Minimally Invasive Hepato–Pancreato–Biliary (HPB) Surgery Fellowship

The primary training site, BMC Brighton, is a modern facility that includes inpatient and ambulatory care, as well as clinical and research laboratory resources. BMC Brighton has been serving the Boston area since its founding in 1867 and serves as the main tertiary referral site for a network of ten hospitals across eastern Massachusetts.

Through the multidisciplinary care offered by the Dana-Farber Cancer Center at BMC Brighton, our fellows are given the opportunity to integrate their surgical knowledge into evidence-based oncology.

In addition to rotations at BMC Brighton, trainees rotate between several other sites, including Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Hawthorn Medical Associates in North Dartmouth, and BMC South in Brockton, Massachusetts.

Our Community

The population served at BMC Brighton is multiethnic and multilingual, comprising individuals who live in proximity to BMC Brighton, Boston residents referred from other hospitals, and residents of suburban communities in Massachusetts.

We see patients from a variety of groups and national backgrounds, including those who identify as Black, Hispanic, east and south Asian, Irish, and Russian. Appropriate translators are available as needed. Our residents and fellows benefit from caring for those who may experience and express their needs differently and who may have different expectations regarding appropriate treatment.

Academic Affiliation

Fellows have ample private space and computer work stations to access, analyze, and input pertinent patient data. Through our affiliation with the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, fellows have access to the extensive resources of the BU Medical Campus and BU Libraries.

Each HPB surgery fellow will participate in the critical or key portions of major HPB operative procedures. By the completion of the fellowship, fellows will be able to perform major HPB operations independently.

Frequent feedback will be provided.

The fellowship will provide

• Exposure to and experience in the multidisciplinary management of HPB disease
• Opportunities to participate in multidisciplinary clinics, tumor boards, or conferences. Specialists involved in these opportunities include interventional and diagnostic radiologists, pancreatobiliary endoscopists, gastroenterologists, hepatologists, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists and pathologists.

Clinical research is included in the training program. HPB fellows will have opportunities to design and implement clinical research protocols, and each HPB fellow will initiate or participate in an investigative project and gain an appreciation for statistical methods to properly evaluate research results. Training in basic methodology for conducting clinical trials, including biostatistics, clinical research design, ethics, and implementation of computerized databases is provided.

Presentation and peer-reviewed publication of at least one research project is expected.

Each HPB fellow must complete a course on clinical research on human subjects. Online courses approved by national research bodies are acceptable. Ethics of research on human subjects is included in the curriculum.

Laboratory research is optional. Fellows who desire this experience are encouraged to work with basic science research faculty mentors on- or offsite, and as time and funding allows.

Duty hours are defined as all clinical and academic activities related to the fellowship program:

• Patient care (both inpatient and outpatient)
• Administrative duties related to patient care
• Provision for transfer of patient care
• Time spent in‐house during call activities
• Scheduled academic activities, such as conferences

Adequate time for rest and personal activities is provided.

By the conclusion of the fellowship, fellows will be able to provide comprehensive, state-of-the-art medical and surgical care to patients with surgical diseases/disorders of the liver, pancreas, biliary tract, and duodenum. This includes the ability to investigate, diagnose, recommend appropriate treatment options, perform operative procedures, and provide pre-, peri-, and late postoperative care.