Welcome to the McMaster University Department of Surgery.

As Academic Chair, I am pleased to report that the Department has just completed another fulfilling and productive year.

Once again, our post graduate trainees did exceedingly well on the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada examinations. We are very proud of our success rate in these onerous examinations and I believe this speaks very highly of our commitment to a high quality post-graduate surgical training program. All of the Department's residency programs have received full accreditation by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons. Over the past five years, our post-graduate training programs have grown in number from 4 to 11 including new programs in Pediatric General Surgery, Cardiac Surgery, Thoracic Surgery, Neurosurgery, Urology, Otolaryngology Head and Neck, and Ophthamology.

The first urology residents started in July 2003 and the first Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery residents began in July 2004. The postgraduate training program in Ophthalmology accepted its first residents in July 2005.

I am pleased to announce that the Department has its first Canada Research Chair. Dr. Mohit Bhandari, who joined the Division of Orthopaedic Surgery in October 2004, holds a Canada Research Chair in Musculoskeletal Trauma and Surgical Outcomes. Dr. Bhandari also holds an associate appointment in the Department of Clinical Epidemiology. The establishment of this Canada Research Chair will facilitate the development of a comprehensive clinical research program in trauma drawing on both Dr. Bhandari's own research experience and that of his collaborators within McMaster University and internationally.

It is also very exciting that a number of faculty members have recently taken on new leadership positions within the University and area hospitals. After 5 years as postgraduate program director for General Surgery, Dr. Mark Walton has accepted an appointment as Assistant Dean of the Postgraduate Medical Education Program. In addition to his role as Surgical Clerkship Director, Dr. Peter Fitzgerald has taken on new responsibilities as Clerkship Chair for the Michael DeGroote School of Medicine.

I am also very encouraged by the number of surgeons who have recently played key roles in developing new collaborations between the Department of Surgery and other University Departments or national/international organizations. Dr. Devin Peterson has been instrumental in the establishment of the McMaster University Sports Injury Clinic. The multidisciplinary nature of the clinic will allow comprehensive management of musculoskeletal injuries and orthopaedic conditions while encouraging excellence in education and research. Dr. Anthony Adili holds an Associate appointment in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and is also Assistant Director of the newly proposed School of BioMedical Engineering . Dr. Mehran Anvari has been a driving force behind the NEEMO 7 Project – a joint venture including, to name a few, the Centre for Minimal Access Surgery, the Canadian Space Agency and NASA. The NEEMO 7 mission investigated the role of telementoring and telesurgery in providing emergency medical and surgical care to patients in remote environments.

Funding support for the Department of Surgery continues to grow. The creation of the Johnson & Johnson Chair in Minimally Invasive Surgery and Surgical Innovation held by Dr Mehran Anvari, the GMAC/Mortgage Intelligence Chair in Thoracic Surgery held by Dr John Miller and the Braley Gordon Chair in Urology held by Dr Paul Whelan brings the total number of endowed chairs in the Department to four. We have also received a one million dollar endowment held by the St. Joseph's Healthcare Foundation to support the Juravinski professorship in Thoracic Surgery.This is currently held by Dr Tom Kirby A further one million dollars also from Charles and Margaret Juravinski, held by the Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation, will fund one year of post-fellowship training or in-program training for a surgical resident who would bring the skills acquired back to the McMaster Community.

Looking forward to the coming year the Department will strive to further increase its academic profile and increase as well the number and value of endowments held on behalf of our surgical faculty. We have made great progress in the last year with, I am convinced, better yet to come.

Sincerely,

William L. Orovan, MD
Professor and Chair, Department of Surgery

Contact Us

Office of the Chair
Dr. William Orovan
St. Joseph’s Healthcare
G838-50 Charlton Ave. East
Hamilton, ON  L8N 4A6
 
Phone: 905-540-6515
Fax: 905-529-3383
mccoolm@mcmaster.ca