Overview of Training for Individual Specialties
ENDOCRINE SURGERY
Endocrine Surgery is involved with the evaluation and treatment of patients with diseases of the thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal glands and endocrine pancreas. We perform minimally invasive parathyroidectomies with intraoperative PTH assays, and laparoscopic adrenalectomies. Research studies include molecular genetic studies of thyroid cancer and familial thyroid cancer.
Endocrine patients are seen in the Center for Digestive Diseases by a team which is composed of endocrine faculty members, a senior resident, a middle level resident, and a junior resident, as well as junior and senior medical students. The team is involved in the preoperative evaluation and postoperative care of the patient including short- and long-term follow-up.
Residents and students will learn the clinical presentation, biochemical characterization, and localization techniques of endocrine diseases including nuclear medicine scans, CT, MRI, visceral angiography, ultrasonic and intraoperative sonography, and fine-needle aspiration biopsy for cytology of the thyroid. PET scanning is also being introduced in evaluation of patients with endocrine tumors. There are no fellows on the service and the senior resident's endocrine operative experience is focused on this two-month rotation. This service treats approximately 100 patients a year.
Research interests are in the localization of endocrine tumors and the molecular biology of hereditary endocrine tumors. These clinical, educational, and research functions are integrated to provide the surgical residents and medical students an in-depth look at the biology and clinical management of endocrine disorders of hyperfunction as well as neoplasia.
Endocrine Surgery Staff
- James R. Howe V, MD – Director, james-howe@uiowa.edu
- Geeta Lal, MD, geeta-lal@uiowa.edu
- Ronald J. Weigel, MD, PhD, ronald-weigel@uiowa.edu