Abdominal Wall Fellowship program

Introduction

The Abdominal Wall Reconstruction (AWR) Fellowship program at Advocate Aurora Health at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Milwaukee, WI is offered to graduates of an accredited general surgery residency and who have a strong interest in hernia repair, and abdominal wall reconstruction.

This is a one-year fellowship where you will see and participate in the care of a vast variety of hernia patients. We offer a robust robotic abdominal wall reconstruction experience, including the most up to date techniques including eTEP and robotic TAR procedures. We also offer exposure to atypical cases such as complex EC fistulas, oncologic cases involving the abdominal wall and inguinal floor, loss of domain abdominal catastrophes as well as more bread-and-butter hernia cases.

We are based out of a 900+ bed hospital, the largest in the Wisconsin system. As such, we have the privilege of having an excellent surgical ICU and consulting services to support our patients. We work closely with our surgical colleagues from other specialties to support combined cases. We are committed to training the next generation of abdominal wall surgery leaders. Our faculty is dedicated to your professional and personal success.

Faculty

View faculty bios

Program facts

  • Three surgical attendings: Dr. Nick Armstrong, Dr. Nan Wu, Dr. Kelly Tunder
  • 650-700 total cases annually
  • 400-450 robotic cases annually

The Fellow will focus on the diagnosis and treatment of:

  • Inguinal hernias
  • Incisional hernias
  • Ventral hernias
  • Parastomal, para ileal conduit hernias
  • Recurrent incisional hernias
  • Atypical hernias - flank, lumbar, perineal, morgagni
  • The assessment and treatment algorithm of chronic groin pain
  • Neurectomy procedures for chronic groin pain
  • Infected mesh and surgical treatment of EC fistula
  • Hiatal hernia, parastesophageal hernias and the surgical treatment of GERD

By the end of the fellowship year, the fellow will be able to:

  • Provide comprehensive pre operative, peri operative, and post operative surgical care
  • Work with and promote patient centered care in a multidisciplinary setting
  • Develop individualized treatment plans and be able to have a thorough risk and benefit discussion with patients and their families
  • Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the robotic platform
  • Demonstrate technical excellence in open and minimally invasive hernia procedures
  • Participate in a research project to be presented at a hernia focused meeting
  • Participate in hernia case conference, journal club and morbidity and mortality conferences

Conferences

  • Monthly Morbidity and Mortality
  • Monthly system wide AWR case conference
  • Monthly journal club
  • Ad Hoc research meetings with individual faculty, quality review meetings

Application requirements

Application Requirements:
  • PGY 4 resident or above at accredited general surgery residency
  • US citizen or resident, we cannot accept visas at this time

Please email Krystal Carroll – Krystal.Carroll@aah.org with:

  • Three letters of recommendation
  • Personal statement with career goals as it relates to abdominal wall reconstruction
  • Curriculum Vitae (CV)

We will begin accepting applications on Jan 1, 2025, with virtual interview offers by March 1st, 2025. We will complete our selection process in mid-May before the MIS Match.