Colorectal Surgery Residency

Overview

We appreciate your interest in the Colorectal Surgery Residency training program at Cleveland Clinic Florida. Cleveland Clinic Florida's Department of Colorectal Surgery is a very busy clinical and research oriented department in which patients with a broad spectrum of colorectal pathology are treated. A one year comprehensive clinical ACGME colorectal residency is offered by our department.  The program participates in National Residency Matching Program, and five positions are offered each year. In addition, there are opportunities for individuals to work as a research resident in our department, whose appointments are on a staggered basis for six months to one year.

Patient and Surgical Volume

More than 5,000 patients are seen annually in the clinic and over 2,000 operations are done by the six full time, board certified faculty and staff colorectal surgeons, Drs. Steven Wexner, Juan Nogueras, Eric Weiss, Dana Sands, David Maron, and Giovanna DaSilva. Other staff includes nurse clinicians who facilitate patient care and help with the day-to-day patient management including assisting in the office and in the operating room. Their invaluable assistance allows the residents more time for interaction in the operating room, the endoscopy suite, office, and physiology lab. There are also three dedicated colorectal clinic nurses, two enterostomal therapists, one biofeedback therapist, and two research nurses.

Approximately 80-100 patients are seen in the office each week and evaluated for a wide array of colorectal complaints. Procedures such as rubber band ligation of internal hemorrhoids, excision of thrombosed external hemorrhoids, superficial fistulotomies, incision and drainage of abscesses, drainage of pilonidal abscesses, rectal and perianal biopsies, and fulguration of lesions are performed in the clinic.

On average, the department performs 60-75 colonoscopies per week, the majority of which are therapeutic, including advanced procedures such as endoscopic mucosal resections, dilations, and stent placements.  In addition, multiple flexible sigmoidoscopies are performed in the clinic setting each week. 

The department has a full anal physiology lab, with endoscopic ultrasound, anal manometry, defecography, and pelvic floor biofeedback therapy.  Residents are involved in reviewing all studies, and may also participate in the testing procedures.

Approximately 25-30 abdominal and anorectal surgeries performed in the hospital or outpatient surgical center each week. The majority of abdominal cases are done via a minimally invasive approach (laparoscopic and robotic), however open and reoperative cases are also abundant.

Why Choose Cleveland Clinic Florida

In 1991, Drs. Wexner and Jagelman became interested in the potential applications of laparoscopy to colorectal surgery. As a result, we now have one of the world’s largest series of laparoscopic colorectal surgical procedures, and all residents gain intensive laparoscopic training. Robotic colorectal training is also offered, and residents spend two months with the faculty at the University of Miami, one of the busiest robotic colorectal training programs in the nation.

The department treats a large volume of patients with rectal cancer, and the Cleveland Clinic Florida is an accredited site in the National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer.  Residents present at a weekly multidisciplinary tumor board where every patient is reviewed in detail with staff from radiation and medical oncology, radiology, pathology, and genetics.  In addition, the department performs many transanal total mesorectal excisions (TaTME), and Dr. Dana Sands has the highest single surgeon volume of TaTME in the world.

Cleveland Clinic Florida has a very busy gastroenterology department that treats a large volume of patients with inflammatory bowel disease.  As such, the department of colorectal surgery performs numerous procedures for Crohns disease and ulcerative colitis.  While many training programs have seen a decrease in the volume of ileal pouch procedures, in the past 5 years each of our residents performed at least 8 ileal pouches.

Graduates of the program are typically split between academic and community practices.  Some of our graduates have gone on to become some of the highest volume robotic colorectal surgeons in the country.  In addition, we have numerous alumni who have become division and department chairs in academic centers around the world.

Curriculum

The schedule is divided into thirteen 4-week long rotations, including a rotation in Naples.

Educational conferences

The Colorectal Surgery training program provides a robust, multi-disciplinary, academic environment.

• Core Curriculum Conference – This is a one-hour lecture every Monday morning given by an expert in the field.
• MDT – Multi-Disciplinary Team meeting occurs every Monday and it is a one-hour meeting with a multi-disciplinary team to discuss complicated cases.
• Journal Club – All clinical residents will present each month. Two research residents will be chosen each month to present as well. Review all articles prior to journal club. Timely submission of Journal Club articles and other professional responsibilities will be evaluated in the professional competencies. In addition quarterly, combined journal clubs with the University of Miami occur. The format is different as these occur offsite and two residents from each program present articles and there is a sponsored speaker & meal.
• Mortality & Morbidity.
• Live IBD Conference.
• Research Forum.
• CARSEP – a preparation for CARSITE session. It occurs on Monday afternoons.
• IBD Conference – Every fourth Thursday of the month.
• Radiology Conference.
• Academic Advancement Series.
• Surgical M&M.
• Innovations in Surgery.
• Grand Rounds.
• DDSI Week.

Cleveland Clinic Florida hosts and sponsors the Annual International Colorectal Disease Symposium each year in February in Fort Lauderdale. Having become one of the largest annual postgraduate colorectal courses in the world, approximately 1,000 registrants were in attendance during the 1998 symposium, approximately 60% of whom were from 61 foreign countries. This intensive three day symposium provides an in-depth analytical review of colorectal diseases. Popular areas covered include, but are not limited to, laparoscopy, colorectal carcinoma, inflammatory bowel surgery, and pouch surgery. A comprehensive review of both basic and advanced principles of diagnosis and management of a broad spectrum of commonly seen colorectal diseases will occur along with emphasis on controversial topics including pouch surgery, surgical emergencies, physiologic tests and applications, recurrent disease, and new diagnostic and therapeutic modalities.

In addition, support is provided for colorectal residents to attend a meeting(s) as a registrant or participant with the approval and/or direction of the department chairman.

Application Process

The Colon & Rectal Surgery Training Program participates in the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) for all positions. You must complete all components of the ERAS Application in order for your application to be considered complete and to be reviewed by the Selection Committee. The selection committee will review all the applications received and grant an interview based on the overall qualifications of the applicant.

Visa information – We sponsor J-1 and H-1B visas

Benefits

Benefits information including salaries, insurance information and more, can be found by visiting the Graduate Medical Education Benefits page.

Our Team

Program Director

• David Maron, MD

Associate Program Director

• Dana Sands, MD

Teaching Staff

• Steven Wexner, MD
• Dana Sands, MD
• Juan Nogueras, MD
• Giovanna da Silva, MD
• Eric Weiss, MD

Current Residents

Class of 2025

Maher Al Khaldi, MD

Zubair Bayat, MD

Timothy Holleran, MD

Shayan Khalafi, MD

Contact Us

Allison Perez
Senior GME Program Coordinator
Email: PEREZA21@ccf.org
Phone: 954.870.0106

Alumni

1990–1991

• John D. Cheape, MD

1991–1992

• Olaf B. Johansen, MD

1992–1993

• Sander R. Binderow, MD
• Stephanie L. Schmitt, MD

1993–1994

• Stephen M. Cohen, MD
• Eric G. Weiss, MD

1994–1995

• Mitchell A. Bernstein, MD
• Petachia Reissman, MD

1995–1996

• Laurence R. Sands, MD
• Marc E. Sher, MD

1996–1997

• Deborah A. DeMarta, MD
• Fabio M. Potenti, MD

1997–1998

• Jean-Francois Latulippe, MD
• Jay J. Singh, MD

1998–1999

• Bruce Belin, MD
• Jonathan E. Efron, MD

1999–2000

• Alon J. Pikarsky, MD
• Oded Zmora, MD
• Jules Garbus, MD

2000–2001

• Patrick H.D. Colquhoun, MD
• Brooke H. Gurland, MD
• Joshua A. Katz, MD

2001–2002

• Jorge Lagares-Garcia, MD
• Seth A. Rosen, MD
• Dana R. Sands, MD
• Khurrum Baig, MD

2002–2003

• Maher A. Abbas, MD
• John J. De Barros, MD
• Monica A. Hum, MD
• Brian T. Valerian, MD

2003–2004

• Susan M. Cera, MD
• James M. Doty, MD
• Cristina Sardinha, MD
• Wael A. El Solh, MD

2004–2005

• Mari Anne Madsen, MD
• David Maron, MD
• John Migaly, MD
• Bridget Sanders, MD
• Matthew Vrees, MD

2005–2006

• Farshad Abir, MD
• Jill Genua, MD
• Benjamin Person, MD
• Nathan Schneidereit, MD
• Henry Talus, MD

2006–2007

• Marat Khaikin, MD
• Amit Khanna, MD
• Anne Lin, MD, MSHS
• Dipen Maun, MD
• Christina J. Seo, MD

2007–2008

• Avraham Belizon, MD
• Jared C. Frattini, MD
• Ron Landmann, MD
• Elisabeth McLemore, MD
• Bashar Safar, MD

2008–2009

• Paula Denoya, MD, FACS, FASCRS
• Joseph Mareno, MD
• Nagesh Ravipati, MD
• Elie Schochet, MD
• Andrew J. Vorenberg, MD

2009–2010

• Cybil R. Corning, MD
• Yair Edden, MD
• Thiru V. Lakshman, MD
• Kimberly A. Matzie, MD
• Giovanna da Silva, MD

2010–2011

• Marylise Boutros, MD
• Dana Hayden, MD
• Assar Rather, MD
• Richard Schaller, MD
• Virginia Shaffer, MD

2011–2012

• Rafal Barczak, MD
• Dan Enger-Ruiz, MD
• Yosef Nasseri, MD
• Marc C. Osborne, MD
• E. Dawn Wietfeldt, MD

2012–2013

• Melissa Alvarez-Downing, MD
• Hayder Al-Azzawi, MD
• Lisa Haubert, MD
• Julie Ann Van Koughnett, MD
• Rahul Narang, MD

2013–2014

• Benjamin Abbadessa, MD
• Farrell Adkins, MD
• Henry Govekar, MD
• Negar Salehomoum, MD
• Noam Shussman, MD

2014–2015

• Ahmed Chadi, MD
• Haane Massarotti, MD
• Claire Peeples, MD
• Nicole M. Saur, MD
• David Vivas, MD

2015–2016

• Nadav Haim, MD
• Andrea Petrucci, MD
• Karen Sherman, MD
• Radhika K. Smith, MD
• Joshua Wolf, MD

2016–2017

• Alodia Gabre-Kidan, MD
• Luanne Force, MD
• David Hiller, MD
• David Lisle, MD
• Aaron Rickles, MD

2017–2018

• Vanessa Hui, MD
• Victoria Lao, MD
• Daniel Lavy, MD
• Anne-Marie Sirany, MD
• Christopher White, MD

2018–2019

• Eliott Arsoniadis, MD
• Paul Kolarsick, MD
• Stephen Sharp, MD
• Paul Strombom, MD
• Marianna Zeichen

2019–2020

• Amandeep Ghuman, MD
• Sandra Kavalukas, MD
• Cyrus Jahansouz, MD
• Thaer Obaid, MD
• Matthew Skancke, MD

2020–2021

• Emanuela Alvarenga, MD
• Charles Randall Cooper, MD
• Kristen Rumer, MD;
• Stewart Whitney, MD
• Yasmin Zerhouni, MD

2021–2022

• Anthony D'Andrea, MD
• Jared Emolo, MD
• Andrew Morgan, MD
• David Zhang, MD
• Peige Zhou, MD

2022-2023

• Kenisha Atwell, MD
• Meridith Ginesi, MD
• Devon Livingston-Rosanoff, MD
• Ebram Salama, MD
• Jane Yang, MD

2023-2024

• Felice De Stefano Hernandez, MD
• David Meyer, MD
• Marcus Oosenbrug, MD
• Ashley Shustak, MD