Mission

Dr. Dylan Carroll is our current colorectal fellow.

Each year the Section of Colon & Rectal Surgery now selects two talented clinical fellows, who share our dedication to caring for patients with all varieties of colorectal disease. Our special interests include inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer. Because we offer extensive hands-on clinical experience, fellows become integral members of our surgical and research teams.  List of previous fellows

SCOPE OF TRAINING

The aim of our program is to produce well-rounded, skilled operating surgeons who are committed to life-long learning. Fellows are taught by faculty on a one-to-one basis and perform surgery under faculty supervision. The majority of graduates are expected to go on to careers in academic surgery.

The strongest asset of our training program is the breadth of exposure to colon and rectal surgery. Fellows complete the program with experience in complex tertiary referral surgery, anorectal surgery, endoscopy, laparoscopy, and physiology. Anorectal manometry, EMG with determination of pudendal nerve terminal motor latency, and endoanal and endo-rectal ultrasound are routinely available and performed by residents. Defecating proctography and transit studies are performed by radiologists, but interpreted by colon and rectal surgery residents. The operative experience of our 2022-2023 Clinical Fellow, is available for review.  Our fellows receive a significant experience in robotic surgery.

Conference Schedule

• Grand Rounds: Friday 7 am 
• General Surgery M&M: Friday 8 am
• Pelvic Floor Multidisciplinary Conference: 3rd Wednesday 6:30 am
• GI tumor Board: 2nd/4th Tuesday 7 am
• Core Curriculum/Clinical Correlation: 7 am
• Journal Club: 3rd Tuesday 7 am
• GI/Surgery IBD case conference : TBD  
• GI Pathology: every 8 weeks

Because we maintain a strong research program, trainees also participate in clinical trials and gain cutting-edge knowledge of new drugs and procedures.

Academic Expectations

• Research
  • ASCRS*, ACS, DDW, ASA
  • Manuscript ready for submission
  • Expenses will be covered for podium presentation
  • Submission of abstract from research project to national meeting
• General Surgery Grand Rounds- topic and time (7AM Friday)
• Medtronic Sacral Nerve Stimulator Course (paid)
• Colorectal Residents Annual Career Course (paid)
• Colorectal Surgery Program Evaluation Committee attendance 
• Robotic Surgery Course

In addition to our ACGME accredited training position, we also offer one fellowship opportunity to non-US trained surgeons wishing to pursue a career in colon and rectal surgery. All applicants for this position must have ECFMG certification.

The aim of our program is to produce well-rounded, skilled operating surgeons who are committed to life-long learning. We provide generous stipends and benefits.

If you are interested in becoming a clinical fellow, please go to the ERAS® Fellowships Documents Office Website to fill out an application. Our Clinical Fellowship program begins on August 1. 

 If you have any questions, please see our FAQs page  or contact us.

American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery

The Section of Colon and Rectal Surgery is part of the Division of General Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Louisville. It is affiliated with four teaching hospitals, including:

• University of Louisville Hospital
• Norton Hospital
• Norton Children's Hospital
• UofL Health Jewish Hospital

These hospitals are all located within a three-block area. Most are connected by skyways. Together, the hospitals represent a resource of more than a thousand beds, with the most up-to-date diagnostic and therapeutic facilities. Both the UofL J. Brown Cancer Center and Norton Cancer Center are located in the downtown Medical Center campus.

The Section of Colon & Rectal Surgery has garnered an outstanding reputation. One of its main strengths is the balance between complex abdominal surgery, anorectal pathology and endoscopy.

The section is the referral center for inflammatory bowel disease patients in Kentucky and southern Indiana. It also treats a large number of patients with both primary and recurrent colorectal cancer, as well as patients with simple and complex anorectal diseases.

The Department of Surgery at the University of Louisville School of Medicine offers outstanding research opportunities in the field of colon and rectal surgery, including clinical outcomes research and phase II and III clinical trials of new drugs and devices. An additional year of basic science research is optional.

Currently, our laboratory, the Digestive Surgery Research Laboratory, is focusing on molecular biologic aspects of inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer. We utilize a library tissue, plasma, RNA and DNA samples from patients with Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, indeterminate colitis, familial adenomatous polyposis and colorectal cancer. The Digestive Surgery Research Laboratory is a member of the  Price Institute of Surgical Research , which is part of the University of Louisville Department of Surgery.

Other areas of basic research are varied and include immune tolerance,  alterations in microcirculation and cytokine production in the presence of infection and tissue injury. Some of these projects are supervised in part by general and oncological surgeons. However, participation in any of the above is available to the colon and rectal surgery resident who wishes to pursue an additional laboratory research year. Advanced degrees (MBA, MPH and PhD) are also available, but, in most cases, are contingent on an additional 24- to 36-month commitment.  To learn more about our current research, please view our publications. 

Each completing resident must submit one manuscript for publication in a peer-reviewed journal and at least one abstract for presentation at a national surgery meeting. Residents also must attend the meeting of the American Society of Colon & Rectal Surgeons. Expenses are paid for by the Section. Other national meeting attendance is contingent upon having a paper on the program. 

In ranking Louisville, Kentucky, as one of America’s most livable cities, the Places Rated Almanac merely confirms what Louisvillians already know: Louisville is both a comfortable and exciting place to be. To get an idea of what Louisville is like, please read this New York Times article "36 Hours in Louisville".

Louisville is Kentucky’s largest city and serves as the hub of a 7-county (4 in KY, and 3 in Southern IN) metropolitan area of 1,043,449 people, according to the 2000 census. Geographically, the city is centrally located in the eastern half of the United States, on the southern bank of the Ohio River – in an area known as the Ohio Valley.

The climate is moderate and seasonal. We have warm summers, temperate winters, beautiful springs, and colorful falls.

You will find it easy to get to Louisville. Louisville International Airport is located just 15 minutes from downtown, at the junction of I-65 and I-264. The major interstates serving Louisville are I-65, I-64, I-71, I-264 and I-265. Commuting is generally simple and quick.

The cost of living is moderate, with a median price for an existing single-family home of approximately $150,000, and the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment of $750/month. Most of the residents at the University of Louisville are homeowners.

The diversity of Louisville’s arts and entertainment scene rivals that of much larger cities. The critically acclaimed Actors Theater – one of the nation’s most vibrant regional theaters – shares the spotlight with the Kentucky Opera, the Louisville Ballet, and the touring Broadway Series.

The Speed Art Museum, the Kentucky Derby Museum, the Frazier Museum, the Louisville Slugger Museum, and the Louisville Science Center are just a few of the various attractions frequented by visitors and residents alike.

Museums, musical societies, and art fairs add flavor to Louisville’s cultural menu. The Kentucky Center for the Arts, the historic Brown Theater, and the art-deco Louisville Palace Theater all offer various forms of live entertainment. If you tastes are more modern, Fourth Street Live is a unique new entertainment venue.

Outdoor recreation is plentiful. There are 140 public parks, 9 public golf courses, 226 public tennis courts, 13 outdoor and 2 indoor public swimming pools, as well as biking and jogging routes in, and around, the city. Frederick Law Olmstead, he father of American landscape architecture and the designer of New York City’s Central Park, designed three of Louisville’s major urban parks and their connecting parkways,

Sports fans have lots to choose from in Louisville. Papa John’s Cardinal Football Stadium is home to the nationally ranked UofL football team – 2013 Sugar Bowl Champions. You may have heard that Kentuckians are fanatical about basketball? Coach Rick Pitino’s Cardinal Basketball team was the 2013 NCAA Basketball Champion and play games in front of a packed crowd at The KFC Yum! Center, a $238 million, 22,500-seat basketball and multipurpose arena. Louisville Slugger Field, home to the minor-league Louisville Bats, is a beautiful facility with great ballpark food. The move to the ACC has taken place which promises outstanding competition in all sports for UofL and the city of Louisville!

Horse racing at the world famous Churchill Downs is a major community focus. The most exciting 2 minutes in sports, the Kentucky Derby, takes place on the 1st Saturday of May. Derby is preceded by the 2-week long Kentucky Derby Festival, which includes an enormous firework and air show, a hot-air balloon race, the steamboat race, the Pegasus Parade, and much more.

The Louisville Zoo is open year-round and features special interpretive programs. In addition to its regular exhibits, the Gorilla Forest is a must see.

Children and spouses will find excellent educational opportunities in Louisville. There are 14 colleges and universities, including UofL. Jefferson County Public Schools offer a variety of elementary, middle and high school programs ranging from traditional and technical programs to a Youth Performing Arts School. The Math, Science and Technology programs have gained national recognition. In addition, parochial and private schools have flourished in Louisville for many years.

And finally…the medical facilities in Louisville are unsurpassed in the region and are a great source of pride to the city. Louisville and its medical community are always eager to welcome the brightest, most promising young talent to the UofL Colorectal Surgery Fellowship Program. We invite you to share in the excitement of living and working here.