Department of Surgery

About the Department of Surgery

More than 75 faculty and 150 staff members in the UK Department of Surgery are committed to caring for patients, training the next generation of doctors and researchers, and seeking a better understanding of disease and injury. The UK Department of Surgery comprises six divisions and one section.

Faculty in a number of these specialties also play a role in multidisciplinary centers, which draw together faculty and staff from several departments to enhance patient care and research. For example, Surgery's Section of Transplantation, which handles kidney, liver, and pancreas transplants, and the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery play essential roles in UK Hospital's Transplant Center. In the Center for Advanced Training & Simulation (CATS), faculty who specialize in laparoscopic surgery collaborate with engineers and specialists from other disciplines to improve instruments and training techniques.

In 2009-2010, Department faculty participated in 34,570 surgical procedures in the UK Hospital. They saw many patients during emergency service and in specialty, multidisciplinary, and regional office visits. They helped train 94 third-year and 93 fourth-year medical students and graduated 12 designated surgical specialists. So far during the 2010-2011 year, Department faculty are helping train 100 third-year and 102 fourth-year medical students. In addition, some Department faculty are devoted to basic research and many carry out clinical trials to improve current methods of treatment.