Head and Neck Oncology and Microvascular Surgery

The Head and Neck Oncology-Microvascular Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship Program at The Mount Sinai Health System offers a 12-month comprehensive experience in the management and reconstruction of patients with malignant and advanced benign disease. This concentrated experience covers all aspects of surgical care including diagnosis, treatment planning, ablative and reconstructive surgery and post-operative surveillance. In addition, the faculty offer fellows exposure to active programs in tracheal and parathyroid transplantation, as well as transoral robotic microvascular free flap reconstruction.

The Surgical Experience 

The Head and Neck Fellow participates in all major head and neck surgical cases, including head and neck ablative surgery, microvascular reconstruction, transoral oral robotic surgery, endocrine surgery, skull base surgery, and airway surgery.

The fellowship experience is divided between two sites. Fellow spend 6 months at The Mount Sinai Hospital and 6 months at Mount Sinai West. At both sites, fellows staff the Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Oncology Clinic one half day per week where they evaluate and manage head and neck oncology patients. Operative cases generated from the clinic are performed by the fellow with supervision from division faculty.

The Scope of Surgical Experience:

• Full scope ablative head and neck oncologic surgery including mucosal disease, paranasal-skull base surgery, salivary tumors, sialendoscopy, and cutaneous malignancies
• Reconstructive surgery including local, regional, and free tissue transfer for complex ablative defects of the head and neck 
• Transoral robotic and laser surgery for head and neck malignancies including oropharyngeal, tongue, and larynx 
• Extensive endocrine experience including management of thyroid and parathyroid malignancies 
• Management of advanced benign lesions of the head and neck including salivary and neurogenic tumors
• Comprehensive surgical management for functional enhancement of the head and neck oncology patient, including airway reconstruction, voice restoration, and facial nerve reanimation 

Call Responsibilities

Call responsibilities include 1 day per week of daytime consult coverage at The Mount Sinai Hospital or Mount Sinai West and 4-5 weeks of weekday evening and weekend call at Elmhurst Hospital Center per year.

The Educational Program

Fellows participate in and present at a variety of conferences including the multidisciplinary tumor board, Grand Rounds, educational rounds, and research conferences. They also rotate into the medical and radiation oncology divisions to gain an appreciation for multidisciplinary care. 

Mount Sinai Hospital Schedule

Mount Sinai West Schedule

*Combined programs 

Housing

Our Real Estate Division provides housing for Fellows (in qualifying programs) at The Mount Sinai Hospital; Mount Sinai Morningside and West; and Mount Sinai Beth Israel. We are committed to providing housing that suits your professional and educational needs.

** Mount Sinai housing is lottery based. Real Estate will assess inventory yearly. Housing is not

guaranteed. Please note specific open dates and deadlines for newly hired Clinical Fellows to submit a housing application will be provided via an e-mail from the Office of Graduate Medical Education (GME).

Information regarding housing for residents and fellows at the Mount Sinai Health System (MSHS) campuses is available on each site’s Graduate Medical Education pages.

Job Placement

Since the inception of the Head and Neck Oncology-Microvascular Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship in 1990, fellows have held leadership positions at esteemed institutions. These include The University of Washington, The University of Toronto, University of British Columbia, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, University of California Irvine, University of California San Francisco, University of California Los Angeles, University of Southern California, Case Western Reserve University, the Mount Sinai Health System, and New York University Medical Center. Several fellows have become Chairpersons and leaders of the Head and Neck Oncology Division at their institutions.

The Fellowship Program faculty are dedicated to placement of our fellows into top programs domestically and internationally. They play an active role in job placement advisement, counselling, and mentorship. Regular meetings are conducted to discuss job opportunities, contract negotiations, and building a practice. Letters of recommendation are signed and endorsed by all of the fellowship faculty members.