Cleft & Craniofacial Surgery Fellowship

Objective:

The Cleft & Craniofacial Fellowship is a fully-accredited CODA comprehensive one-year fellowship encompassing the full spectrum of Cleft & Craniofacial Surgery with interdisciplinary comprehensive work-up, treatment planning, and post-operative care.

Clinical focus includes:

• Cleft Lip & Palate Repair
• Craniofacial Syndrome Management
• Velopharyngeal Insufficiency Repair
• Vascular Tumor/Malformation Surgery
• Craniosynostosis Repair
• Management of the Pediatric Airway

Fellowship training in this program is under Dr. G. E. Ghali. Dr. Ghali is a well-respected and accomplished Oral & Maxillofacial surgeon with expertise in all aspects of head & neck surgery and microvascular reconstruction, as well as cleft & craniofacial surgery. Training is conducted at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center – Shreveport, Shriners Hospitals for Children in Shreveport, and the various Willis-Knighton Health System facilities. Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center – Shreveport is a tertiary hospital with approximately 430 beds, and the Willis-Knighton Health System is a tertiary health care system with multiple hospital locations. Both locations are equipped with 24-hour staffed pediatric intensive care units, as well as trained pediatric anesthesia staff.

With the newly established partnership with Shriners Hospitals for Children, the patient accruement area includes all of Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas, and Oklahoma. Approximately 350 cleft and craniofacial-related patient visits are recorded each year. All patients are presented prospectively and retrospectively at the monthly multidisciplinary cleft team meetings to obtain a consensus opinion on treatment.

On completion of their fellowship training, the fellows will have developed a comprehensive understanding of the diagnosis and management of patients with the full spectrum of cleft and craniofacial abnormalities. The fellows will be an integral part of the Ark-La-Tex Craniofacial & Cleft Center, being involved in the care of all patients treated at the center. Fellows are expected to be involved not only in the surgical treatment of these patients, but in their daily and long-term management as well.