The clinical program emphasizes an extensive perioperative management. Fellowship candidates will consistently be exposed to intraoperative management of organ abdominal transplants offered at the University of Miami, Jackson Memorial Hospital.
During this 1-year experience, the fellow will participate in at least 50 cases of liver transplantation including combined liver-kidney and multivisceral transplant. Fellows will have the opportunity to participate in pediatric liver transplantation, living-related kidney transplantation, cadaveric kidney and pancreatic transplantation and intestinal transplantation.
Fellows will participate in the preoperative evaluation of transplant candidates. They will also learn to perform a comprehensive preoperative examinations for the purposes of transplant candidate selection, optimize perioperative patient care, and will be able to discuss risks and benefits
In addition, fellows will participate in the weekly multidisciplinary selection committee to discuss the candidate suitability for liver transplantation. Fellows should develop an understanding of what resources are required by the larger multidisciplinary team for efficient decision-making.
During the 1-month intensive care unit rotation, fellow will follow and manage patients who underwent abdominal organ transplantation. Further, up to 1-month rotation with Life Alliance Organ Recovery Agency will broad the training with organ procurement process.
During the 1-year fellowship, fellows are also expected to cover at least 50 major non-transplant cases: transplant patient’s bring-backs, liver resections, esophagectomies, Whipple procedures, pancreatectomies, biliary reconstructions, major vascular surgeries, surgeries in patients who have undergone previous transplantation, living donor nephrectomies, or radical nephrectomies.
At the end of the1-year fellowship, fellows will be able to manage the perioperative course of the critically-ill transplant patient, resulting in the following proficiencies: placing invasive monitoring, basic transesophageal echocardiography, managing the coagulopathy by using Thrombelastogram, managing large-volume resuscitations using rapid infusion system (Belmont), and running intraoperative dialysis.