THE BUNCKE CLINIC HAND AND MICROSURGICAL FELLOWSHIPS
CPMC DAVIES CAMPUS, SAN FRANCISCO

Types of Fellows:

Hand and Micosurgery Fellows:
Individuals who have completed their training in Plastic Surgery or Orthopaedic Surgery are eligible to apply for our two ACGME accredited positions. The program is affiliated with the University of California, at San Francisco. The clinical volume of the fellowship will address upper and lower extremity trauma as well as the full breadth of reconstructive microsurgery using the most advanced techniques (see Procedures Performed at the Buncke Clinic). The Hand and Microsurgery fellows will have graded responsibility for 3-6 months and will be under the proctorship and mentorship of full-time attendings of the Buncke Clinic at all times.

The twelve month fellowship begins July 1st of each year. To apply, please send letter of intent, CV, passport sized photo and three letters of recommendation (one from current chief of service) to the attention of Dr. Rudy Buntic.

Junior Clinical Fellows:
Individuals who are in the midst of training in Plastic, Orthopaedic Surgery or General Surgery may apply for this fellowship. This fellowship is not an accredited position, but junior fellows may participate it all clinic and research activities, including clinical call. Patient management and operative skills will be stressed; however, junior fellows do not operate independently nor admit patients to the hospital. The junior fellowship can be for 6 months or 12 months. This fellowship is an excellent opportunity to prepare or to be accepted into a plastic surgery training program as the volume and breadth of cases will address most of the components of a plastic and reconstructive surgery residency.

To apply, please send letter of intent, CV, passport sized photo and three letters of recommendation (one from current chief of service) to the attention of Dr. Rudy Buntic.

Research Fellows:
Research Fellows work in the Research Laboratory, make clinical rounds and attend meetings. They usually do not scrub on operations or take clinical call. However, if they have a California license to practice medicine, they may function clinically as well.

To apply, please send letter of intent and CV to the attention of Dr. Rudy Buntic.

A Unique Service:
The Microsurgery Service at CPMC Davies in San Francisco is unique in that it is one of the major services of the hospital. Most referrals come directly to the service from outlying hospital emergency rooms or private physicians. The service is staffed by plastic surgeons of considerable experience in upper extremity trauma and all forms of acute and chronic injury. The attending on call has the primary responsibility of evaluating all potential referrals and must filter these calls carefully before accepting cases. When associated injuries are suspected, general surgeons, neurosurgeons and orthopaedic surgeons are immediately notified. The team approach is used at all times. Orthopaedists scrub on all major limb replants and general surgeons are brought in in any case of multiple trauma. Neurosurgeons scrub when appropriate. We also work closely with our medical colleagues and any patient with metabolic or cardiopulmonary problems is carefully evaluated preoperatively, intra-operatively and postoperatively. As per hospital regulation, all children have a pediatrician following them.

On elective cases, free use of consultations with our colleagues in related specialties is the rule. In return, we are often called in by other services to consult concerning the management of complex problems in all regions of the body which require reconstruction (see Procedures Performed at the Buncke Clinic).

Research Component:
Research is an important part of our Fellowship and has been since its inception in 1972. Over 400 publications have been generated by this service, most of them in the fields of clinical and laboratory research in microsurgery and hand surgery. All fellows are encouraged to become involved in on-going research projects and to develop their own protocols to solve problems encountered in the operating room and in the management of complex cases. We all subscribe to the scientific method and the motto of the laboratory is: "Ideas are cheap, results are priceless."

Preliminary protocols are presented at the weekly division meeting. Suggestions and criticisms are incorporated and attendings and additional investigators if needed are assigned to each project. Final protocols are then submitted to the laboratory director and the program director, including budgets and a time-schedule.

Periodic progress reports are again presented at division meetings and discussion is encouraged. Preliminary and final results are submitted in abstract form to local and national meetings and worthwhile projects are almost always brought to some sort of publication in peer review journals.

The fellows are free to use the laboratory during the day and in the evening and can arrange for free time with their colleagues for concentrated exposure.

All funding is through the Microsurgical Transplantation Research Foundation and the Franklin Benevolent Corporation. Occasional seed grants are received from various organizations, private foundations, private sources and federal grants.

To apply for a fellowship position, send correspondence to::

Rudolf F. Buntic, MD
45 Castro Street, Suite 121
San Francisco, CA 94114