The fellowship will be based at the Klinikum St. Elisabeth in Straubing Bavaria, Germany, where the candidate will be supervised by Professor Markus Walz, world expert in minimally invasive surgery. It is envisaged that the trainee would spend 3 months focusing on advanced laparoscopic surgery.
The fellowship is intended for a recently qualified general surgeon who intends to further his/her laparoscopic surgical skills. Surgeons in private practice or in a general surgical position in state or academic hospital are encouraged to apply.
The candidate will be expected to be a conscientious and impressive representative of South African surgery.
The sponsorship entails covering the costs of travel and accommodation for the duration of the Fellowship. There may be some personal costs incurred by the successful recipient.
Regular feedback will be required from both the recipient and Prof Walz to ensure continuation of funding throughout the duration of the fellowship.
SASES expects the successful candidate to provide feedback on their trip in the form of a comprehensive report to be posted on the SASES webpage and a short presentation to be delivered at the next SASES congress.
Deadline: Online application only; date is on application page.
Conditions: SASES member (paid up), registered as a General Surgeon in South Africa
Must be willing to travel for a period of 2 months
Previous Clinical exposure: Laparoscopic general surgery
Requirements for submission:
- Short motivation letter and additional information that may support application
- Updated CV
- Summary of surgical and laparoscopic experience
- Names of two referees
- Letter from HOD (if applicable)
- Detailed proposal of the intended visit, including cost estimates
It may be helpful to contact a previous recipient to gather information. Contact us for their details if required.
Development of the STORZ-SASES Laparoscopic Fellowship Program
The SA-Villingen-Schwenningen Fellowship Program was initiated in 2009 during the visit of Dr Markus Walz (Specialist Endoscopic Surgeon) from Villingen-Schwenningen, as a Karl Storz guest at the Colorectal Symposium in 2009. Various trainees and young surgeons from all over the country had the opportunity to meet him and it became clear that there is a great need in the Academic sector for training in Laparoscopic Surgery.
Dr Sybil Storz (Owner of Karl Storz Endoscopy, Tuttlingen, Germany) was approached by Karl Storz Endoscopy SA and an agreement was made between Karl Storz Germany and Dr Markus Walz to run a continuous Laparoscopic Training Program for young South African surgeons. The first two surgeons visited Dr Walz in 2010/2011 for Advanced Laparoscopic training at his hospital in Villingen-Schwenningen, in the south of Germany. Dr Walz is now the Head of the Department of Surgery at “St. Elisabeth Straubing Klinik”, Bavaria, Germany, where the training program is currently hosted. SASES and Karl Storz Endoscopy came together in 2011, as both organizations share the same goal of developing Laparoscopic General Surgery in South Africa.
During discussion between the SASES EXCO, Karl Storz Endoscopy SA Management and Dr Sybil Storz, a formal agreement was undertaken to change the original SA-Villingen-Schwenningen Fellowship Program to the STORZ-SASES Laparoscopic Fellowship Program, as of 2011.
Dr Sybil Storz graciously agreed to co-sponsor this initiative.
The fellowship is open to all surgeons who are looking to improve and develop their laparoscopic skills. The successful applicant will spend 2 months in Dr Walz’s unit where they will be exposed to a variety of advanced surgical techniques.