Abdominal Transplant Fellowship

The University of Washington Abdominal Transplant Surgery Fellowship is a two-year fellowship accredited by the American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS). We match one fellowship position per year, with certification in liver and kidney transplantation. Throughout the fellowship, fellows gain experience in:

Operative techniques of deceased donor liver, kidney, and pancreas transplantation
Operative techniques of living donor liver and kidney transplantation
Deceased donor organ procurement (with a 20-30% rate of donation after circulatory death)
Living donor hepatectomy and nephrectomy
Running the inpatient transplant service
Management and evaluation of transplant patients in the outpatient setting, including recipient and donor evaluations, post-operative management of the transplant patient and immunosuppression

Sites of Practice

The main site of practice is the University of Washington, but fellows are also involved with the care of patients at Seattle Children’s Hospital and Virginia Mason Medical Center.

Research

In addition to clinical training, fellows have the opportunity to be involved with ongoing clinical research. Research is performed with the assistance of faculty mentorship and statistical support. Additionally, fellows may be provided financial support to travel to meetings. Examples of conferences fellows have presented at in the past include:

American Transplant Congress (ATC)
ASTS Winter Symposium
Controversies in Transplantation
International Liver Transplantation Society Annual Congress
International Pediatric Transplant Association Meeting

Operative Experience

Our program aims to develop transplant surgeons who graduate with proficiency in all aspects of liver and kidney transplantation including pre- and post-operative management of the transplant patient, and operative independence.

	2015	2016	2017	2018
University of Washington
Liver Transplants	90	80	86	90
Kidney Transplants	107	136	160	198
Pancreas Transplants	10	6	6	6
Living Donor Nephrectomy	25	34	38	38
Living Donor Hepatectomy	1	2	4	1
Seattle Children’s Hospital
Pediatric Liver Transplants	15	15	11	16
Pediatric Kidney Transplants	17	17	22	21
Virginia Mason Medical Center
VM Pancreas Transplants	8	5	3	7
VM Donor Nephrectomies	20	22	17	30
LifeCenter Northwest
Brain Dead Donors	150	53	72	73
DCD Donors	50	162	174	198
Total Donors	200	215	246	271

Application Process

Applications for the Abdominal Transplant Surgery Fellowship must be submitted through the SF Match. Please ensure you register with the SF Match and submit your application via their website.

Required Application Components Include:

Complete Central Application Service (CAS) Form
Current curriculum vitae
3 letters of recommendation from:
- Chair or Director of your residency program (1)
- Faculty or professional staff of your program or hospitals in which you have worked (2)
Personal statement (two pages maximum)
Recent photo

For information regarding the timeline of the recruitment process, please visit the SF Match website.

A preferred application submission date and interview dates will be posted on the program’s SF Match profile.

Application information for foreign medical graduates (non-U.S./Canadian)

We consider graduates of foreign medical schools on a case-by-case basis. In addition to the above requirements, you must also provide proof of:

ECFMG certification
Successful completion of USMLE Steps 1, 2 (CK & CS), and 3
Two years clinical practice post completion of residency

Current Fellows

Former Fellows and Positions After Fellowship

Kathryn Shaw, MD
Fellow 2017-2019
Kidney Transplant Surgeon
Memorial Helathcare System, Hollywood, FL

Catherine Kling, MD MPH
Fellow 2016-2018
Assistant Professor of Surgery, Division of Transplant Surgery
University of Washington

Amir Azar, MD
Fellow 2015-2017
Advanced Minimally Invasive HPB Surgery Fellowship
Asan Medical Center, Korea

Terra Pearson, MD
Fellow 2014-2016
Assistant Professor of Surgery, Division of Transplant Surgery
Medical College of Wisconsin

Imran Javed, MBBS
Fellow 2013-2015
Surgical Organ Recovery Specialist
LifeCenter Northwest, Seattle, WA

Martin Montenovo, MD
Fellow 2012-2014
Director Living Donor Liver Transplant Program
Associate Professor of Surgery, Division of Hepatobiliary Surgery & Liver Transplantation
Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Jared Brandenberger, MD
Fellow 2011-2013
Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Surgeon
Virginia Mason Medical Center

Alex Cantafio, MD
Fellow 2010-2012
Assistant Professor, Division of Transplant Surgery
University of Tennessee Medical Center

George Rofaiel, MBBCh
Fellow 2009-2011
Assistant Professor, Transplant and Advanced Hepatobiliary Surgery
University of Utah

Publications by Recent Fellows

Kathryn W. Shaw (2017 – 2019)

Shaw KW, Dick AAS. (2019). Hyponatremia. In: Clinical Algorithms in General Surgery, Editors Docima S Jr and Pauli EM. Springer International Publishing. p757-760.
Shaw KW, Dick AAS. (2019). Hypernatremia. In: Clinical Algorithms in General Surgery, Editors Docima S Jr and Pauli EM. Springer International Publishing. p761-764.
Shaw KW, Dick AAS. (2019). Hypokalemia. In: Clinical Algorithms in General Surgery, Editors Docima S Jr and Pauli EM. Springer International Publishing. p765-766.
Shaw KW, Dick AAS. (2019). Hyperkalemia. In: Clinical Algorithms in General Surgery, Editors Docima S Jr and Pauli EM. Springer International Publishing. p767-769.

Catherine Kling (2016-2018)

Bonatti H, Iqbal N, Kling CE, Melvin W, Broome JT. Protracted hypocalcemia following 3.5 parathyroidectomy in a kidney pancreas recipient with a history of robotic assisted Roux en Y gastric bypass. Case Reports in Transplantation. 2018; [accepted]
Kling CE, Perkins JD, Johnson CK, Blosser CD, Leca N, Sibulesky L. Utilization of Standard Criteria Donor and Expanded Criteria Donor Kidneys After Kidney Allocation System Implementation. Ann Transplant. 2018; [accepted]
Kling CE, Perkins JD, Reyes JD, Montenovo MI. Living donation versus donation after circulatory death liver transplantation for low MELD recipients. Liver Transplantation. 2018; [accepted]
Sibulesky L, Kling C, Blosser C, Johnson C, Limaye A, Bakthavatsalam R, Leca N, Perkins J. Are we underestimating the quality of aviremic Hepatitis C positive kidneys? Time to reconsider. Am J Transplant. 2018; [accepted]
Kling CE, Perkins JD, Carithers RL, Donovan DM, Sibulesky L. Recent trends in liver transplantation for alcoholic liver disease in the United States. World J Hepatol. 9(36):1315-1321.
Kling CE, Limaye AP, Landis CS, Sibulesky L. Expanding access to transplantation with hepatitis C-positive donors: A new perspective on an old issue. Clin Transplant. 2017;31(2):e12884.
Sibulesky L, Kling CE, Limaye AP, Johnson C. Is KDPI valid for Hepatitis C aviremic kidneys? Ann Transplant. 2017;22:663-664.
Kling CE, Perkins JD, Landis CS, Limaye AP, Sibulesky L. Utilization of Organs From Donors According to Hepatitis C Antibody and Nucleic Acid Testing Status: Time for Change. Am J Transplant. 2017;17(11):2863-2868
Kling CE, Limaye AP, Sibulesky L. Changing landscape of hepatitis C virus-positive donors. World J Hepatol 2017; 9(20): 905-906.

Amir Azar (2015-2017)

Program Contact Information

For questions regarding application requirements or submission, please contact:

	Andre Dick, MD MPH Program Director, Abdominal Transplant Fellowship Associate Professor, Transplant Surgery Seattle Children’s Hospital
	Catherine Kling, MD MPH Associate Program Director, Abdominal Transplant Fellowship Assistant Professor, Transplant Surgery
	Katie Nowlin Fellowship Program Coordinator txpfel@OBFUSCATEuw.edu 206-685-8644

Sites of Practice

Research

Operative Experience

Current Fellows

Peter Joseph Edpao, MD

James Hendele, MD