General Surgery Residency Curriculum

Edward Levine, MD FACS
Division Chief

Surgical Oncology is a key component of the Comprehensive Cancer Center. It is extensively involved in multimodality consultations for the care of patients with melanoma, sarcoma, endocrine tumors and diseases of the breast, as well as the full spectrum of gastrointestinal malignancy from esophagus to anus. The service is very busy, with approximately 1,500 major operative cases and more than 8,000 outpatient visits per year.

Thomas Pranikoff, MD, FACS
Division Chief

Gregory Waters, MD, FACS
Division Chief

The colon and rectal surgeons at Wake Forest Baptist Health treat the full spectrum of diseases of the colon, rectum and anus. These include:

•  Colon, Rectal and Anal Cancer
• Hereditary Colorectal Cancer Syndromes (FAP and Lynch syndrome)
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease (Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s Disease)
• Diverticular Disease
• Benign diseases of the anorectum (Hemorrhoids, anal fissures, anal fistulae, pilonidal cyst)

Faculty are fellowship-trained specialists who can provide the latest effective treatment methods. These include minimally invasive procedures (laparoscopy and robotic surgery), transanal microscopic endosurgery (TEM) and sphincter-preserving cancer surgery, as well as traditional open surgery. Our surgeons are board certified by the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery.

Michael Chang, MD, FACS Associate
Chief Medical Officer
Chief Quality Officer
Director, Acute Care Surgery

Preston Miller, MD, FACS
Director, Emergency General Surgery

Jason Hoth, MD, FACS
Medical Director, Trauma

James H. Holmes, IV, MD, FACS
Director, Burn Center

R. Shayn Martin, MD, FACS
Executive Director, Adult Critical Care

Four services are included within Acute Care Surgery:

1. Burn
2. Trauma
3. Emergency General Surgery
4. Critical Care Surgery.

The Medical Center first received the designation as a Level I Trauma Center by the State of North Carolina in 1982, and this distinction has been recently renewed by the State Emergency Medical Services Advisory Committee for the maximum four-year period. In 2001, the American College of Surgeons conducted a site visit and verified the Medical Center as a Level I Adult and Pediatric Trauma Center. Wake Forest Baptist was the first trauma center in North Carolina with the pediatric distinction. A Level I Trauma Center is a regional resource center that has the capacity of providing leadership and total care for every aspect of injury from prevention through rehabilitation.

The Burn Center is the oldest in the Carolinas and has been verified by the American Burn Association as an Adult and Pediatric Burn Center. One of only 67 verified centers in the nation, the Burn Center is internationally recognized and leads the U.S. in minimally invasive burn care.

Adolfo “Fuzz” Fernandez, MD, FACS
Division Chief

Matthew Edwards, MD, FACS
Division Chief

Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center offers a state-of-the art program for managing every aspect of vascular disease—defined as disorders of arteries, veins and lymph vessels outside of the heart and brain. Few centers in the nation provide such breadth of expertise and services under one umbrella, dedicated entirely to patient care, education and research in vascular diseases.

Our faculty is unique in the region, combining board-certified, fellowship-trained specialists from both vascular surgery and vascular medicine in one program. Our physicians have more than 60 years of combined experience caring for patients with vascular diseases and in training the next generation of vascular specialists. Our nurses, technicians and administrative staff are committed to facilitating assessment and care through our clinics and diagnostic services as well as in-hospital services for diagnosis, treatment and research.

For patients, this translates into a comprehensive evaluation culminating in an integrated care plan including medical therapies with minimally invasive endovascular procedures or traditional open surgery when indicated, for the broad spectrum of vascular diseases.

Robert Stratta, MD, FACS
Division Chief

Wake Forest Baptist transplantation services are unique in the region and encompass kidney, pancreas, heart, corneal and marrow transplants. We are the largest adult and pediatric kidney/kidney-pancreas center in North Carolina and are among the top 30 most active kidney and kidney/pancreas transplant centers in the country. Highlights of our transplant program:

• 130–150 adult deceased donor kidney transplants per year
• 25–30 living donor kidney transplants per year
• 10–15 pancreas transplants; 4–8 pediatric transplants/year
• Average of 1 transplant every other day
• Average daily hospital census of 5–15 patients
• 50 dialysis access procedures per year