The Vascular Surgery Fellows split their time between vascular surgery rotations at both the University of Iowa Hospital & Clinics and the Iowa City Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center.

While on rotation at both UI Hospitals & Clinics and the Iowa City Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center, the fellows will be exposed to all aspects of vascular surgery including open and endovascular procedures. In addition the fellows will be actively involved in the preoperative, intra-operative and postoperative patient care. The fellows will also participate in both the outpatient clinic and vascular lab, where they will be exposed to the issues related to follow and management of early and late complications of vascular interventions.  Further, as the fellows advance in training, they will have acquired the clinical judgment and technical skills necessary to serve as a teaching assistant to the residents on the vascular services.     

A sampling of the procedures and operations that the fellows will be exposed to include:

• Carotid body tumor excision
• Carotid endarterectomy
• Endovascular aortic and iliac aneurysm repair
• Excision and replacement of infected bypass grafts
• Exposure of the abdominal aorta through trans-and retroperitoneal exposure
• Lower extremity bypass
• Thoracoabdominal aneurysm repair
• Redo abdominal aortic surgery
• Redo carotid endarterectomy
• Renal and mesenteric artery bypass

Monday
Vascular Surgery Journal Club	First Monday of Every Month
Tuesday
Surgical Audit Conference
VA Vascular Surgery Case Conference
Vein Conference	Every Other Week
Surgery Grand Rounds
Thursday
UI Hospitals & Clinics Vascular Surgery Case Conference

Vascular Surgery Journal Club

This conference is held on the first Monday of the month.  Four articles are chosen by faculty. The articles are then presented by the vascular fellows and senior residents.  This is followed by a discussion with the trainees and faculty.

Surgical Audit Conference

This conference is held on Tuesdays at 7 a.m. The content of this conference focuses on cases selected to present and an appropriate literature review in order to improve patient care and reduce complications. Presenters selected work with faculty members in the development of presentations.

VA Vascular Surgery Case Conference

This is conference is held on Tuesdays at 8 a.m.  Midlevel residents and the VA fellow present the cases for the upcoming week.  Following a discussion of the relevant clinic indications, the current in-house patients are reviewed. 

Vein Conference

This is a bi-weekly conference held on Tuesdays at 3 p.m.  During the first half of the conference a resident presents a topic pertinent to venous disease.  Following this, interesting or pertinent vein cases are presented for discussion.

Surgery Grand Rounds

This conference is held Tuesdays from September through June on Tuesdays at 4:30 p.m. As surgical science and practice progresses rapidly, a need exists to continuously keep abreast of advances in surgical education, practice, and research. Utilizing visiting experts and local faculty members, development in these areas are formally presented and discussed.

UI Hospitals & Clinics Vascular Surgery Conference

This conference is held on Tuesdays at 4 p.m.  The conference is led by the fellows who present complex vascular cases.  This is followed by discussion that is aimed to engage medical students, junior and senior residents, as well as the fellows and staff.

Research is an important part of the daily activities of all academic surgeons. The continuing commitment to productive scholarship, embodied by research, as much as a commitment to communicative scholarship, exemplified by teaching, distinguishes the academic surgeon from his/her colleague in nonacademic practice.

The obvious benefit of research to our patients and to the community is improved care. Less obvious, but equally important, benefits are the atmosphere of open and rigorous inquiry, the constant questioning and the intellectual stimulation which the research programs provide to their participants - faculty, fellows, residents, and medical students.

There are numerous opportunities to become involved in basic science and/or clinical research, which leads to the development of many projects that are presented at regional and national meetings. Please use the following link for information concerning research within the Department of Surgery. 

Medical specialty certification in the United States is a voluntary process which serves multiple purposes for the trainee and the public.

Certification is:

• one mission of the training program to produce trainees who meet board eligibility criteria;
• distinguishes a physician as someone with a distinct level of expertise;
• provides more opportunities when applying for employment;
• presents resources and tools by the ABMS;
• a commitment to life-long improvement for providing the best patient care; and
• elevates physicians into the ranks of doctors committed to the highest standards of healthcare.

For more information visit the American Board of Surgery.

The Division of Vascular Surgery has faculty members who hail from other top institutions from around the country, each bringing with them a unique surgical perspective that will add depth to your skill-set.

 

Maen Aboul Hosn, MD
Interm Chief of Surgery, VAMC
Associate Program Director, Vascular Surgery Residency
Associate Program Director, Vascular Surgery Fellowship
Clinical Assistant Professor, Surgery
Chief of Vascular Surgery, VAMC

Rachael Nicholson, MD
Program Director, Vascular Surgery Residency
Program Director, Vascular Surgery Fellowship
Medical Director, Peripheral Vascular Laboratory
Clinical Associate Professor, Surgery

Natalie Weger, DO
Clinical Assistant Professor, Surgery

We currently accept one Fellow every other year.

2019-2021

Sarah Burger, MD
Medical school: Medical College of Wisconsin
Residency: University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics

Alumni Fellows

2016-2018

Samantha Alsop, MD, MPH
Medical school: University of Kansas School of Medicine
Residency: University of Kansas
Private practice: Kansas City, Mo.

2015-2016

James Foster, III, MD
Medical school: University of Missouri-KC School of Medicine
Residency: University of Missouri-KC
Private practice: Kansas City, Kan.

Alumni Fellows	Completion Year
Thomas Jones	1986
Howard Marks	1987
Asad Shamma	1987
W. John Sharp	1988
Yacov Berlatzky	1989
Henryk Baraniewski	1989
Michael Khoury	1990
John Stern	1990
Jamal Hoballah	1991
Brian Miller	1991
Timothy Bower	1992
Alfred Laborde	1992
Alan Synn	1993
Philip Feliciano	1994
Chittur Mohan	1995
Michael Schueppert	1996
Stephen Ryan	1997
Munier Nazzal	1998
Kendall Boone	1999
Lisa Nowak	2000
Richard Young	2001
David Epstein	2002
Mario Martinasevic	2003
Gregory Carlson	2004
Christopher Bunch	2005
Ronnie Word	2006
Lilja Bjornsdottir	2007
Melhem Sharafuddin	2008
Rachel Nicholson	2009
David Wong	2010
Chad Laurich	2011
Parth Amin	2012
Adonis Lysandrou	2013
Sara Mijal	2014
Brian Adams	2015
James Foster, III	2016
Samantha Alsop	2017
Anna Marjan	2020

Medical Center at the University Campus
Department of Surgery - Vascular Surgery Fellowship Program 
200 Hawkins Drive
Iowa City, IA 52242

Fellowship Leaders

Rachael M. Nicholson, MD 
Clinical Assistant Professor
Vascular Surgery Fellowship Program Director
rachael-nicholson@uiowa.edu

Catherine Unruh, MEd
Educational Administrator
Vascular Surgery Fellowship Program Coordinator 
cate-unruh@uiowa.edu