Abdominal Wall Reconstruction Fellowship

Program Director’s Message
Education and Case Mix
Research Experience
Meet the Faculty
Current and Past Fellows
Life at Stony Brook
Prospective Applicants

Program Director’s Message

Welcome to the Stony Brook Abdominal Wall Reconstruction (AWR) Fellowship! This one-year program provides comprehensive training in all aspects of hernia pathology, and our graduates are prepared to manage the full spectrum of ventral and groin hernias, including recurrent and complex ones. The designated AWR fellowship pathway was established in 2025 and is built on two decades of experience within our nationally recognized Minimally Invasive Surgery fellowship. We currently offer one independent AWR position outside the Fellowship Council match.

Fellows gain broad exposure to a wide variety of AWR procedures, with approximately three-quarters performed robotically (IPUM+, rTAPP, eTEP-RS, rTAR, robotic parastomals, SCOLA, TAPPRA, LIRA, PeTEP). Open experience include recurrent inguinal and inguinoscrotal hernias, mesh explantation and neurectomies, and multiply recurrent ventral hernias, including loss-of-domain cases. Overall case mix and volume exceeds Fellowship Council AWR designation requirements.

The fellow participates actively in clinics and operates across three neighboring facilities. Call responsibilities are light, with infrequent acute care surgery call (no trauma), to support a smooth graduated transition to independent practice. Additionally, AWR fellow splits the Advanced GI Surgery service call with MIS/Bariatric fellow.

Stony Brook University Hospital’s (SBUH) unique suburban setting combined with established referral patterns, provides a steady flow of patients with diverse comorbidities and hernia pathology. This breadth of experience prepares fellows for real-world practice in a range of settings, from urban academic centers to community hospitals.

Education and Case Mix

Educational experience includes discussion of cases and management in clinics and operating room, weekly morbidity and mortality conferences and grand rounds with Department of Surgery. Additionally, we conduct bi-monthly virtual discussions of the most interesting and challenging AWR cases with trainees on the MIS service and hernia enthusiasts from residents and medical students. Fellows can also practice in our state-of-art Surgical Skills Center.

The AWR fellow will participate in approximately 270 hernia cases, plus an additional ~50 general surgery cases and other advanced GI surgery procedures (bariatric surgery and hiatal hernias). Below is the average annual volume by case type.

AWR fellow works closely with MIS/bariatric fellow and surgical residents (PGY5, PGY3, PGY1) as a MIS team. Both fellows split rounding and bariatric and acute care call responsibilities. There is always faculty backup available, and call is not in-house.

Research Experience

The AWR fellow is encouraged to participate in clinical outcomes research. The SBUH Hernia Center maintains a prospective patient database, and several studies are currently underway. We collaborate with the Stony Brook biostatistics core for data extraction from large administrative databases and PhD-level statistical analysis. In addition, we have active collaborations with the Stony Brook Departments of Computer Science (AI applications in hernia surgery) and Mechanical Engineering (finite element–based computational modeling of the abdominal wall). Fellows regularly present at the American Hernia Society and SAGES.

Meet the Faculty

Stony Brook AWR fellowship includes four clinically active full-time surgeons, all within the Division of Bariatric, Foregut and Advanced GI Surgery. The AWR fellow will spend most time with the fellowship PD based on clinical apprenticeship model.

Current and Past Fellows

Alexa-Rae Pesce, MD (AWR fellow, 2025-2026) - Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery, SBU (Southampton base)
Adel Aljah Saleh, MD (MIS/bari/foregut fellow, 2025-2026)
Holden Spivak, MD (MIS/bari/foregut/hernia fellow, 2024-2025) - Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery, Brown University
Misbah Yehya, DO (MIS/bari/foregut/hernia fellow, 2024-2025) - Holy Name Medical Center (Teaneck, NJ)
Luke Swaszek, MD (MIS/bari/foregut/hernia fellow, 2023-2024) - Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery, SBU (Eastern Long Island base)
Patrick Crosby, MD (MIS/bari/foregut/hernia fellow, 2023-2024) - General and Bariatric surgeon, Hartford HealthCare (Hartford, CT)

Life at Stony Brook

Stony Brook is located 60 miles from NYC (1.5-2 hours by car or LIRR train). SBU is a flagship NY state university. SB University Hospital and Health Sciences Schools are located East Campus of the University.

About Stony Brook University Hospital

Stony Brook University Hospital (SBUH) is Long Island’s premier academic medical center. With 624 beds, SBUH serves as the region’s only tertiary care center and Regional Trauma Center, and is home to the Stony Brook Heart Institute, Stony Brook Cancer Center, Stony Brook Children’s Hospital and Stony Brook Neurosciences Institute. SBUH also encompasses Suffolk County’s only Level 4 Regional Perinatal Center, state-designated AIDS Center, state-designated Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program, state-designated Burn Center, the Christopher Pendergast ALS Center of Excellence and Kidney Transplant Center.

Stony Brook Medicine is comprised of Stony Brook University Hospital, Stony Brook Children's Hospital, Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital and the Long Island State Veterans Home.

Prospective Applicants

The Stony Brook AWR fellowship does not participate in the Fellowship Council match. We follow Stony Brook’s universal eligibility policy for the appointment of residents and fellows. Applicants must be PGY4/5 trainees or graduates of an ACGME-accredited general surgery residency program and are expected to pass their General Surgery Boards examination during the fellowship. At this time, we are unable to support international applicants or those requiring visa sponsorship.

Our application timeline largely aligns with the Fellowship Council. We begin accepting applications in December, with a deadline of January 31st. Interview invitations are sent during the last week of February. Interviews are offered both virtually and in person, based on individual applicant preferences, and are conducted in March and April. Offer letters are sent during the first two weeks of May, prior to the Fellowship Council rank-order list certification deadlines. The fellowship start date is August 1.

If you accept our AWR fellowship offer, you will need to withdraw from the Fellowship Council match.

Interested applicants should submit their CV, 3 letters of recommendation, and a personal statement to artem.shmelev@stonybrookmedicine.edu.

Please see additional information, including benefits and compensation, on the Prospective Applicants webpage.