VCU Department of Surgery | About the Department

The Department of Surgery at Virginia Commonwealth University has served the people of Virginia and provided national leadership in surgical science for over 150 years.

The department consists of these
ten divisions:

Cardiothoracic Surgery;
General Surgery;
Trauma, Critical Care and Emergency Surgery;
Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery;
Pediatric Surgery;
Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery;
Surgical Oncology;
Transplantation Surgery;
Urology;
Vascular Surgery

The primary locations for resident training are the Main Hospital at the VCU Health System, the new Ambulatory Care Center with six outpatient operating rooms, and the 743-bed Hunter Holmes McGuire Veterans Administration with nine operating rooms.

The Hospital provides new support for our Level I Trauma Center with the recruitment of four faculty members, nursing case managers and research funding totally devoted to trauma, burns and critical care. There are approximately 2,200 trauma patients admitted annually of which 22 percent are secondary to penetrating injuries. Having significant external funding for cancer-related research programs, the multidisciplinary Massey Cancer Center provides state-of-the-art radiation therapy, chemotherapy and surgery.

A new Minimally Invasive Surgery Center recently opened with facilities for "wet" and "dry" laboratory educational programs in addition to three high technology operating rooms.

There are active research laboratories in each division. The Tissue Repair Laboratory has received support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for over 20 years. The Medical Informatics and Technology Applications Consortium (MEDITAC) is a NASA commercialization center which addresses telemedicine, health care delivery in space and other challenging environments and technology transfer. This research consortium of universities, industry, and federal units is based in the VCU Department of Surgery offering advanced training in its laboratories and international testbeds.

The Department of Surgery has a tradition of excellence, a continuing record of leadership, and a deep commitment to the bright future of surgery through service, science and education.