• Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
    • Mission Statement
    • Bylaws
    • Committees
    • NASBS Policy
    • Contact Us
  • Industry
    • Industry General Information
    • Industry Archives
  • Meetings
    • Annual Meeting
      • Online Advance Program
    • Skull Base Surgery Virtual Workshop
    • Meetings Archive
  • Abstracts
    • 2021 Call for Abstracts
    • NASBS Poster Archives
  • Journal
  • Educational Resources
    • Member Survey Application
    • Travel Scholarships
    • Research Grants
    • Fellowship Registry
    • The Rhoton Collection
    • Webinars
      • Trials During Turnover: Webinar Series
    • Value Based Healthcare Data Collection
    • iCare Pathways Submission Form
  • Membership
    • Join NASBS
    • Membership Directory
    • NASBS Team Honor Roll
  • Log In

NASBS

North American Skull Base Society

Fellowship Information for Rhinology, Skull Base and Head & Neck Oncology Fellowship

The membership of the North American Skull Base Society (NASBS) is a tremendous resource for the training of fellows, who are the future of the development of our specialty. The society has developed a registry of skull base fellowships that are offered by the society membership.

The society recognizes that we are a diverse and multidisciplinary group comprised of several different specialties, all of whom have significant interest and focus in the management of skull base neoplasia. Likewise, the nature and character of the various fellowships will represent and reflect their differences. In addition, we recognize that there will be variation between individual fellowship experiences resulting from the differences in the preceptor’s approaches and practices.

To post a Fellowship, please go to the Fellowship Registry Entry Form. You must be a member of NASBS to add a Fellowship to the Registry.
To edit an entry, please log in under the Member credentials used to add the entry to the registry and make edits to the listing.

To apply for Fellowship training, please contact the program directly.
If you need assistance or have questions, please contact NASBS Executive Director, Paula Kupiec, at paula@nasbs.org.

Return to List

Title of FellowshipRhinology, Skull Base and Head & Neck Oncology Fellowship
Contact Name for ApplicationsIan Witterick
Fellowship Type
  • Head and Neck Oncology
  • Rhinology/Endonasal
LocationToronto, Ontario, Canada
Date Fellowship Established07/01/1999
Fellowship DirectorIan Witterick
Participating Faculty

Ian Witterick
Allan Vescan
Eric Monteiro


Fellowship Information

DurationOne year
Required Prior Training Program
  • Otolaryngology
Required Prior Training Program OtherSuccessful completion of an otolaryngology - head & neck surgery residency program
Accept Foreign Medical Graduates (outside US & Canada)Yes
Foreign Medical Graduates Eligibility Requirements

All clinical fellows require licensure by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO), the body which regulates the practice of medicine in Ontario. A key requirement for the licensure of clinical fellows by the CPSO is that the candidate must be recognized as a medical specialist in the jurisdiction where the candidate has been practicing medicine prior to the clinical fellowship.

Detailed information about basic application requirements for clinical fellows is accessible through the Post MD Education Office website at http://pg.postmd.utoronto.ca

Residency Training in US/Canada RequiredNo
USMLE
  • USMLE not required
Percentage of Fellow Workload that is Skull Base30%
Number of Fellows Accepted Per YearOne
Salaried PositionYes- contact Program Director for more information
Night and Weekend CallYes
Estimated Nights Per Month7 nights every 5 weeks
Clinical Work
Average Operative Skull Base Cases Per YearApproximately 200-250 endoscopic sinus surgery procedures/year including endoscopic and open skull base resections for benign and malignant disease. There is significant exposure to complex revision endoscopic sinus surgery, repair of CSF leaks and removal of sinonasal neoplasms. In addition, there is considerable exposure to head and neck oncologic surgery including mucosal, endocrine and salivary disease.
Open Cranial Base
AnteriorData not available
Anterolateral/InfratemporalData not available
Lateral (temporal bone)Data not availanle
PosteriorData not available
Endonasal Cranial Base
Pituitary/SellaData not available
Sagittal Plane (excluding pituitary)Data not available
Transpterygoid/ Coronal PlaneData not available
Temporal Bone
Transtemporal/ TranscochlearData not available
Middle fossaData not available
RetrosigmoidData not available
Craniofacial Anomalies/ Reconstructive
Craniofacial Anomalies/ ReconstructiveData not available
Trauma
Craniocervical
TranscervicalData not available
TransoralData not available
EndonasalData not available
Reconstruction
CranioplastyData not available
Regional, Pedicled Flap RepairData not available
Free Flap RepairData not available
Stereotactic Radiosurgery
GammaknifeData not available
CyberknifeData not available
Cerebral Vascular Surgery
CyberknifeData not available
TranscranialData not available
EndovascularData not available
Anatomical Dissection Laboratory

Yes there is a Surgical Skills Centre at Mt. Sinai Hospital where cadaveric dissection and simulation can be performed. Fellows participate in a yearly sinus course for residents.

Laboratory Research Opportunities

Yes available depending on the interest and background of the fellow.

Application Deadline04/15/2021
Decision Deadline05/01/2021
Fellowship Institution Websiteutoronto.ca
Previous Fellows

2020-21 Dr. Eran Glikson (Israel)

2019-20 Dr. Vikram Padhye (Australia)
2018-19 Dr. Peter Tomazic (Austria)
2017-18 Dr. Jay Wong (Canada)
2016-17 Dr. Ben McArdle (Australia)
2015-16 Drs. Christopher Chin (Canada), Elhamy Samak (Egypt) (Research Fellow)
2014-15 Drs. Eric Monteiro (Canada), Yazeed Alghonaim (Saudi Arabia)
2013-14 Dr. Cassiana Burtet Abreu (Brazil) (Research Fellow)
2012-13 Dr. Rataphol Chris Dhepnorrarat (Australia)
2011-12 Dr. Kristian Macdonald (Canada)
2010-12 Dr. Marcela Fandino (Columbia) (Clinical and Research Fellow)
2010-11 Dr. Victor Manuel Orostegui (Columbia) (Research Fellow)
2009-10 Drs. Eng Ooi (Australia), Majid Baniata (Jordan)
2008-09 Dr. Iman Naseri (United States).
2007-08 Dr. Arif Janjua (Canada)
2006-07 Dr. Ali Moshaver (Canada)
2005-06 Dr. Denny Lin (Canada)
2004-05 Dr. Luis Velázquez-Villaseñor (Mexico)
2003-04 Dr. Raanan Cohen-Kerem (Israel)
2002-03 Dr. Miguel Bravo (Philippines)
2001-02 Dr. Jack Kolenda (Canada)
2001-02 Dr. Tariq Tatwani (Saudi Arabia)
2000-01 Dr. Vinita Bindlish (Canada)
1999-00 Dr. Richard Gall (Canada)

Additional Features of the Fellowship

General Description:
The Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery at Sinai Health System, sees a wide variety of complex nasal and sinus problems and head and neck oncologic cases. Drs. Witterick, Vescan and Monteiro's practices include advanced rhinology, endoscopic and open anterior skull base surgery and head and neck oncologic surgery. Fellows operate at Sinai Health System, St. Joseph’s Health Centre and the University Health Network. Dr. Witterick does the majority of his endoscopic sinus surgery at St. Joseph’s Health Centre. Head and neck oncologic surgeries are performed at Mt. Sinai Hospital and endoscopic and open skull base resections are performed at the University Health Network (Toronto Western Site) in conjunction with Neurosurgery. Fellows attend a multidisciplinary head & neck oncology clinic at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and participate in Tumour Board Case Conferences and Head & Neck Oncology Rounds.
A broad range of open and endoscopic sinus operations are performed including significant exposure to endoscopic revision surgery for chronic rhinosinusitis, benign tumours (e.g. inverted papilloma, angiofibroma) and CSF leak/meningoencephalocele repairs. Experience in endoscopic resection of skull base benign and malignant neoplasms is gained (e.g., esthesioneuroblastoma, meningioma, chordoma). The fellow has significant exposure to endocrine, salivary, and ablative mucosal head & neck surgery.

Objectives of the Fellowship:
1. To gain advanced training and expertise in the diagnosis and management of:
a) common and rare nasal and sinus diseases.
b) anterior skull base neoplasms.
c) endocrine, salivary and mucosal neoplastic diseases of the head and neck.
2. To learn and carry out advanced endoscopic and open sinus surgeries.
3. To gain experience in endoscopic and open skull base resections.
4. To gain expertise in endocrine, salivary and mucosal surgery of the head and neck.
5. To complete 1 or 2 clinical research projects to be agreed upon at the start of the fellowship
and presented at a national or international scientific meeting.
6. To be actively involved in the teaching and academic development of University of Toronto
otolaryngology - head & neck surgery residents.

Fellows attend Head & Neck Oncology Rounds (Mondays 5:30-6:30 pm), Head & Neck Fellow’s Rounds (monthly, Mondays 6:30-7:30 pm), Tumour Board Case Conferences (Tuesdays 8-9 am), Sinai Health Resident Rounds (Tuesdays 4:30-5:15 pm) and University of Toronto Grand Rounds (Fridays 7:30-8:30 am).

Fellows have ample opportunity to teach medical students and residents in clinics and the operating room. Fellows also help teach in an annual resident sinus dissection course and have the opportunity to teach in other hands-on courses. The University Department has numerous visiting professor lectures and continuing professional development courses each year that fellows are encouraged to participate in.

In special circumstances, a purely research fellow has been accepted with no hands-on clinical component.

As a condition of their medical educational licensure, clinical fellows must register with the University’s Post MD Education Office. An Orientation Handbook can be downloaded from the homepage of the Post MD Education Office’s website at http://pg.postmd.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/OrientationBooklet_WEB.pdf. The Handbook contains useful information for new fellows, including a timeline for the registration process.

Committee on Advanced Subspecialty Training (CAST) AccreditedNo
How to apply

Send a letter of interest, updated curriculum vitae and the names and contact information including email addresses of three references to Dr. Witterick at the email address below. Personal interviews are recommended as this is a highly competitive fellowship.

Postgraduate training agreements are currently in place between the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine and sponsoring agencies from a number of countries, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and UAE. Applications for fellowship training from citizens of these countries must reach the Post MD Education Office directly from the sponsoring agency. For details, please consult the Post MD Education Office website at http://pg.postmd.utoronto.ca/applicants/apply-for-fellowship-training/

Copyright © 2021 North American Skull Base Society · Managed by BSC Management, Inc · Log in