Cleveland Combined Hand Fellowship

Overview

The ACGME-accredited Cleveland Combined Hand Fellowship was created over 25 years ago. This one-year fellowship is a joint venture of two longstanding Cleveland institutions: Cleveland Clinic and MetroHealth Medical Center and accepts 4 fellows per year. Both teaching sites are dynamic academic centers, dedicated to education, research and patient care. MetroHealth Medical Center is a Class I trauma center and Cleveland Clinic is an international referral center. Through these two institutions, there is large and varied clinical exposure.

The fellowship provides a balanced clinical experience in all aspects of hand and upper extremity surgery in an academic environment focused on broadening the fellow’s analytical skills, surgical judgment, and research creativity. Fellows spend six months at Cleveland Clinic and six months at MetroHealth Medical Center, working with both orthopaedic (Drs. Joseph Styron, Todd Bafus, Morgan Bertsch, Harry Hoyen, Adrienne Lee, Youssra Marjoua, Steven Maschke, Manish Mehta, and Rebecca Senehi) and plastic surgeons (Drs. Kyle Chepla, Dennis Kao, and Greg Kwiecien). They are free to move between institutions during their rotations in order to participate in rare or particularly interesting cases or conferences. There is opportunity to work with world-renowned shoulder surgeons (Drs. Eric Ricchetti, Charles Cogan, Vahid Entezari, and Jason Ho).

Curriculum

Fellowship Core

Fellow on-call schedule is at Junior Staff Level with in-house resident support and faculty supervision. The program provides exposure to all aspects of hand and upper extremity surgery, including arthritis, tumor, congenital deformities, microsurgery, and trauma reconstruction.

The academic schedule is composed of daily online readings and subsequent quizzes, weekly indications conferences, a monthly anatomy session, monthly journal club, and a variety of other regional and fellowship-based academic gatherings. Fellows participate in a one-week microvascular laboratory course and have cadaver laboratory availability to maintain their skills.

There are ample opportunities for anatomical dissension/laboratory research. With protected-time, fellows complete either a clinical or laboratory project by the end of their fellowship year.

The fellowship is ACGME accredited and participates in the NRMP Match program.

Download our Microsurgery Brochure

Faculty

Joseph Styron, MD, PhD
Specialty interests: Management of all upper extremity problems, including the shoulder, elbow, wrist and hand, from congenital, arthritis, traumatic, neurologic and acquired conditions

Blaine Todd Bafus, MD
Specialty interests: Shoulder, elbow, wrist and hand fractures and reconstruction; tendon and nerve repair; upper extremity injuries or degenerative conditions in veterans

Morgan Bertsch, MD
Specialty interests: adult & pediatric hand, wrist, forearm, elbow, all types

Chepla
Kyle Chepla, MD
Specialty interests: Arthritis, hand, wrist, and elbow surgery, upper extremity reconstruction, carpal tunnel syndrome

Harry A. Hoyen, MD
Specialty interests: Upper extremity disorders from shoulder to hand problems, including care of traumatic, arthritic, sport, work-related and pediatric problems; neuromuscular disorders with research in the treatment of spinal cord injuries, peripheral nerve disorders, and nerve regeneration strategies

Greg Kwiecien, MD
Specialty interests: Reconstructive hand surgery, peripheral nerve and brachial plexus injuries and treatment of neuroma pain

Youssra Marjoua, MD
Specialty interests: adult & pediatric hand, wrist, forearm, elbow; peripheral nerve & brachial plexus injuries

Steven Maschke, MD
Specialty interests: Hand, wrist, elbow, and peripheral nerve surgery, including arthroscopy; tendon-ligament injuries; joint replacement and reconstruction; fractures; congenital deformities

Manish Mehta, MD
Specialty interests: Surgical management of hand and wrist disorders following bone, tendon, nerve, and joint injuries

Rebecca Senehi, MD
Specialty interests: adult & pediatric hand, wrist, forearm, elbow, shoulder problems, all types

Application Process

Applicants must have a MD or DO degree from an appropriately accredited US or Canadian medical school or must have graduated from an international school and possess valid ECFMG certification.

International Medical Graduate applicants must possess current ECFMG certification and prerequisite education in an orthopaedic surgery program accredited by Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), American Osteopathic Association or the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. In addition, IMGs must be eligible for H1-B Temporary Worker visa or J1 Exchange Visitor (ECFMG sponsored). Graduates of Canadian Medical Schools must also pass USMLE Steps 1, 2, and 3 to obtain an H1B visa. Canadian exams are accepted for licensing purposes, not for visa purposes.

Applicants to the Cleveland Combined Hand Fellowship will need to use the American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH) Fellowship Application platform.

Visit the ASSH website to submit your fellowship application

Below are application materials to be uploaded by the applicant:

CV listing all scholarly activity (publications/presentations)
Medical school transcript (a copy of official transcript is acceptable)
Personal Statement
USMLE (or alternative scores)

Recommendation letters will need to be uploaded by the recommenders on your behalf:

Four letters of recommendation to address your professional, academic, and personal qualifications, as well as their opinion of your potential success in the field.
One letter must be from a hand surgeon familiar with your work as well as a letter from the director of your residency training program.

Application deadline is November 15 the year before you begin your fellowship.

Questions:
Leah Hujarski
Fellowship Coordinator
hujarsl@ccf.org

Current Fellows & Alumni

Diego Barragan Echenique, MD
Residency: University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine