Program Overview

Vascular Surgery

The Vascular Surgery Fellowship is an ACGME-accredited, two-year program. We provide training in the full breadth of vascular surgery, from venous interventions to complex aortic repair. As such, the program produces surgeons confident in independently managing the entire spectrum of vascular disease.

RVA and VCU School of Medicine

As an urban academic medical center, the VCU School of Medicine rests in the heart of Richmond, Virginia (RVA to those who live here). Our river city combines the amenities of a major metropolitan area with the charm and convenience of a small, historic city. Living in RVA

From the Director

VCUSOM director

From the Director

"Our fellowship provides an unsurpassed clinical two-year experience in terms of the full breadth of modern vascular and endovascular surgery. Fellows graduate with competence across the spectrum of vascular diseases, both venous and arterial."

Mark Levy, MD, FACS
Vascular Fellowship Program Director
H.M. Lee Professor in Vascular Surgery
Chair, Division of Vascular Surgery

Division of Vascular Surgery

Facilities

VCU Medical Center

The primary site of training, VCU Medical Center, is an 865-bed Level 1 Trauma Center performing almost 25,000 surgeries annually in 37 operating rooms. It has three modern hybrid rooms with a full range of capabilities including cone-beam CT and CT-fluoroscopy 3D fusion technology. A vascular surgery operative team including specially trained nurses and technologists are available 24/7 to provide expert support for open and endovascular cases.

Additional venues include the McGuire VA Medical Center, a 349-bed tertiary VA hospital, John Randolph Medical Center, and more. Each of these locations provide complimentary experiences to the core rotations. 

Pauley Heart Center

Fellows achieve technical and cognitive excellence through direct teaching, repetition, and progressive autonomy.

At VCU Health Pauley Heart Vascular Center fellows are exposed to a wide variety of cases including complex endovascular and open thoracic and abdominal aortic surgery, mesenteric and renal reconstructions, endovascular and open peripheral interventions, carotid endarterectomy and stenting, first rib resection, venous surgery, major vascular reconstructions after trauma and oncologic resections.

The average case numbers from the two most recent 2018 and 2019 fellowship graduates are provided below:

data vascular fellowship

Pauley Heart Center

Rotations

The fellowship is structured into four rotations, each three to nine months in length. Training is a coordinated effort among the vascular surgery faculty with a supplemental interventional radiology experience.

The program begins on the core VCU Medical Center rotation, focusing on vascular surgical principles for both open and endovascular procedures. During the second rotation, fellows participate in an interventional radiology rotation under the direct supervision of five interventional radiologists. This unique experience augments the broad vascular surgery training with a specific set of skills and experiences outside of traditional vascular surgery.

During the second year, fellows work again at VCU Medical Center, Baird Vascular Institute and HCA John Randolph Hospital, where they gain substantial open vascular surgical exposure and experience working in an outpatient facility. Fellows spend the last rotation at VCU completing their training on the core vascular surgery service. There are additional opportunities at the McGuire VA medical center to participate in specific, educationally valuable cases.

Research

The Division of Vascular Surgery has several ongoing clinical research programs underway, including outcomes research related to aortic surgery and lower extremity revascularization using various endovascular techniques.

Although there is no dedicated research rotation, our fellows find adequate time to work on clinical research projects.

Recent trainees have presented their work at regional and national meetings on topics that include lower extremity bypass, dialysis access, aneurysm management and upper extremity deep venous thrombosis management. They have also been extensively published in the Journal of Vascular Surgery, Annals of Vascular Surgery, and other high impact publications. Recent publications

Conferences

Fellows attend core teaching conferences in the departments of Surgery, including General Surgery Grand Rounds, General Surgery M&M Conference and Vascular Surgery M&M Conference.

We also provide a core Interdisciplinary Vascular Basic Science Conference each Tuesday morning, which is widely attended by vascular surgeons, interventional radiologists, cardiologists, peripheral vascular lab technologists, general surgery residents and medical students.

Monthly journal clubs round out the regular didactic schedule by introducing current vascular and endovascular literature.

Alumni

Vascular Fellows

Vascular Fellows

2019 Vascular fellow alumnus, Issa Mirmehdi, MD, describes why he chose a vascular surgery fellowship at VCU Health
2019 Vascular fellow alumnus, Issa Mirmehdi, MD, describes why he chose a vascular surgery fellowship at VCU Health
Vascular fellow alumnus, Margaret Rigamer, MD talks about why she chose VCU vascular surgery for her fellowship program.
Vascular fellow alumnus, Margaret Rigamer, MD talks about why she chose VCU vascular surgery for her fellowship program.
Alexander Nguyen, MD talks about his experience in the vascular surgery fellowship program.
Alexander Nguyen, MD talks about his experience in the vascular surgery fellowship program.

How to apply

We participate in the standard match process. All complete applications are evaluated through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) and candidates are ranked through the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP).

For more information on how to apply, contact Katie Pyzowski, BSHA at (804) 828-3211 or email katie.pyzowski@vcuhealth.org

Contact Us

Fellowship Office

Mark M. Levy, MD
Fellowship Program Director
Vascular Division Chair
mark.levy@vcuhealth.org

Daniel H. Newton, MD
Associate Program Director
daniel.newton@vcuhealth.org

Sarah IllidgeFellowship Coordinator
(804) 628-8199
sarah.illidge@vcuhealth.org

Office location:
West Hospital
16th Floor, East Wing

Mailing address:
Box 980108
Richmond, Virginia 23298-0108

Phone: (804) 828-3211
Fax: (804) 828-2744

 

Current Fellows:

Isaiah Brown, MD
2020 Vascular Fellow

Francisco Aponte-Rivera, MD
2021 Vascular Fellow