Description of the Fellowship
The Fellowship in Endourology and Laparoscopic Surgery provides specialized, comprehensive training in all aspects of Minimally Invasive Surgical Therapies (MIST), including robotic, laparoscopic and endourologic Urologic Surgery under the guidance of Drs. Duke Herrell and Nicole Miller. The training includes all aspects of Urologic laparoscopic and minimally invasive surgeries. In addition, comprehensive training includes advanced Endourology of the lower and upper tracts, metabolic evaluation and medical management of stone disease. The fellowship is a 2 year program, including clinical and focused laboratory research.

Clinical
The clinical educational program includes 1 day per week of attending outpatient clinic with emphasis on evaluation and management of MIS patients including advanced MIS reconstructive laparoscopic Urology patients, laparoscopic /robotic/ and minimally invasive Urologic (ablative) Oncology, minimally invasive operations for BPH including holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP), metabolic evaluation and medical management of stone disease patients, and evaluation and preparation of patients with upper and lower tract Endourologic disease. Fellows will meet the standard requirements for certification by the Endourological Society. Typically, fellows participate in, at least, 150 endourologic procedures during each fellowship year, including > 50-60 percutaneous renal procedures, > 90 flexible or rigid ureteroscopy procedures and typically > 150 laparoscopic and robotic urology procedures. The fellow will have, approximately, 1-2 days per week for laboratory research activity and 2-3 days per week for clinical experience in robotic / laparoscopic and advanced endourologic Urology in the operating room. Fellows will learn a variety of robotic and laparoscopic techniques including both pure laparoscopic and hand-assisted techniques for renal surgery. Dr. Herrell will also expose the fellow to a variety of cutting edge techniques such as advanced robotic partial nephrectomy, laparoscopic donor nephrectomy, microlaparoscopic pyeloplasty and laparoscopic endoscopic single site surgery (single port). The fellow will be taught percutaneous access to the kidney which is performed without radiologists. Both Dr. Miller and Herrell obtain > 95% of their own accesses. Fellows will also participate in a multidisciplinary team including Dr Herrell and Interventional Radiologists who perform CT guided ablations on a regular basis. The Urology team is an integral part of this approach and fellows are expected to become facile in hands on performance of RF and cryoablation.

Research
Research projects are varied and include both basic science and clinical research opportunities. Fellows are expected to publish manuscripts and contribute to academia. Ongoing collaborative research is conducted through a variety of advanced collaborations including work with Vanderbilt University Departments of Biomedical Engineering, Biomechanical Engineering and Chemical Engineering.

Education:
The fellow will also be responsible for preparation of teaching conferences for residents and staff. The fellow will participate in teaching residents and medical students in the evaluation and management of endourologic and laparoscopic urology patients.

Past Fellows

Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Department Of Urology
A-1302 Medical Center North
Nashville, TN 37232-2765