The Department of General Surgery and Urology is one of the largest surgical services in Jordan. It provides the main tertiary
surgical and urological services in the north of Jordan.
Scope of our department
Our department includes 23 faculty surgical sub-specialists, forming our full-time faculty. Our faculty includes highly trained subspecialists in general surgery,
colorectal surgery, breast oncosurgery, plastic surgery, vascular and endovascular surgery, thoracic surgery, endocrine surgery, cardiac surgery, and urology.
We provide vast expertise in various surgical fields as our faculty includes one colorectal surgeon,
two subspecialists in laparoscopic surgery, one thoracic surgeon, two plastic surgeons, three pediatric surgeon, two breast oncosurgeons,
1 endocrine surgeon, four vascular and endovascular surgeons, 3 cardiac surgeons, and 4 urologists. These brilliant physicians play a major role in treatment and management of patients,
training students and residents, and contributing in global research.
The department is a leading referral point in the North to provide care for surgical patients with multiple common and rare diseases. We provide
ward, intensive care, and elective patients in a systematic fashion. Our outpatient service has four consultant rooms and 16
examining room capable of running 6 clinics per day from 8am till 4 pm.
We also provide care to patients in need of intensive and critical care as we do have a separate surgical ICU with 10 beds for high risk post operative patients and trauma and surgically-ill patients.
Our service is supported by a strong residency
teaching program that accepts up to 9 general surgical residents and up to 4 urology residents per year in a 5-year program.
The Department of General Surgery is recognized nationally for excellence in teaching, clinical service, and research related
to surgical diseases, and is known for its competitiveness in regards of residency programs. Our faculty is among the most highly trained and respected surgeons across the nation,
who ensure to adapt the global rise in technology in surgical management, contribute constantly to surgical research and data analysis, and participate in conferences and lectures that enrich the learning experience of students and residents.
Our department also contributed to the care of COVID-19 patients during the pandemic to support our colleagues in the other specialties in a multidisciplinary manner, to further help in the
patient-centered optimal clinical practice and for the betterment of society. Our urology faculty also contributed to the Atlantic Health Relief program which provides care to patients in financial and societal need and performed more than 30 surgical interventions.
GRADUATE EDUCATION
Graduate Education program coordinates the graduate residency training in a carefully balanced program of primary
care and tertiary care residency. We prepare residents for careers in primary general surgery practice and also highly competitive fellowship programs in various subspecialties.
We currently train 77 residents (including 19 first year residents in surgical fields such as ENT, orthopedics, urology, and neurosurgery). We implement a structured curriculum that includes
theoretical and tactical information in clinical knowledge and surgical skills, which complements the Jordanian broad clinical training.
Our program welcomes residents from neighboring countries and is currently training 15 non-Jordanian residents.
Teaching is practiced all-day long during rounds, operations, and in the outpatient setting to ensure the highest level of graduate qualification.
Our residents are certified in performing elective and emergent surgical procedures and providing primary care in trauma and critical care patients. Our residency program is fully accredited by Jordanian medical Council for Graduate Medical Education. The program also adopts and supports our graduate residents in their fellowship programs in Jordan, the region, and internationally (the UK, specifically).
UNDERGRADUATE MEDICAL EDUCATION
Our faculty participates in teaching 4th and 6th year medical students in three designated courses; Introduction to clinical practice, General Surgery I, and General Surgery II.
In these courses students are introduced to the art of history taking, patient examination, and critical thinking to reach a proper diagnosis and management plan in surgical diseases through morning meetings, rounds, and lectures.
Students are introduced to both inpatient and outpatient care and are taught intraoperative basics. We also teach basic surgical skills in our clinical skills labs.
Most common diagnoses in our department
- Hepatobiliary and gallbladder diseases including acute cholecystitis, choledocholithiasis, cholangitis, and hepatobiliary malignancies.
- Breast diseases including mastitis, breast abscess, and breast cancer
- Intestinal obstruction including volvulus and colorectal cancer
- Gastrointestinal malignancies
- Acute and acute on top of chronic lower limb ischemia
- Mesenteric ischemia (venous and arterial)
- Acute appendicitis
- Acute pancreatitis
- Deep second and third degree burns
- Pulmonary and hepatic hydatid cysts
- Pneumothorax
- Intussusception and pediatric intestinal obstruction
- Thyroid nodules and cancer
- Renal stones
Most common procedures
- Various laparoscopic surgeries including laparoscopic cholecystectomy, appendectomy, sleeve gastrectomy, and hernia repair
- Diagnostic laparotomy for emergent cases
- Total and subtotal colectomy, Hartmann procedure, low anterior resection and abdominoperineal resection
- Benign and malignant skin lesion excision
- Modified radical mastectomy and lumpectomy
- Total and hemi thyroidectomy
- Above knee, below knee, transmetatarsal and toe amputation
- Whipple procedure and liver segmentectomy
- AV fistula and graft creation
- Angioplasty and endovascular laser ablation of varicose veins
- Chest tube insertion
- Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery for the treatment of empyema and bullectomy
