As a fellow of the Surgical Oncology fellowship program at Wake Forest School of Medicine, you may train in the following subspecialties.

Breast Care Center

Offering full spectrum of services to improve breast health. Services include screening and diagnostics, breast cancer treatment for both benign and malignant breast disease and prevention and survivor programs. Wake Forest Baptist was also first in the region to be granted full accreditation by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers, administered by the American College of Surgeons. We are also an accredited Breast Imaging Center of Excellence through the American College of Radiology.

Resources include

A Breast Imaging Center of Excellence incorporating mammography, ultrasound, MR and image-guided biopsy staffed by experts in breast imaging.

Multidisciplinary care. We have developed a system that streamlines breast cancer diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of our patients. In addition, our surgical oncologists and plastic surgeons work in tandem to plan and perform breast reconstructions.

Specialists who are experts at breast cancer treatment. Our physicians, who are all fellowship-trained, work collaboratively to identify the most effective treatment options for each breast cancer patient.

Personalized breast cancer treatment plans. Most patients get the opportunity to meet with multiple physicians in a single day and leave with a treatment plan in place.

Clinical trials and basic research. By combining laboratory and clinical research, we provide our patients with the latest advances in breast cancer diagnosis and treatment, including: sentinel lymph-node mapping, breast-conserving surgery, immediate breast reconstruction and radiation therapy implants.

Genetic screening is offered by the Genetic Counseling Program for a variety of cancers including breast, colorectal, ovarian and melanoma. Our genetic counselors work with us in clinic and support genotyping in appropriate patients prior to operative interventions.

Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC)

Since 1991, patients have been treated at Wake Forest Baptist with this promising and innovative therapy. Currently, there are only a handful of experienced centers and surgeons across the country. Our world-class expertise in HIPEC draws patients from all over the United States for both established treatments and clinical trials. The logic behind the procedure is that delivering antineoplastic agents into the peritoneal cavity after maximal cytoreduction has a substantial pharmacokinetic dosing advantage over even the most aggressive systemic therapies. During the procedure, the surgeon removes all visible growth from the patient’s abdomen, inserts cannulas through the abdominal wall and temporarily closes the incision. The cannulas are attached to a pump which completes a circuit that moves a heated anti-cancer drug fluid into the abdominal cavity and then back out for a constant flow. The hyperthermia improves the drug’s effectiveness, particularly in patients for whom there was previously no hope. This approach can add years of life for patients, and has led to hope and even cures of patients thought to be untreatable elsewhere.

Our team has been honored with numerous prestigious medical publications and has trained surgeons performing the procedure at other leading institutions. The Surgical Oncology Service has performed over 1,500 of these procedures, representing one of the most experienced teams worldwide.

Hepatobillary and Pancreatic Surgery (HPB)

HPB surgery consists of the general surgical treatment for benign and malignant diseases of the liver, pancreas, gallbladder and bile ducts. These are among the most challenging and complex surgical procedures performed in General Surgery and require a high degree of expertise and skill.

Wake Forest Baptist has a dedicated multidisciplinary team committed to the diagnosis and treatment of complex diseases of the liver bile duct, gallbladder and pancreas. Our team specializes in minimally invasive approaches including laparoscopic, robotic and endoscopic techniques. We are a National Pancreas Foundation-accredited center for pancreatic cancer.

Robotic Surgery

We currently have three DaVinci Robotic Surgical Systems — one Si and two Xi (one with training console) systems in the operating room. There is a dedicated robotic OR time for General Surgical Oncology and fellows are expected to receive full credentialing in robotic surgery if they have not already done so in residency.

Clinical Trials

Our Surgical Oncology research program has about 30 trials open. 

This program features:

  • Cooperative group oncology trials
  • Investigator-initiated trials
  • Database-driven retrospective trials (HIPEC, liver, breast, esophagus, melanoma and pancreas)
  • Collaborative data-sharing studies
  • Tissue procurement infrastructure
  • Quality of life/outcome trials