Given the technical complexity of cardiothoracic surgery, we are committed to providing our residents with a robust operative experience that begins during the early years of training.

In order to satisfy RRC requirements in general and vascular surgery, we have arranged rotations in these specialties at UM Baltimore Washington Medical Center, one of our leading system hospitals. Without exception, our residents have found the rotations here to be outstanding. 

Dr. Cherif Boutros in vascular surgery and Dr. Marshall Benjamin in general surgery oversee a high volume operative experience unencumbered by the presence of other trainees. At the university hospital residents gain early, mentored operative experience in both thoracic and cardiac surgery.

In cardiac surgery, we have adopted a rotation model in which residents are assigned to a specific faculty member for 2-3 month rotations in order to develop familiarity and build trust. Depicted below are tables depicting total and selected case numbers of our first I6 graduate during his PGY 4-6 years, as well as the case logs for our last 3 residents to complete PGY years 1-3.

Case log for first I6 graduate, PGY years 4-6
Total cases 726
Cardiac
Valve repair 14
Valve replacement 50
Redo valve 16
CABG 108
CABG/Valve 21
VAD 26
Heart Transplant 12
Lung Transplant 18
Thoracic
Lobectomy 30
Esophagectomy 18
Case logs for last 3 residents to complete PGY years 1-3
ABTS Requirements Resident A Resident B Resident C
Vascular 25 50 85 35
Skin/Soft Tissue/Breast 10 14 26 35
Head/Neck 5 10 6 8
Alimentary Tract 20 32 22 26
Abdomen 30 113 60 69
Operative Trauma 5 6 9 10
Pediatric 10 11 12 24
Plastic 5 6 7 7
Lap (Basic) 30 54 37 31
Lap (Advanced) 10 12 11 15
Component CT 50 122 60 71
CABG N/A 4 2 6
Valve Replacement N/A
6 5 10
ECMO Cannulation N/A 11 12 14
Anatomic Lung Resection N/A 9 15 19
VATS Wedge N/A 13 16 18
Total 375 467 395 405