About Us
The first year of residency is devoted to the principles of patient care as they apply to general surgery. Residents rotate on the major surgical subspecialties (general surgery, surgical critical care, Trauma) with emphasis on preoperative and postoperative management and the development of differential diagnosis.
The second year of residency include a subspecialty rotation in transplantation surgery at The Cleveland Clinic Foundation. Rotations in surgical critical care, trauma and general surgery round out the academic year.
The third year of residency is divided among pediatric surgery and burns, surgical critical care and thoracic/vascular surgery. The two-month pediatric surgery/burn rotation is done at Akron Children’s Hospital.
The final two years of residency are devoted to general surgery where the resident functions at the chief resident level.
Throughout the entire five years we offer broad exposure in trauma, acute care surgery and surgical critical care. Our residents receive extensive laparoscopic experience during their residency. We are one of the regions Level I Trauma Centers as verified by the American College of Surgeons (ACS).
Our conferences and teaching rounds stress the application of basic science as it applies clinically. Our curriculum integrates anatomy, physiology and clinical pathology.
CPC/Morbidity and Mortality Conference is held weekly. Our Monday morning conference schedule includes textbook review, Surgery Grand Rounds, Vascular CPC, and Breast CCC along with a quarterly Journal Club, Mock Oral Exams, Textbook Review and Trauma Grand Rounds. Research meetings are held with the Residents along with the Surgical Research Director and Research Coordinator.
Cleveland Clinic Akron General residents, medical students and faculty have the opportunity to practice the fundamentals of minimally invasive surgery in our Surgery Skills Lab. Our program offers a robust curriculum that integrates the FLS and FES programs. All of our residents and faculty have 24/7 access to our Surgery Skills Lab. Our Surgery Skills Lab also houses a Sonosite ultrasound machine and a CentraLine Man system to practice placement of central lines.
In 2018, a GI Mentor was purchased for our Surgery Skills Lab. Hands-on learning and instruction provide an ideal opportunity for our surgical residents. In 2023, the SonoSim Ultrasound Training Solution was purchased for all of the residents.
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Welcome
A Letter from the Chair of the Department of Surgery
We have been accredited since 1942 as a surgical residency program. Our surgical faculty at Akron General Medical Center, now known as Cleveland Clinic Akron General, has been training highly competent, compassionate and talented surgeons for more than 80 years.
We serve as primary medical student teaching sites for Northeastern Ohio Medical University and Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine. Our program combines the very best of a busy community hospital with strong academic affiliations. In addition to General Surgery, our hospital supports 10 other Graduate Medical Education residency and fellowship programs and we are fully committed to their ongoing support and growth.
Our five-year training program involves a busy and diverse operative experience. By the time that our chief residents graduate, they have become skillful surgeons who are knowledgeable, experienced and confident in the operating room. Our graduates find that they are competitive in either pursuing fellowship programs of their choosing or fulfilling careers as well-trained general surgeons. Throughout residency training, they develop the skill sets and confidence levels needed to outperform.
We prioritize education over service, and our resident staff is integral in the quality of the care that our patients receive. In addition to general surgery, our teaching faculty includes many surgical sub-specialties: Acute Care, Bariatrics, Breast, Cardiac, Endocrine, Endoscopic, Hepatobiliary, Laparoscopic, Pancreatic, SICU, Thoracic, Trauma and Vascular Surgery. We are a Level 1 designated Trauma Center and have a new Emergency Department. Our institution recently joined with Cleveland Clinic, and we anticipate new teaching opportunities moving forward as Cleveland Clinic Akron General.
As a graduate of our program 25 years ago, I am personally proud to be associated with the team of surgeons who make up our teaching faculty, as well as the quality of the residents that we have the privilege to train. You will find the General Surgery Residency Program at Akron General to be one of the best opportunities available for your training in surgery.
We look forward to you taking a closer look at our residency program!
Mark C. Horattas, MD, FACS
Chairman, Department of Surgery
Professor of Surgery, NEOMED
Dear Candidate,
On behalf of the faculty of the Department of Surgery at Cleveland Clinic Akron General, thank you for your interest in our General Surgery Residency program. We offer a wide breadth of exposure to common and complex surgical disease processes. The emergency general surgery service gives our residents exposure to a wide variety of complex, high acuity patients. Patients get transferred in to this service from the surrounding area and smaller local hospitals. This is an ideal service for our senior residents to learn how to manage multiple complex sick patients both in and outside of the operating room.
Akron General is an American College of Surgeons verified Level 1 trauma center. The volumes on this service have been steadily increasing, further exposing our residents in the management of these patients.
The elective surgery service is also growing with our expanding oncologic services, hepatobiliary services and foregut services to name a few. We always work on bringing new technology into the care of our patients.
This accumulates to afford our residents an optimal experience in managing and operating on a multitude of patients and disease processes. Residents get into the operating room early and are able to graduate with around 1200 cases. This sets them up for their future success either in practice or in their fellowship.
Our residents are involved in clinical research projects. There are ample opportunities to participate in clinical research. We encourage our residents to get involved in research early on in their career.
We also have a mentorship program that starts your intern year. This helps guide our trainees towards their professional goals.
An important aspect of our program is the camaraderie and the collegiality amongst our residents and staff. We get to know our residents more than just as “surgical resident.” We are deeply invested in the training and well-being of our residents and of their successes. We take great pride in our graduates and feel that they are well trained and capable surgeons upon graduation from our program.
Sincerely,
William C. Papouras, MD, FACS
Program Director, General Surgery
Vice Chair, Department of Surgery
Loren Masterson, MD
Associate Program Director
Residency & Fellowship Coordinator
330.344.6741
selfmak@ccf.org
Clinical Rotations
13, 4 Week Blocks
PGY – 1
- 5 blocks General Surgery at Akron General
- 2 blocks Vascular/Thoracic Surgery at Akron General
- 1 block Anesthesia at Akron General
- 3 blocks SICU at Akron General
- 2 blocks General Surgery/Trauma at Akron General
PGY – 2
- 8 blocks General Surgery at Akron General
- 2 blocks General Surgery/Trauma at Akron General
- 1 block SICU at Akron General
- 1 block Transplant Surgery at Cleveland Clinic Foundation
- 1 block Vascular/Thoracic Surgery at Akron General
PGY – 3
- 3 blocks General Surgery at Akron General
- 2 blocks Pediatric Surgery/Burn at Children's Hospital Medical Center of Akron
- 2 blocks Vascular/Thoracic Surgery at Akron General
- 2 blocks SICU at Akron General
- 2 blocks Endoscopy at Akron General
- 1 block Breast Surgery at Akron General
- 1 block General Surgery/Trauma at Akron General
PGY – 4
- 7 blocks General Surgery at Akron General
- 2 blocks Vascular/Thoracic Surgery at Akron General
- 1 block General Surgery/Trauma at Akron General
PGY – 5
- 13 blocks General Surgery at Akron General
Teaching Faculty
General Surgery
- Scott Awender, MD, FACS
- Marita Bauman, MD
- Stephen Brandstetter, MD, FACS
- Andrew Fenton, MD, FACS
- Mark C. Horattas, MD, FACS
- Sophia Horattas, MD
- Amy Jarvis, MD, FACS
- William Leukhardt, MD, FACS
- Ali F. Mallat, MD, FACS
- Robert A. Marley, MD, FACS
- Amanda Mendiola, MD, FACS
- Sara Monfared, MD
- Farid Muakkassa, MD, FACS
- Mary K. Murray, MD, FACS
- William C. Papouras, MD, FACS
- Daniel Vazquez, MD, FACS
- Anthony Visioni, MD, FACS
- Christopher Wolff, MD
Cardiothoracic & Vascular Surgery
Application
We appreciate your interest in Akron General and hope that we've provided you with the information you need to choose the right residency program.
Cleveland Clinic Akron General is able to offer an exceptional medical education experience because of our knowledgeable and hard-working staff. Cleveland Clinic Akron General is recognized regionally and within Ohio for its expertise and care.
Life in Akron has so much to offer! Learn more about Greater Akron.
For the 2024 ERAS® cycle, our program will be collecting and reviewing data from applicants’ supplemental ERAS applications. Completion of the standard MyERAS application is a requirement; completion of the supplemental ERAS application is optional.
In its second year of use, the supplemental ERAS application is designed to help applicants share more information about themselves and assist our program in finding applicants that fit our program’s setting and mission. There is no cost to applicants and participation is optional.
The supplemental ERAS application provides:
- geographic preferences (by division and by urban or rural setting);
- information about an applicant’s most meaningful experiences and other impactful life events, if applicable; and
- program signals.
Learn more about the AAMC supplemental ERAS application.
- General Surgery Expected Program Length: 5 years
- Application Deadline: October 18, 2023
- Interview Dates: TBD
- Residency applications must be submitted through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS).
- View Eligibility Requirements
Interested in rotating?
Akron General Medical Center uses VSAS, the Visiting Student Application Service to process visiting student applications. To apply for a general surgery rotation, please complete and send a VSAS application with your preferred dates.
For more information, please contact:
Kim Martter, Residency & Fellowship Coordinator at selfmak@ccf.org.
Current Residents
PGY – 1
Nathan Christian, DO
- Hometown: Cleveland, OH
- Undergraduate: The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
- Medical School: Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Athens, OH
- Interests: Sports fan, hiking, spending time with family
Benjamin Hochstetler, DO
- Hometown: Goshen, Indiana
- Undergraduate: Goshen College, Goshen, Indiana
- Medical School: Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine of Midwestern University, Downers Grove, IL
- Interests: Gardening, Cooking, woodworking, spending time with family
Arin Leuchtag, DO
- Hometown: Medina, OH
- Undergraduate: The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
- Medical School: Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Dublin, OH
- Interests: Spending time outdoors, walking my dog, gardening, spending time with family, baking
Keshav Seetharaman, DO
- Hometown: Sterling Heights, MI
- Undergraduate: St. Bonaventure University, Olean, NY
- Medical School: Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, Erie, PA
- Interests: Weight lifting, spending time with family
PGY – 2
Summer Aldabbeh, MD
- Hometown: Milwaukee, WI
- Undergraduate: University of Wisconsin, Kenosha, WI
- Medical School: The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH
- Interests: Event planning, interior design, running, hiking, traveling, cooking & baking
Cassidy Gawlik, DO
- Hometown: Strongsville, OH
- Undergraduate: The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
- Medical School: Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Cleveland, OH
- Interests: Exercising, beach volleyball, cooking, exploring local coffee shops
Lukman Faniyi, MD
- Hometown: Richton, Park, IL
- Undergraduate: University of Illinois, Chicago, IL
- Medical School: University of Illinois College of Medicine-Peoria, Peoria, IL
- Interests: Playing & watching soccer, cooking, hiking
Alison Richardson, DO
- Hometown: Phoenix, AZ
- Undergraduate: University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
- Medical School: Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine at New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM
- Interests: Powerlifting & heavy weight training, marathon running, photography
PGY – 3
Carlos Cordero-Caballero, MD
- Hometown: Santa Maria, CA
- Undergraduate: UCLA-Santa Cruz, CA
- Medical School: The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH
- Interests/Hobbies: Martial arts-Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, salsa dancing
Julia Maxey, DO
- Hometown, Cleveland, OH
- Undergraduate: The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
- Medical School: Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Columbus, OH
- Interests: Traveling, distance running, hiking, boating/jet skiing, skiing
Bryan Miles, MD
- Hometown: Wausau, WI
- Undergraduate: Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, MN
- Medical School: Medical College of Wisconsin, Wauwatosa, WI
- Interests: Reading and writing, tennis, soccer, time with family and friends
Kassidy Rinehart, DO
- Hometown: Hortonville, WI
- Undergraduate: Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine of Midwestern University, Downers Grove, IL
- Medical School: Lawrence University, Appleton, WI
- Interests: Running, marathons, outdoors, hiking, camping
Hamidullah Wardak, MD
- Hometown: Chicago, IL
- Undergraduate: University of Illinois/Rush University, Chicago, IL
- Medical School: Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine & Science, Chicago, IL
- Interests: Rock climbing, mountain biking and time with family
PGY – 4
Alexander Bertke, DO
- Hometown: Dayton, Ohio
- Undergraduate: University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio
- Medical School: Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio
- Interests/Hobbies: Snowboarding, soccer and sand volleyball
Micah Brainerd, MD
- Hometown: Marlette, MI
- Undergraduate: Saginaw Valley State University, University Center, MI
- Medical School: Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, Flint, MI
- Interests/Hobbies: Cooking, baking, theater, reading, kayaking, home improvement projects, computer coding
Timothy Demshar, DO
- Hometown: Chardon, Ohio
- Undergraduate: Roanoke College, Roanoke, Virginia
- Medical School: Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, Auburn, Virginia
- Interests/Hobbies: Running, hiking, traveling, baseball, Medwars races and martial arts
Louis Nelson, DO
- Hometown: Bloomington, Minnesota
- Undergraduate: University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
- Medical School: Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences College of Osteopathic Medicine, Kansas City, Missouri
- Interests/Hobbies: Playing soccer, tennis, running, cycling, snowboarding and painting
PGY – 5
Alexander Chang, DO
- Hometown: Scottsdale, Arizona
- Undergraduate: University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
- Medical School: Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Des Moines, Iowa
- Interests/Hobbies: Reading, piano, video games, running, hiking and traveling
Blake Westling, DO
- Hometown: Eagan, Minnesota
- Undergraduate: University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse, WI; Rockhurst University-MBA, Kansas City, Missouri
- Medical School: Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences College of Osteopathic Medicine, Kansas City, Missouri
- Interests/Hobbies: Walking his dog in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, golfing, biking and exercising
Alumni
2023 Graduates
- Nicholas Gastaldo, DO — Bariatric/MIS Fellowship, Innova Health System, Falls Church, VA
- Ileana Horattas, MD — Surgical Critical Care Fellowship, CCAG, Akron, OH
- Yasaman Kazerooni, MD — Trauma/Critical Care Fellowship, Christiana Care, Newark, DE
2022 Graduates
- Abigail Christiansen, MD — Private Practice, Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital, Canton, OH
- Benjamin Crisp, MD — MIS/Bariatric Fellowship, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA
- Teodora Fatchikova, MD — Private Practice, Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital, Canton, OH
2021 Graduates
- Ryan Fitzgerald, MD — Naval Officer, 2nd Medical Battalion, Camp Lejeune, NC
- Andrew Guzowski, MD — Critical Care Fellowship, University of Michigan, Stockbridge, MI
- Sophia Horattas, MD — Private Practice, Cleveland Clinic Akron General, Akron, OH
2020 Graduates
- Nathan Hieb, MD — Critical Care/Trauma Fellowship, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN
- Jimmy Ibrahim, MD — Private Practice, Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital, Canton, OH
- David Yanoschik, MD — Private Practice, Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital, Canton, OH
2019 Graduates
- Lauren Cardella, DO — 2019-21: Vascular Fellowship, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, MI
- Madeline Heald, MD — 2019-21: Vascular Fellowship, The Toledo Hospital, Toledo, Ohio
- Christopher Wolff, MD — 2019-20: Acute Care Surgery Fellowship, Stanford Health Care, Palo Alto, CA; 2020-present: Faculty, Cleveland Clinic Akron General, Akron< OH
2018 Graduates
- James Brockett, MD — 2018-20 Cardiothoracic Surgery Fellowship, Weill Cornell Medicine/NY Presbyterian, New York, NY; 2020-present: Private Practice, Cleveland Clinic Akron General, Akron, OH
- Ryan Lucero, MD — 2018-19 Surgical Critical Care & Trauma Fellowship, Temple University Lewis Katz SOM, Philadelphia, PA
- Abigail Mowry-Tremelling, MD — 2018-19 Breast Surgery Oncology Fellowship, Washington State University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO
Research & Innovations
Akron General offers surgical services for a wide range of needs, both inpatient and outpatient. Through research, advances in technology and improvement in techniques allow our surgeons to offer more types of treatments with increasing precision, less blood loss, less pain and a shorter recovery time.
For more information about resident research in the Department of Surgery, please contact:
William C. Papouras, MD
Program Director, General Surgery
Phone: 330.344.7200
Anthony Visioni, MD
Co-Director, Research
Phone: 330.344.5487
Email: VisionA@ccf.org
Jill Zink, MD
Co-Director, Research
Phone: 330.344.1400
Email: ZinkJ@ccf.org
Sara Monfared, MD
Director, Surgery Skills Lab
Phone: 330.344.4751
Adina Brett-Morris, PhD
Health Scientist
Phone: 330.217.0609
Email: Bretta2@ccf.org
