Neuroanesthesia Fellowship

Welcome Letter from the Director of Neuroanesthesia Dr. Claudia F. Clavijo

The Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Colorado is excited to offer a 12-month fellowship program for anesthesia residents who have completed their residency and desire specialized training in Neuroanesthesia. The goal of the Neuroanesthesiology fellowship at the University of Colorado is to provide advanced clinical training in Neuroanesthesiology including intraoperative neurophysiologic monitoring techniques, and to offer research and educational experiences that will prepare academic Neuroanesthesiologists for leading positions in this field. ​Since this is a non-ACGME fellowship, our fellows have 60/40 fellow and attending responsibilities for that year and the possibility of participating in the call system.

This clinical fellowship is based at the University of Colorado Hospital, the leading academic institution in the region and the main teaching hospital for the University of Colorado School of Medicine. The University of Colorado Hospital (UCH) is a level I trauma and stroke center with 678 beds and 6 specialized intensive care units including a dedicated neurological and neurosurgical unit. Due to the high-volume of patients that requiring advanced tertiary and quaternary care in the region, the University of Colorado Hospital has a plan for expansion of its campus in the upcoming months. University of Colorado Hospital serves a highly diverse and complex patient population and is home to world-renowned surgeons and an internationally recognized research community. 

In 2018, 18,500 surgeries were performed at UCH. Of these, 22% (4,070) were neurosurgical and spine procedures, with ~1,500 cases requiring intraoperative neurophysiologic monitoring supervised by the neuroanesthesia group. The neuroanesthesia group has 8 faculty, each of them with expertise in various clinical and research areas. All team members are also certified to provide direct supervision to Intraoperative neuromonitoring.

Our fellows receive advance training in the perioperative and anesthesia management of scheduled and emergent patients presenting for a variety of neurosurgical procedures and complex spine surgeries including:

• Functional awake and asleep neurosurgery for the management of Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy and obsessive compulsive disorder
• Trans-sphenoidal resection of pituitary tumors, endoscopic or microscopic approach
• Resection of skull base tumors
• Resection of supra and infra-tentorial tumors
• Neurovascular surgery including cerebral aneurism, arterio-venous malformations, and carotid endarterectomy
• Endovascular neurosurgical procedures including cerebral aneurysms, arterio-venous malformations, and embolization of spinal cord tumors
• Complex multilevel spine surgery including scoliosis, osteoarthritis, trauma and tumors
• Intra-procedural management of stroke alert patients presenting for endovascular therapies

Our fellows also have the opportunity to do external rotations in neurocritical care, pediatric neuroanesthesiology, interventional neuroradiology, and neurology. The high complexity and wide variety of cases in the operating room, in combination with these external rotations, guarantees a well-rounded training in neuroanesthesiology. As well, numerous educational opportunities exist within the Department of Anesthsiology. Many of the neuroanesthesia faculty are active in the areas of clinical research, quality improvement, resident and fellow educational initiatives.

The University of Colorado offers a comprehensive, advanced and high quality training in neuroanesthesiology. The University of Colorado Hospital, where this clinical fellowship is based, provides state of the art facilities and technology that allows fellows to obtain a robust and broad-based education in neuroanesthesiology. At the conclusion of their training, fellows will be prepared to manage neurosurgical and spine cases with the highest standards and to harness the latest advances in technology.

Sincerely,

Claudia F. Clavijo, MD
Associate Professor
Program Director
Department of Anesthesiology
University of Colorado School of Medicine
CLAUDIA.CLAVIJO@CUANSCHUTZ.EDU