About Our Divisions
The Department of Surgery is comprised of the following nine Divisions.
Division of Anatomy
The Division of Anatomy consists of a core group of faculty members dedicated to meeting the educational needs of undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate students in Medicine, Dentistry, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Physical and Health Education and Arts and Science. Our educational approach includes formal lectures, demonstrations, and laboratories, both real and virtual.
The Division of Anatomy has a long tradition of textbook writing. One of the most widely used Anatomical atlases in the world, Grant’s Atlas, was written by JCB Grant when he was chair of the department. The dissections that were illustrated for the atlas are housed in Grant’s Museum at the University of Toronto.
Chair: Dr. Cindi M. Morshead
Business Officer: Jennifer Lee
Medical Sciences Building
1 King's College Circle
Room 1156
Toronto, ON M5S 1A8
Phone: (416) 978-2690
Fax: (416) 946-5629
Division of Cardiac Surgery
The Division of Cardiac Surgery is comprised of faculty based at four university affiliated teaching hospitals (Toronto General Hospital, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, St. Michael's Hospital, and The Hospital for Sick Children) and performs approximately 4050 cardiac operations annually comprising adult acquired, adult congenital, and pediatric cases.
In addition, a wide range of basic and clinical research groups are actively
studying such areas as causes of pulmonary hypertension, fetal surgery,
myocardial protection, cardiac transplantation and surgery for acquired
aortic valve disease.
Chair: Dr. Terry Yau
Administrative Assistant: Julie Wei
Toronto General Hospital, UHN
4NU-432, 200 Elizabeth Street
Toronto, ON M5G 2C4
Phone: (416) 340-4800 Ext 5275
Email: cardiac.admin@utoronto.ca
Division of General Surgery
The Division of General Surgery is comprised of 79 surgeons and 6 full time researchers. Our faculty is spread over 7 fully affiliated and 3 partially affiliated hospitals. Surgical teams in these units manage a broad range of disease expanding the spectrum from common general surgical procedures to highly complex procedures that are only done in specialized centres. Increasingly, our clinical activities, programs and initiatives are structured in a programmatic approach that spans institutions. Our mandate is to continuously contribute to improving the care of patients with surgical needs. We benefit from an enormously talented breadth of faculty that have wide ranging areas of expertise.
Chair: Dr. Sean P. Cleary
Program Manager: Faryal Mehboob-Esmail
Mount Sinai Hospital, Suite #1225
600 University Avenue
Toronto, ON
Phone: (416) 586-4800 X1558
Fax: (416) 586-8392
Division of Neurosurgery
The Division of Neurosurgery is steeped in a rich tradition of excellence and contributions to world neurosurgery. With twenty-eight full-time faculty and over thirty neurosurgical residents, the Division is the largest training program in North America. The four major teaching centres combined (St. Michael's Hospital, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, The Hospital for Sick Children and the Toronto Western Hospital) boast over 7,000 operative cases each year with over 30,000 out-patient visits - offering an unparalleled experience and training ground for residents in neurosurgery.
Chair: Dr. Gelareh Zadeh
Manager: Takyee Tung
UHN-Toronto Western Hospital
4th Floor, West Wing 4-439
399 Bathurst Street
Toronto, ON M5T 2S8
Email: takyee.tung@uhn.ca
Phone: (416) 603-5800 ext. 5679
Fax: (416) 603-5298
Division of Orthopaedics
The orthopaedic program at the University of Toronto consists of five years of clinical training following graduation from medical school in addition to one compulsory year of research training for a total of six postgraduate years of training. At the conclusion of training it is anticipated that the candidates will be successful in the fellowship examinations of the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada. In order to
meet the criteria for these examinations the residents must complete at least 36 months of orthopaedic training and one year of non-specialty training. In addition to qualify for the Medical Council of Canada qualifying examinations and licenseship provisions of various provincial colleges all candidates must satisfactorily complete a two ear internship as mandated by the Medical Council of Canada. This combination
of requirements has been met by the Orthopaedic Training Program in an innovative fashion by combining a minimum of three and a half years of orthopaedic training and one and a half years related to other surgical or non-surgical specialties relative to orthopaedic surgery.
Chair: Dr. Peter Ferguson
Program Administrator: Joanna Ascenzi
Stewart Bldg
149 College Street
5th floor
Toronto, ON
Phone: (416) 946-7957
Fax: (416) 971-2800
Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
Plastic surgery has had a long and proud history in Toronto. In 1921, Dr. E. Fulton Risdon, considered by many to be the father of Canadian plastic surgery, started practice as the city's first plastic surgeon. He continued to work at Toronto Western Hospital for 45 years. His contributions to the discipline of plastic surgery are still evident today in the areas of mandibular and craniofacial surgery.
The ensuing years saw a great deal of activity and development as plastic surgery grew into a bonafide specialty. In 1958, the Division of Plastic Surgery at the University of Toronto was established. Today, the Division incorporates the activities of 37 surgeons across all the Toronto teaching hospitals, including the University Health Network (Toronto General, Toronto Western, and Princess Margaret Hospitals), Mount Sinai Hospital, the Hospital for Sick Children, St. Michael's Wellesley Hospital, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center, the New Women's College Hospital, St. Joseph's Health Centre, and Toronto East General Hospital, providing clinical expertise in all areas of plastic surgery.
Chair: Dr. Mitchell Brown
Program Administrator: Kathy Pavlovic
The Stewart Bldg
149 College Street
5th Floor
Toronto, ON
Phone: (416) 978-8534
Fax: (416) 978-7316
Division of Thoracic Surgery
Thoracic Surgery in Toronto began as a subspecialty of General Surgery on Ward "C" of the Toronto General Hospital over 70 years ago with the pioneering efforts of Dr. Norman Shenstone and Dr. Robert Janes.
The training program in Thoracic Surgery has been a template for training programs throughout North America and the world. Ever since its inception, the Thoracic Surgical Services at the University of Toronto have fostered the concept of translational research.
Chair: Dr. Kazuhiro Yasufuku
Administrative Assistant: Emily Estaban
Toronto General Hospital
200 Elizabeth Street
Room 9NU-957
Toronto, ON M5G 2C4
Phone: (416) 340-4798
Fax: (416) 340-3478
Division of Urology
The Division consists of nineteen geographic full-time faculty and one PhD scientist, who are based in five fully affiliated University teaching hospital divisions including the University Health Network (Toronto General Hospital, Toronto Western Hospital, and Princess Margaret Hospital), Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, St. Michael's Hospital, Mount Sinai Hospital and the Hospital for Sick Children. The postgraduate training program is five years from graduation. The peer-reviewed and contract research involves approximately $1,300,000 per year with clinical and laboratory investigation.
Chair: Dr. Antonio "Tony" Finelli
Administrative Assistant: TBA
Stewart Bldg, 5th Floor
149 College Street
Toronto, ON
Phone: (416) 946-7983
Fax: (416) 978-1880
Division of Vascular Surgery
Vascular surgery was established as a separate division in the Department of Surgery at the University of Toronto in 1982. Prior to this time, vascular surgery training was obtained in the Division of Cardiovascular Surgery.
Before the formal establishment of a separate division, two teaching hospitals created separate vascular surgery services. The Wellesley Hospital Division was established in1978 and the service at the Toronto Hospital was also formed in 1978.
Clinical programs are well established in all teaching hospitals. Basic research continues to be a strong focus of the Division at the Toronto General Hospital.
Chair: Dr. Giuseppe Papia
Administrative Assistant: Michelle Paiva
Stewart Bldg, 5th Floor
149 College Street
Toronto, ON
Phone: (416) 978-7423
Fax: (416) 978-3928