The IU School of Medicine Department of Surgery offers a one-year Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary (HPB) Fellowship. This transition-to-practice program provides the most robust HPB operative experience available in North America and emphasizes preoperative, operative and postoperative care—for a broad range of patients with benign and malignant HPB disorders. Trainees learn minimally invasive and robotic techniques, and multidisciplinary patient management is a key principle of the IU School of Medicine training approach.
Under the direction of Nick Zyromski, MD and Eugene Ceppa, MD, HPB fellows develop the essential knowledge and skills needed for the diagnosis, operative care and postoperative management of patients with hepato-pancreato-biliary conditions. This fellowship program is based at IU Health University Hospital in downtown Indianapolis.
Clinical Training
Throughout this program, HPB fellows perform an array of complex operative procedures, including surgery of the gallbladder and bile ducts, liver, pancreas and duodenum. Fellows support and execute preoperative preparation as well as postoperative management and follow-up for each patient—all while demonstrating maturity, superior professional judgment and interpersonal skills with patients, family members and other medical personnel.
Education Experience
In addition, fellows in the Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Fellowship program supervise PGY1, 2 and 4 residents in the day-to-day execution of the care plan; educate medical students in basic surgical diseases, surgical biology and the conduct or pre, intra and postoperative care of HPB patients; function as an educator for surgical house staff; function as an administrator of the junior and senior resident staff; and take home call.
Professional Development
Fellows in this program participate in a series of conferences each week, including the GI Surgery Conference, Pancreatic Cancer Multidisciplinary Conference, Morbidity and Mortality Conference, Grand Rounds, HPB Fellows Conference, Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) Conference, and the Liver Tumor Conference. Fellows also organize a weekly M&M report, in conjunction with PGY 4 residents; provide a formal educational forum for medical students and junior staff at least once per week; organize an HPB Journal Club every six weeks; and complete evaluation forms quarterly and for documents requested at the conclusion of each resident rotation.
For HPB Surgery Fellows who desire further training in ERCP, liver transplantation, clinical or basic science research, a second year of training can be arranged.