| Fellowship Director & Co-Director | Katie M. Van Abel M.D. Kendall K. Tasche M.D. |
| Administrators | Veronica Little |
| Address | 200 First Street SW Rochester, MN 55905 |
Program Description
| Number of AHNS accredited Fellowship positions | 1 |
| Fellowship Duration / Type | 1 year / clinical |
| Fellowship Faculty: | Katie M. Van Abel, M.D. Kendall K. Tasche, M.D. Eric J. Moore, M.D. Daniel L. Price, M.D. Linda X. Yin, M.D. |
| Overview: The Head and Neck Oncology and Reconstructive Surgery (HNORS) Fellowship at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, aims to provide exemplary training in all aspects of surgical oncology including diagnostic, ablative, and reconstructive surgical care and surveillance of head and neck cancer patients. These primary pursuits are reinforced by teaching activities and training in clinical research to support the development of proficient surgeons, educators, and researchers who will contribute significantly to the future of the specialty and serve as ambassadors of the field. |
| Objectives: Upon completion of the Head and Neck Oncology and Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, the trainee will be able to competently and independently perform pre-intervention evaluation, intervention, and postintervention care for head and neck cancer patients; demonstrate excellent interpersonal and communication skills both with patients and families as well as with colleagues and teammates; and understand the various HNORS surgical practice models and the strengths and limitations of each of the various models. |
| Strengths: The Mayo Clinic head and neck surgery group has a robust interdisciplinary practice that includes five head and neck surgeons with an excellent working relationship with numerous other surgical departments. This includes neurosurgery (skull base, neurogenic/vascular tumors), thoracic surgery (thyroid, tracheal resections), vascular surgery (vascular tumors), oculoplastic surgery (periorbital tumors), and dermatology (post-Mohs reconstruction, sentinel node biopsies). In addition, the head and neck surgeons work closely with other subspecialties within the department, including neurotology, rhinology/skull base, pediatrics, laryngology, and facial plastics. Besides physically working together in the operating room, there are weekly multidisciplinary tumor boards where consultants discuss individual case management and weekly multidisciplinary oropharynx and oral cavity cancer and reconstructive clinics. Fellowship training takes place in a high-volume quaternary health care facility and encompasses but is not limited to advanced head and neck cancer ablative surgery, reconstructive surgery, microvascular surgery, transoral robotic surgery (TORS), and virtual surgical planning. A state-of-the-art, newly renovated head and neck dissection laboratory is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week via key card access. With close collaboration with the Mayo Clinic Rhoton Anatomy lab, there is an opportunity to work with PhD Anatomists in state-of-the-art facilities to master the anatomy they use in the operating room. Fellows are given the opportunity to attend a microvascular rat lab and both regional and national microvascular and TORS courses. In addition to clinical experience, fellows have the opportunity to participate in clinical research, teaching and mentoring, community outreach, and regional and national scientific conferences. The fellow has access to extensive research resources available at Mayo Clinic, including a 560 square foot laboratory. The laboratory includes space for cell culture, cell isolation, immunochemistry, and microscopy. Additionally, Mayo Clinic maintains multiple core laboratories and services, including metabolomics, microscopy, mass and flow cytometry, image scanning, and biostatics.. |
| Eligibility: Applicants for the Head and Neck Oncology and Reconstructive Surgery program must have completed an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) residency of program in otolaryngology, general surgery, or plastic surgery and documentation of completion or fulfillment of the requirements necessary to sit for the certification examination in one of these specialties by the respective American Board or Canadian counterpart of the Royal College of Surgeons. |
| Duties and Responsibilities of Fellows: The fellow is a fully invested member of the clinical team during the fellowship year. The fellow is assigned to a supervising head and neck faculty for a quintile rotating with each of the five head and neck faculty members per year. During each quintile, the fellow participates in a full day of clinic with each faculty member. During clinic, the fellow will evaluate and examine patients as well as develop treatment plans under the auspices of their assigned faculty member during that quintile. At multidisciplinary clinics (Oropharynx, Oral Cavity), the fellow will present and review patients with the group, as well as help coordinate care for their patients among specialties. A typical week will be one day in clinic and four operative days. Participation in multidisciplinary conferences and courses throughout the academic year, including the weekly tumor board, multidisciplinary Oropharynx Cancer (OPX) Clinic, Oral Cavity and Reconstruction (OCCR) Clinic, and the annual head and neck dissection course. They also attend the quarterly Journal Club hosted by the assigned primary faculty for each quarter and attended by residents and research fellows. There is an opportunity to rotate through departments associated with the multidisciplinary care of head and neck cancer patients in each quarter for one or two days. In addition to gaining exposure, this allows greater insight into the complete care of head and neck cancer patients and helps to develop cross disciplinary relationships. |
| Research Opportunities: The program guides the fellow in initiation and completion of at least one primary research project. The fellow also participates in larger ongoing projects throughout the year-long fellowship, culminating in presentation(s) at regional, national, and international meetings, and submissions of manuscripts for peer-reviewed publication. The program partners with the following divisions and groups for support of the fellow: -Biomedical Statistics and Informatics – statistical services -Biomedical and Scientific Visualization – illustration services -Media Support Services – professional videography services -Mayo Clinic Anatomy Laboratory and Skull Base Dissection Laboratory – anatomical studies |
| Supervision, Teaching and Call: To ensure that fellows acquire adequate knowledge and develop the appropriate technical skills to meet program expectations, performance is monitored carefully during the Head and Neck Oncologic and Reconstructive Fellowship. Fellows are formally evaluated by supervising faculty members, residents, and allied health on a regular basis and have quarterly meetings with the program director to review these evaluations. In addition, fellows regularly evaluate the faculty to confirm that their educational needs are being met. Fellows function as a junior faculty member in clinic and the OR for training and teaching residents. They teach and lead junior residents through straightforward head and neck cases (for example, neck dissections, parotids, thyroids, etc.). Fellows participate as an instructor, under faculty guidance, in the junior resident anatomy series, where first- and second-year residents spend a day in the lab for one to two hours in the afternoon to review basic head and neck surgical procedures and will also participate in the yearly didactic lecture series educating residents in head and neck surgery. Fellows are not expected to take call; however, in some cases may participate in clinical or surgical care after routine clinical hours in order to maximize educational opportunities (for example, flap complications, TORS bleeds, etc.). In addition, the fellow may cover call responsibilities during resident in service training examinations and during the final week of residency training. |
| Fellows; Zachary M. Huttinger, M.D., Ph.D. (Incoming Fellow 2025-2026) |