Fellowships - Hand & Upper Extremity

Introduction

The Hand and Upper Extremity Fellowship involves a one-year experience of intensive post-residency training in disorders specifically related to the hand, elbow and shoulder as well as problems involving microvascular reconstruction. The fellowship participates in the Hand Surgery Match and is ACGME accredited. The goal for this fellowship is to provide orthopaedic, plastic or general surgeons the detailed knowledge required to undertake the practice of hand and upper extremity surgery independently after they have completed the fellowship. The emphasis of the fellowship is equally shared by clinical responsibilities and academic investigation into both clinical and basic science problems. Our interest is in training surgeons who will undertake some form of academic activity after they have finished their fellowship thereby contributing to the knowledge base of this relatively young discipline.

Faculty

Edward Akelman, M.D. - Fellowship Director:  Dr. Akelman is Vice Chairman and Professor in the Department of Orthopaedics at the Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University, and Surgeon-in-Charge of the Division of Hand, Upper Extremity and Microvascular Surgery. He is a graduate of Princeton University and Dartmouth Medical School.  After an orthopaedic surgery residency at Yale-New Haven Hospital he underwent a hand surgery fellowship at Roosevelt Hospital under the direction of Drs. J. William Littler and Richard G. Eaton.

Dr. Akelman is a two time winner of the Brown Department of Orthopaedics Teaching Award.  He currently serves on the American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH) Council as the Director of the Division of Education.  He is Chairman of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery (AAOS) Council on Education, and serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the AAOS. He is also a Board Member at the Orthopaedic Learning Center in Rosemont, Illinois. He is a former associate editor and current consultant reviewer of the Journal of Hand Surgery, consultant reviewer for the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, and associate editor of Techniques in Orthopaedics. He is also on the editorial board of the Journal of Surgical Orthopaedic Advances.  Dr. Akelman has been a principal investigator in grants for Allied Signal Corporation, Genzyme Corporation, Accutex Corporation, and Auxilium Pharmaceuticals.  He is current a co-investigator in an ongoing NIAH Grant investigating motion of the carpus.

 

Arnold-Peter C. Weiss, M.D. - Dr. Weiss is a Professor of Orthopaedics and Dean of Admissions at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, and a staff surgeon in the Division of Hand, Upper Extremity and Microvascular Surgery. He is a graduate of the combined B.A.-M.D. Program at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. After an orthopaedic surgery residency at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, he underwent a hand and upper extremity surgery fellowship at the Indiana Hand Center.

Dr. Weiss is a recipient of the Joseph H. Boyes Award and Sterling Bunnell Traveling Fellowship from the American Society for Surgery of the Hand and the North American Traveling Fellowship and ABC Traveling Fellowship of the American Orthopaedic Association. He is the principal investigator on grants from the American Society for Surgery of the Hand, the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health. His research interests are focused on wrist biomechanics and implant kinematics. He is Editor of the Journal of Hand Surgery, and a reviewer for JBJS and Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research. He holds eight patents for orthopedic devices used worldwide. He is Editor of the 2 Volume textbook, Hand Surgery. He is a co-founder of IlluminOss Medical, Inc., a fully funded company, developing novel fracture fixation technology. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Rhode Island School of Design and The American Numismatic Society. He serves as an advisor to Telegraph Hill Partners, a healthcare private equity fund, and to Wyper Capital Management, a hedge fund.

 

Manuel F. DaSilva, M.D. - Dr. DaSilva is Clinical Assistant Professor and Director of Medical Student Education in the Department of Orthopaedics at Brown Medical School. He is staff surgeon of the Division of Hand, Upper Extremity and Microvascular Surgery. He is a graduate of Rhode Island College and Brown Medical School. After an orthopedic surgery residency at Rhode Island Hospital, he underwent a trauma fellowship at Rhode Island Hospital and a second fellowship in hand and upper extremity at the National Center for Treatment of the Hand and Upper Extremity in Baltimore, Maryland under the direction of Dr. E.F. Shaw Wilgis.

Dr. DaSilva is a reviewer for Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research and the J ournal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. His areas of research include clinical and basic science studies on wrist and elbow arthroscopy, nerve regeneration and carpal kinematics. Dr. DaSilva routinely performs procedures involving the whole upper extremity including the shoulder. He has a special interest in complex cases of the elbow and wrist.

 

Julia Katarincic, M.D.- Dr. Katarincic is an Assistant Professor of Orthopaedics at Brown Medical School, and a staff surgeon in the Division of hand, Upper Extremity and Microvascular Surgery in Pediatric Orthopedics. She is a graduate or Dartmouth College and the University of Pittsburgh Medical School. She completed a hand fellowship at the Mayo Clinic where she was on staff for six years before returning to Rhode Island.

Dr. Katarincic has a special interest in pediatric upper extremity injuries and anomalies in addition to brachial plexus injuries and adult hand injuries. She is a member of the Council of the American Society for the Surgery of Hand. She is a reviewer for the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the Yearbook of Hand Surgery.

 

Clinical Practice:

The fellows participate in approximately 2100 operative cases each year and take an extremely active role in as many cases as possible. Since the Department has a large and active residency program, the fellow is expected to teach and direct the resident staff in both the hospital care of inpatients and the clinical care, both operative and nonoperative, of outpatients. In addition to participating in the care of the private office patients, a very active hand clinic is overseen once a week in the Rhode Island Hospital. The fellow is responsible for a large portion of the clinical responsibilities encompassed by this clinic practice with the assistance of the resident staff and one of the staff surgeons.

The Division of Hand, Upper Extremity and Microvascular Surgery is involved in the care of all hand and upper extremity problems encountered at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Providence. The fellow is responsible for assisting the resident staff in operative procedures that are undertaken at the VA Medical Center one day every one to two weeks.

In general, the fellow spends 3 months with each attending surgeon. There are two full-time residents on the service at all times and the fellow is directly responsible for their duties in clinical care of patients. During a typical week, the fellow will undertake approximately two days of patient evaluation in the office or clinic in conjunction with one of the staff surgeons, two days of operating, and one day of clinical and basic science research. There is some flexibility to the schedules which can be modified to meet the needs of the fellows and residents with regards to unusual operative procedures, or the particular demands of a basic science research project.

 Research:

The Division maintains an active research laboratory currently staffed by a lab co-director and research assistants on a full-time basis with several Brown University undergraduates, medical students and residents undertaking projects concurrently. It is mandatory for the fellow to become involved in his or her own research project related to hand and upper extremity surgery during the year. Ample support for supplies and equipment as well as technical support is available in both the Division's Laboratory as well as orthopaedic research laboratories in general. Our goal is for the fellow to have one or two comprehensive projects completed by the end of the year which would be suitable for presentation at a national meeting and subsequent publication. The fellowship places an important emphasis on academic productivity and we expect the fellow to complement the goals of the fellowship as well as improve their own basic science skills.

The Details: The salary is determined by level of training (PGY year) and in accordance with the Rhode Island Hospital Department of Graduate Medical Education. Additional compensation is available including, but not limited to, health, dental, life insurance and disability insurance. The fellow is allowed to attend the annual meeting of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand at no cost. An allowance is provided for the purchase of loupes, photographic equipment and the use of photographic development services, if appropriately requested and required. The fellowship year is from August 1 to July 31 of the following year. Two weeks of vacation are provided (not including the meeting trip) and some flexibility is available should job interview requirements arise.

The Goal: Every effort will be made for the fellow to leave as an expert in hand and upper extremity surgery with the abilities to undertake significant clinical and basic science research in the future. We are interested in individuals who plan on being active academically in their future careers and who wish to add some form of knowledge back to the principles and practice of hand and upper extremity surgery.

 

Hand Surgery Fellowship Application Process:

Application to the Hand Surgery Fellowship requires submission of the following:

• Completed Applicant Evaluation form must accompany letters of recommendation. Three letters are required. - Applicant Evaluation Form - Available here
• Copy of Medical School Transcripts
• CV and Personal Statement
• Current photograph

Application deadline is JANUARY 1.

Interviews are typically held in March and dates are coordinated with New England area fellowship interviews if at all possible.

Send applications or requests for information to:
Ms. Robin Morin
Hand Surgery Fellowship Coordinator
2 Dudley Street, Suite 200
Providence, RI 02905
Phone: 401-457-1512
Fax: 401-831-5874
Email: brownhand@universityorthopedics.com

Current Fellows:

YEAR	FELLOW	RESIDENCY
2013-2014	Caleb R. Campbell, M.D.	Baylor College of Medicine
	Augusta W. Kluk, M.D.	University of Maryland School of Medicine

ALUMI	FELLOW	CURRENT POSITION
2012-2013	Nicholas Bontempo, M.D.	Orthopaedic Associates of Hartford, Hartford, CT
	Kyle Moyles, M.D	First Choice Medical Group, Melbourne, FL
2011-2012	Zakariah Mahmood, M.D.	Orthopaedic Institute, Gainesville, Florida
	Patrick Messerschmitt, M.D.	Orthopaedic Associates of Duchess County, Poughkeepsie, NY
2010-2011	Julia Kenniston, M.D.	Plymouth Bay Orthopedic Associates, Inc., Duxbury, Massachusetts
	Nathan Lesley, M.D.	Private Practice
2009-2010	Jason Palmer, M.D.	The Hand Center, P.A., Greenville, South Carolina
	Amir Mostofi, M.D.	Risser Orthopaedic Group, Pasadena, California
2008-2009	Justin Ferrera, M.D.	Orthopaedic Associates of Saratoga, Saratoga Springs, New York
	Jinsil Sung, M.D.	St. Elizabeth's Medical Center, Brigton, Massachusetts
2007-2008	Gwynne Bragdon, M.D.	Allegheny Orthopaedic Associates, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
	Maximillian Soong, M.D.	Lahey Clinic Medical Center, Burlington, Massachusetts
2006-2007	Greg Merrell, M.D.	Indiana Hand Center, Indianapolis, Indiana
	Fred Ortmann, M.D.	Greensboro Orthopedics, Greensboro, North Carolina
2005-2006	Craig Rodner, M.D.	University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, Connecticut
	Sean Johnson, M.D.	Largo Medical Center, Largo, Maryland
2004-2005	Peter Hoepfner, M.D.	Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois
	Lance Klingler, M.D.	Concord Orthopaedics, Concord, New Hampshire 03229
2003-2004	Serafin Deleon, MD	Illinois Bone and Joint Institute, Gurnee, Illinois
	Gregory Sobol, M.D.	Elmhurst, New York
2002-2003	Karl Michalko, M.D.	University of Rochester, Rochester, New York
2001-2002	Thomas Hughes, M.D.	Allegheny General Hospital, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
2000-2001	Robert Lyons, M.D.	Great Lakes Orthopaedic Center, Traverse City, Michigan
1999-2000	Edward Hayes, M.D.	Marshfield Clinic Eau Claire, Wisconsin
1998-1990	Michael Legeyt, M.D.	Orthopaedic Center of Bristol, Bristol, Connecticut
1997-1998	Andrew Nelson, M.D.	The Hand Center of Waterbury, Waterbury, Connecticut
1996-1997	Ira Richterman, M.D.	Omni Orthopaedics, Canton, Ohio
1995-1996	Robert Mastey, M.D.	Center for Sports Medicine, Chatanooga, Tennessee
1994-1995	Steven Summerfield, M.D.	Orthopaedic Specialists, Renton, Washington
1993-1994	Jeffrey Fink, M.D.	Plastic Surgery Center of Rochester, Rochester, New York
1992-1993	Celso Folberg, M.D.	Rua Leopoleo Bier, 825 sala 305 Porto Alegre/RS/Brazil
1991-1992	Roger Daley, M.D.	Froedtert Clinic, East Milwaukee, Wisconsin