Craniofacial Surgery Fellowship

Clinical Experience

Graduates of the program will have been exposed to diagnosing and peri-operative care of a large clinical volume of both pediatric and adult congenital and acquired craniomaxillofacial abnormalities. The goal of the program is to train individuals to be competent in all aspects of surgery of the craniofacial skeleton. The fellowship experience is approximately 80% pediatric and 20% adult.

Clinical activity is on a supervised basis only, there is no independent patient responsibility. Candidates for the fellowship must be eligible for a full Washington state license and will have faculty privileges at both Seattle Children’s Hospital and Harborview Medical Center.

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Training Sites

The program is based at the Craniofacial Center at Seattle Children’s Hospital, the pediatric tertiary care center for the Northwest region. Adult craniomaxillofacial experience, both acquired and congenital, is treated at Harborview Medical Center, a nationally recognized level I trauma center.

Seattle Children's Hospital

Seattle Children’s Hospital is the top-ranked pediatric hospital in Washington and in the Pacific Northwest and among the top 3 pediatric hospitals in the Pacific Region, which includes Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington (U.S. News & World Report). For more than 100 years, Seattle Children’s Hospital has specialized in meeting the unique physical, emotional and developmental needs of children from infancy through young adulthood. Through the collaboration of physicians in nearly 60 pediatric subspecialties, we provide inpatient, outpatient, diagnostic, surgical, rehabilitative, behavioral, emergency and outreach services – regardless of a family’s ability to pay.

Harborview Medical Center

Harborview Medical Center is a comprehensive healthcare facility dedicated to providing specialized care for a broad spectrum of patients from throughout the Pacific Northwest, including the most vulnerable residents of King County. As the only designated Level I adult and pediatric trauma and verified burn center in the state of Washington, Harborview serves as the regional trauma and burn referral center for Alaska, Montana and Idaho and the disaster preparedness and disaster control hospital for Seattle and King County.

Teaching Staff

There are six full time academic Plastic and reconstructive surgeons in the Plastic Surgery department at Seattle Children’s Hospital. The team includes Drs. Craig Birgfeld, Russell Ettinger, Richard Hopper, Shane Morrison, Srinivas Susarla, and Raymond Tse. In addition, the fellow will be exposed to the experiences of the interdisciplinary team of the Craniofacial Center as well as the Vascular Anomalies program.

Didactic Components

Participants in the program participate in CME accredited national and regional craniofacial conferences. Attendance is expected at the weekly University of Washington Plastic Surgery Divisional Rounds.

As an acting instructor at the University of Washington, the fellow will be involved in the clinical supervision and teaching of medical students and plastic surgery residents. Active participation in ongoing clinical outcome studies and case series analysis is expected. Presentation of original clinical research at a national meeting is supported and expected.

Seattle is situated in the picturesque Pacific Northwest and offers proximal access to both a vibrant, culturally diverse urban center as well as the mountains and Pacific Ocean. When asked about the reasons that they love to live here, our faculty and trainees commonly cite the abundance of culture and outdoor recreation in Seattle: you can hike the majestic trails of Mount Rainier on Saturday morning and dine at a prestigious James Beard-Winning restaurant that evening.

Meet our current trainees >>

Graduates

Below is a list of program alumni and their current positions:

Dale Podolsky, BSc, BESc, MD, PhD, FRCSC
Fellow 2020-2021
Assistant Professor, University of Toronto; Cleft and Craniofacial Surgeon, The Hospital for Sick Children, Ontario

Howard Wang, MD
Fellow 2020-2021
Professor, Surgery, University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio; Attending Surgeon, UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson Cancer Center, Texas

Mert Calis, MD, PhD
Fellow 2019-2020
Associate Professor, Hacettepe University, Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Turkey

Nicole Kurnik, MD
Fellow 2019-2020
Attending Surgeon, Phoenix Children’s Hospital, Arizona

Russell Ettinger, MD
Fellow 2018-2019
Assistant Professor, University of Washington; Attending Surgeon, Division of Craniofacial & Plastic Surgery; Surgical Director, Seattle Children’s Gender Affirmation Program; Medical Director, Harborview Burn & Plastic Surgery Clinic, Washington

Chad Purnell, MD
Fellow 2018-2019
Attending Surgeon, Shriners Hospitals for Children; Attending Surgeon, University of Illinois, Illinois

Ruth Barta, MD
Fellow 2017-2018
Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota; Plastic Surgeon at private practice, Minnesota

Morgan Evans, MD, FRCSC
Fellow 2018-2019
Plastic Surgeon at private practice, Canada

Seenu Susarla, DMD, MD, MPH
Fellow 2017-2018
Assistant Professor, University of Washington; Attending Surgeon, Division of Craniofacial and Plastic Surgery; Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Seattle Children’s Hospital, Washington

Robert Knight, MBBCH, MRCS, MD, FRACS (Plastics)
Fellow 2017-2018
Faculty, Wollongong and Concord Hospitals, Australia; Plastic Surgeon at private practice, Australia

Application Process & Dates

Applications for the Craniofacial Surgery Fellowship are completed via the American Society of Craniofacial Surgeons (ASCFS) universal online application. In addition to submitting the ASCFS application, all applicants must also register with SF Match.

As part of the ASCFS application, the following materials are required for your application to be considered complete:

• Current CV
• Three (3) letters of recommendation, one of which must be from your Plastic Surgery Program Director
• Copies of two (2) most recent Plastic Surgery In-Service Exam scores by Letter of Certification
• A recent photograph

Timeline

Application deadline: August 31st of each year for the following academic year

Interviews: Interviews are held during September and October

Selection: Final candidate selection is submitted through SF Match in November

Program Length: Program is a one-year appointment, starting July 1^st and ending June 30^th of the following year.

Number of Fellows Accepted per Year: 2, one is a National position for applicants within the United States, and the other is an International position open to those with citizenship outside of the US. The University of Washinton will sponsor a J-1 Visa for the successful applicant. Applications from individuals who require an H1-B Visa are not accepted.

Salary: The salary for this position is commensurate with institutional guidelines relative to the educational level of the individual involved.

For questions, please contact:

Natalie Robinson, Program Coordinator
Seattle Children’s Hospital
PLSFellowship@seattlechildrens.org
(206) 987-6504