andrew Kokkino, MD
2000 George Bovis, MD
2001 Ali Nader-Sepahi, MD
2002 Norberto Andaluz, MD
2003 Leo Salud, MD
2004 Chiraz Chaalala, MD
2005 Chiraz Chaalala, MD
2006 Shah-Naz Khan, MD
2007 Hasan Kocaeli, MD