Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine >> Education >> Fellowship in Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology

Fellowship Training Program:
Fellowship in Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology

The University of Washington Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology Fellowship is a one year clinical fellowship, with the option of a second research year. The fellowship is accredited by the ACGME. The goal of the clinical fellowship is to produce highly competent cardiothoracic anesthesia practitioners for either community or academic practice. The fellowship curriculum emphasizes intraoperative echocardiography and complex, high risk cardiothoracic surgery, including heart and lung transplantation, adult congenital heart disease, thoracic aortic surgery, and ventricular assist devices.

Description

Echocardiography

Intraoperative echocardiography is the essence of state-of-the-art cardiothoracic anesthesiology practice. The University of Washington cardiothoracic anesthesiology division has superb resources in echocardiography, under the guidance of Donald Oxorn, MD, FACC, Professor of Anesthesiology and Medicine (Cardiology) and Director of Intraoperative Echocardiography. Transesophageal echocardiography is performed in virtually all patients undergoing cardiac surgery, using the latest digital echocardiography imaging equipment. A world famous echocardiography laboratory (faculty includes Drs. Alan Pearlman and Catherine Otto) is available for consultation and participates in our teaching program. A cardiac surgery population with a large proportion of valvular and adult congenital heart disease provides superb opportunities to observe cardiac structural pathology, ranging from the common to the very rare. The diverse echocardiography experience of our fellowship is well represented in the, “Atlas of Intraoperative Transesophageal Echocardiography” authored by Drs. Oxorn and Otto. Fellows typically spend a month in the echocardiography laboratory becoming familiar with transthoracic echocardiography. Further transthoracic echocardiography experience is gained through the use of transthoracic echo for postoperative hemodynamic management in the ICU.

Scope of Practice

The core activities of the Cardiothoracic Clinical Fellowship take place at the University of Washington Medical Center.  We also make use of resources from our other hospitals-- Northwest Hospital Medical Center, Childrens Hospital and Medical Center, and the Veterans Administration Medical Center. The cardiac surgery practice is under the direction of Edward Verrier, MD, Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery and William K. Edmark Professor of Cardiovascular Surgery, and Gabriel Aldea, MD, Chief of Adult Cardiac Surgery. The program is of moderate size, but of enormous complexity, with many cases of valvular and adult congenital disease, heart transplant, cardiomyopathy requiring ventricular assist devices, and thoracic aortic surgery. Adult congenital heart disease is a major emphasis. Dr. Verrier is an adult congenital heart surgery specialist. Two of our anesthesiologists, Drs. Natrajan and Joffe, have extensive experience with both pediatric and adult congenital heart surgery. The thoracic surgery practice, under the direction of Douglas Wood, MD, and Michael Mulligan, MD, is a large program, also with enormous complexity, including lung volume reduction, complex pulmonary resections and pulmonary thromboendarterectomy for chronic pulmonary embolization. Our lung transplant program is one of the larger programs in the country.  There are ample opportunities to perfect skill at thoracic epidural catheter placement, and management of single lung ventilation.

The Fellowship Year

Rotations include 1 month each in the echo lab, the cardiothoracic ICU, and attached to the adult congenital heart disease service.  Didactic teaching includes the weekly combined Cardiology/Cardiac Surgery/Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology Conference that is a forum for review of interesting and difficult cases, often involving presentation of echocardiography, weekly TEE Review, and monthly Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology Journal Club.  Every effort is made to enable our fellows to attend the didactic lectures and tutorials of the Cardiology and Cardiothoracic Surgery fellowship programs.

Research

The University of Washington is consistently one of the top medical research universities in the country. Fellows interested in obtaining research experience following a clinical fellowship will find many opportunities in both clinical and basic research.

Faculty

  • Bowdle, T. Andrew, MD, PhD Professor, UWMC
    Regular Faculty
    photo of faculty member

    T. Andrew Bowdle, MD, PhD

    Professor & Director of TEE Simulation,
    Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine;
    Adjunct Professor, Pharmaceutics

    bowdle@uw.edu

    Primary Location: UW Medical Center

    Clinical Interests: Cardiothoracic anesthesiology, echocardiography, physiologic monitoring.

    Research Interests: Clinical pharmacology, patient safety and outcomes.

    Personal Interests: Skiing, photography and cycling.

    UW Medicine Bio

  • Dziersk, Jorg, MD, FRCA Clinical Associate Professor, UWMC
    Regular Faculty
    photo of faculty member

    Jorg Dziersk, MD, FRCA

    Clinical Associate Professor,
    Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine

    jorgd@uw.edu

    Primary Location: UW Medical Center

    Clinical Interests: Anesthesia for Cardiothoracic Surgery, Intraoperative TEE.

    Personal Interests: Contemporary fiction, biking, hiking, jazz.

    UW Medicine Bio

  • Joffe, Denise C., MD Associate Professor, SCH
    Regular Faculty
    photo of faculty member

    Denise C. Joffe, MD

    Associate Professor,
    Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine

    denise.joffe@seattlechildrens.org

    Primary Location: Seattle Children's Hospital

    Clinical Interests: Adult and pediatric congenital heart disease.

    Research Interests: Use of dexmetetomidine in patients with single ventricle physiology and patients post-heart transplant.

    Seattle Children's Bio

  • Lombaard, Stefan A., MB ChB, FANZCA Clinical Assistant Professor, UWMC
    Regular Faculty
    photo of faculty member

    Stefan A. Lombaard, MB ChB, FANZCA

    Clinical Assistant Professor,
    Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine

    lombaard@uw.edu

    Primary Location: UW Medical Center

    UW Medicine Bio

  • Natrajan, Krishna M., MB BS, FRCA Cl. Professor & Interim Chief (CT Anesth), UWMC
    Regular Faculty
    photo of faculty member

    Krishna M. Natrajan, MB BS, FRCA

    Clinical Professor & Interim Chief of Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology, Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine

    natrajan@uw.edu

    Primary Location: UW Medical Center

    Clinical Interest: Computers in medical education, trans-esophageal echo, automated anesthesia records.

    Research Interest: Adult congenital heart disease and trans-esophageal echo in those patients. Special expertise in lung transplant anesthesia, particularly avoiding bypass. Interest in management of pulmonary hypertension patients undergoing anesthesia.

    Personal Interest: Computing, sailing, photography, playing saxophone, cycling.

    UW Medicine Bio

  • Oxorn, Donald C., MD, CM, FRCPC, FACC Professor, UWMC
    Regular Faculty
    photo of faculty member

    Oxorn, Donald C., MD, CM, FRCPC, FACC

    Professor, Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine

    oxorn@uw.edu

    Primary Location: UW Medical Center

    Professional Interest: Cardiothoracic anesthesiology, and more specifically in transesophageal echocardiography (TEE).

    Personal Interests: Jogging, golf, and family outings.

    UW Medicine Bio | Community of Science Bio

Application Process

The application process for all the faculty fellowships requires that interested applicants send the following information:

  • A letter of intent/personal statement
  • A current Curriculum Vitae
  • A letter of recommendation from your current program director (or equivalent)
  • 2 other letters of recommendation

This information should be sent to:

Kati Koszegvari
Fellowship Program Coordinator
Department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine
University of Washington, Box 356540
Health Sciences Bldg., BB-1440
1959 NE Pacific Street
Seattle, WA 98195-6540

phone: 206-221-6453 / fax: 206-543-2958
e-mail: katibell@u.washington.edu

Fellowship Director

For further information please contact:

photo of fellowship director

Jörg Dziersk MD FRCA
Clinical Associate Professor,
Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine

Health Sciences Building, AA-117E, Box 356540
1959 NE Pacific Street, Seattle, WA 98195
Phone: 206-598-4260
Email: jorgd@uw.edu

UW Medicine Bio