Surgical Clerkship

Surgical Services

During their three week rotation at Mount Sinai, students choose an assignment to one of the following services (the Clerkship Program makes every possible effort to match students with the service of their choice, though this cannot be guaranteed.)

Team III Surgery (Laparoscopic)

This surgical service focuses on laparoscopic surgery. Mount Sinai has long been a leader in laparoscopic surgery, with the first laparoscopic cholecystectomy in New York being performed at the institution in 1992. The team regularly performs many other minimally invasive operations such as:

• Laparoscopic bowel resection
• Inguinal and incisional hernia repair
• Nissen fundoplication
• Nephrectomy
• Bariatric surgery (gastric bypass, biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch, lap band, and other weight reduction surgical therapies)

Common disease processes encountered include:

• Biliary disorders
• GERD
• Esophageal motility disorders
• Inflammatory bowel disease
• Colon cancer
• Morbid obesity

There are team conferences twice a week, and an outpatient clinic once a week.

Team IV Surgery (General, Breast, Head & Neck, Endocrine)

This team performs of a broad range of:

• Laparoscopic surgery
• Gastrointestinal surgery
• Endocrine surgery
• Breast surgery

Common disease processes encountered include:

• Biliary disorders
• Hernias
• Colon cancer
• Inflammatory bowel disease
• Endocrine disorders

Students gain exposure to various gastrointestinal operations such as:

• Cholecystectomy
• Gastrectomy
• Colectomy
• Head and neck and endocrine surgery (including operations on the thyroid, parathyroid and adrenal glands)
• Hernia repairs
• Breast operations

Students and residents collaborate to prepare the team's conferences, which are held every Tuesday and Friday morning. There is also a clinic once a week.

Team V Surgery (Colorectal)

This service focuses on the management of various colorectal disorders. Most of the operations performed by this team are traditional “open” bowel resections, though minimally invasive techniques are becoming increasingly common.

Students gain extensive exposure to inflammatory bowel disease and colon cancer. Other colorectal disorders typically encountered on this service include the polyposis syndromes and anorectal disorders such as fistulas and hemorrhoids.

In addition to colorectal procedures, students are also exposed to general surgical procedures such as hernia repairs, cholecystectomies, and appendectomies.

Students and residents collaborate to prepare the team's conferences, which are held every Monday and Thursday morning. There is also a clinic once a week.

Vascular Surgery

This subspecialty encompasses surgery of the extrathoracic and extracranial vascular system. This team has long been a leader in the development of Endovascular Surgery, using minimally invasive techniques to repair vascular problems intraluminally. As a result, students rotating on this team gain exposure to various interventional techniques including angioplasty and stenting of atherosclerotic disease.

Common conditions encountered include:

• Aneurysm disease
• Peripheral atherosclerotic arterial disease
• Venous insufficiency
• Various thrombotic disorders
• Chronic renal disease

Common procedures performed by this team include:

• Abdominal aortic aneurysm repair
• Carotid endarterectomy
• Lower extremity arterial bypass
• Dialysis access procedures
• Varicose vein stripping
• Amputations

Conferences include a joint Surgery-Radiology multidisciplinary conference, a resident/student teaching conference, and a basic science lecture. There is also a clinic every Monday morning.

Surgical Oncology

This service focuses on the management a variety of oncologic diseases including:

• Liver cancer
• Biliary tree cancers
• Pancreatic cancers
• Stomach cancer
• Colon cancer
• Breast cancer
• Sarcoma

Common procedures performed by this team include:

• Liver resections
• Pancreatic resections
• Gastrectomies
• Colectomies
• Mastectomies
• Breast biopsies

In addition, students gain exposure to various interventional techniques used to treat liver cancers, and learn about the multidisciplinary management of breast diseases, including sentinel node biopsies.

Conferences include a multidisciplinary conference, a tumor board, and a monthly pathology conference. Outpatient experiences include a general clinic a breast clinic.

Elmhurst Hospital Center

Elmhurst Hospital Center (EHC) is the major tertiary care provider in the borough of Queens. Students will be assigned to either Team I or II and will have a broad exposure to general surgical problems including:

• Breast diseases
• Vascular diseases
• Trauma
• Gastrointestinal disorders
• Evaluation of the acute abdomen