Updates

Fellowships and Residencies Neurosurgical Fellowship

A top fellowship experience

The fellowship at Texas Children's Hospital is recognized by the accreditation council for Pediatric Neurosurgery fellowships, and the curriculum is designed to meet all requirements for successful examination and certification by the American Board of Pediatric Neurological Surgery. The fellow has clinical instructor status and attending surgeon privileges during the fellowship year. This arrangement provides a key step in transitioning to practice while gaining unparalleled subspecialty training in pediatric neurosurgery.

Annual surgical case volume ranges from 1054 to 1354 last 5 years.

Texas Children's Hospital is a level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center for the region with over 900-bed pediatric hospital in Houston, Texas with 16 main operating rooms, 84 general PICU beds, 226 NICU beds. We care for patients from local, regional, national, and international referrals, with a spectrum of common to extremely rare pathologies.

The service typically consists of two Baylor College of Medicine neurosurgery residents as well as a neurosurgery resident rotator from Houston Methodist Hospital or University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. A team of seven advanced practice providers (two nurse practitioners and five physician assistant) contribute to both inpatient and outpatient care.

​The pediatric neurosurgery fellow leads the resident and APP team, and assigns operating room and clinic duties to fulfill the educational mission and for optimal healthcare delivery.

Operating rooms for pediatric neurosurgery run daily. Outpatient clinics run concurrently on all weekdays with strong advanced practice provider support. Morning Report for the service occurs every morning. Multidisciplinary conferences occur on average three days a week. Wednesday afternoons are reserved for Surgical Indications Conference as well as surgical case planning for the next week with perioperative staff and nursing coordinators.

Conference schedule

  • ​Monday 7 - 8 am (third Monday of the month): craniofacial surgery conference
  • Monday 7 - 8 am (second Monday of the month): pediatric neurovascular conference  
  • Tuesdays 7:30 - 9 am: pediatric surgical epilepsy conference
  • Wednesdays 7 - 8 am: pediatric neuro-oncology conference
  • Wednesdays 3 - 4:30 pm: surgery indications/surgical planning conference, quality assurance
  • Thursday 7:30 - 8:30 am: Fetal Care Conference
  • Fridays 7 - 8 am: Baylor or Texas Children's Hospital grand rounds

Case Mix

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We train the future of pediatric neurosurgery

Recent program graduates and their post-fellowship positions:

  • Neal Laxpati – Children's Hospital of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA
  • Jacob Lepard – Children's Hospital of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA
  • Nisha Gadgil – Texas Children's Hospital
  • Daniel Donoho – Children’s National, Washington D.C.
  • Trey McClugage – Texas Children’s Hospital
  • Vijay Ravindra – US Navy, Scripps Memorial Hospital, San Diego, CA
  • Jason Chu – Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles
  • Jeffrey Raskin - Riley Hospital for Children, Indianapolis, IN
  • Guillermo Aldave – Texas Children’s Hospital
  • Daniel Hansen – Cook Children’s Hospital, Forth Worth, TX
  • David Gonda – Rady Children’s Hospital, San Diego, CA
  • Christina Sayama – Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, OR
  • Sudhakar Vadivelu – Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, OH
  • Jerome Boatey - Scott & White, Temple, TX
  • Steve Hwang – Tufts University, Boston, MA; Shriners Hospital of Philadelphia, PA
  • Daniel Fulkerson - Riley Children's Hospital, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN
  • Ernesto Coscarella - Miami, FL
  • Keyne Johnson - Orlando, FL
  • Gerald Tuite – Johns Hopkins, FL

Research opportunities

Fellows are invited to spearhead clinical research projects during their time at Texas Children's Hospital.

Exposure to strong clinical research is readily available for those interested. Texas Children's Hospital is one of the original centers of the respected Hydrocephalus Clinical Research Network, in addition to the Park Reeves study collaborative for Chiari and Syringomyelia. Texas Children's Hospital also participates in the Children’s Oncology Group and the Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium. Quality Improvement is deeply rooted in Texas Children's Hospital pediatric neurosurgery culture. Quality Improvement also enjoys unique synergy with big data analytics, with our health services research team working in the pediatric neurosurgery section.

In addition, former fellows are once and always a part of the Texas Children's Hospital family, and continue to collaborate with the Texas Children's Hospital team in multi-institutional projects to advance pediatric neurosurgical care. 

Is Texas Children's Hospital right for you? 

If you're applying to a pediatric neurosurgery fellowship now, look closely at Texas Children's Hospital. With the large volume, diverse case mix, well-funded facility, and most importantly, respected and approachable faculty, the fellowship provides one of the best clinical experiences in the world. The clinical instructor status and attending surgeon privileges during the fellowship year provide a key step in transitioning to practice. 

Those headed toward academic careers have access to great resources with a terrific residency program, productive faculty, strong research and job-search support. We are here because we love what we do. We take our educational mission seriously, and want to add great colleagues to our field. Come take a look and get to know us! 

Application Process

The deadline for fellowship applications this year through the San Francisco Match is July 31, 2024. Fellow applicants should register through the SF Match Program. Submissions should include an updated CV and three letters of recommendation. (Learn More)

Requirements for starting pediatric neurosurgery fellowship training include completion of an accredited neurosurgery residency program, and a Texas Medical Board license.

We will conduct interviews in September and October.

We aim for close communication throughout the application and interview process, so please do not hesitate to reach out. For further information or to arrange a visit, please contact our fellowship administrator at mxaguil1@texaschildrens.org

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