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Fellowship Program

Goals and Overview

The Oklahoma University Head and Neck Fellowship Training Program is designed to prepare trainees in the full breadth of complex oncologic head and neck surgery and reconstruction. Trainees will have exposure to a wide breadth of head and neck cancer surgery, including transoral robotic surgery, complex endocrine surgery, and advanced skin cancer. Our department has three microvascular surgeons who will serve to expose fellows to head and neck oncologic reconstruction. A hallmark of our program is a strong didactic component through which trainees are kept abreast of the nuances and advances of our field. Accompanying this is our weekly fellow clinic during which trainees participate in the workup and treatment of their patients. Fellows also enjoy protected research time during the week to advance their academic goals. A full list of our program’s components is found below. Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions!

Accreditation

This fellowship program is approved by the Joint Council for Advanced Training in Head and Neck Oncologic Surgery.

Current Clinical Services

The OU Medical Center currently provides state of the art, multidisciplinary care to approximately 250 new head and neck cancer patients and provides almost 1000 head and neck cancer related outpatient visits per year. These services are provided by the members of the faculty of the Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery in collaboration with members of the faculty of the following departments and sections of the College of Medicine:

  • Radiation Oncology
  • Radiology
  • Pathology
  • Dermatology
  • Medical Oncology
  • Plastic Surgery
  • Oculoplastic Surgery
  • Neurosurgery
  • Various departments within the College of Dentistry

The head and neck cancer patients are treated at the Peggy & Charles Stephenson Oklahoma Cancer Center, Oklahoma City VA Hospital and OU Medical Center. Patients are referred by Otolaryngologists, Oral Surgeons, Dentists and occasionally by General and Plastic Surgeons in the community. Our referral base includes the entire state of Oklahoma and several communities in the bordering states, particularly, east Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, and north Texas.

Multidisciplinary Clinic

This is a simultaneous, one-stop evaluation by specialists in the three disciplines that are most likely to be involved in the initial treatment of head and neck cancer patients at our institution, i.e., Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Radiation Oncology and Medical Oncology. Fellows currently participate in weekly clinic on Wednesdays, during which access to our collaborative disciplines is available. The goal of this clinic is to allow graded autonomy for our trainees to assess head and neck cancer patients, develop a plan, and to partipipate in their surgery.

Tumor Board

All new head and neck cancer patients are presented, and their cases are discussed at the Head and Neck Tumor Board which meets once a week. The Tumor Board is presided by the Program Coordinator and is attended by Medical Oncologists, Radiation Oncologists, a Dental Oncologist, a Prosthodontist, a Radiologist, all the residents in the Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery and Radiation Oncology, and fellows in Medical Oncology. Fellows are expected to present their own patients at tumor board. 

Surgical Experience

In some cases (approximately 50% of cases), the fellow will be the primary surgeon and will be assisted by the residents in the service. The program faculty will be readily available to him for consultation or scrubbed, depending upon the clinical situation.

Academic Activities and Research

The fellow will present patients and discuss treatment planning at the weekly Head and Neck Tumor Board, will present grand rounds at least three times during the fellowship year, and will participate in all didactic activities of the Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery. The fellow will be expected to present a research study at our annual Research Day in the spring. To help prepare for this, every other Monday morning will be protected for research time. We are also extremely fortunate to have strong departmental support for project design, IRB submission, data collection, etc.

Residency Program

The Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery is committed to the education of 13 residents who rotate through six clinical services. Learn more about our Residency Program. 

Application 

Through the Head and Neck Fellowship matching program. Fellowship match information and application forms may be downloaded from the Fellows' Corner of the AHNS website: www.ahns.info.