Graduates
Graduates of our program are compassionate physicians with outstanding technical skills and excellent clinical judgment.
Graduates are prepared for highly rewarding careers as broadly-trained general surgeons. Upon graduation, the majority of our residents pursue fellowship training in high caliber subspecialty training programs. Those residents who do not desire additional training are highly successful in the private practice community. Our graduates have taken positions in a great variety of locations throughout the United States. Our teaching faculty come from diverse backgrounds providing our residents with many opportunities to learn a variety of approaches to clinical problems.
What do our residents do after graduation? The possibilities are limitless! Many residents choose to complete a fellowship, while others go directly into private practice. Because your training will be broad, you will have the opportunity to follow any path you choose.

Graduation Year 2025
| Name | Post-Graduate Activity |
|---|---|
| Dr. Angelo Ciaragla | Cardiothoracic Surgery Fellowship University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital, FL |
| Dr. Hector Elizondo | Vascular Surgery Fellowship Baylor University Medical Center, TX |
| Dr. Nicholas Hise | Bariatric and Minimally Invasive Surgery Fellowship University of Rochester / Highland Hospital, NY |
| Dr. Mustafa Khan | Plastic Surgery Fellowship UT Houston, TX |
| Dr. Zachary Marriott | General Surgery Banner Health, CO |
| Dr. Lauren Mitchell | Minimally Invasive Surgery Fellowship Vanderbilt, TN |
| Dr. Bilal Nasim | Trauma Critical Care Fellowship UTHSCSA |
| Dr. Ronit Patnaik | Hepatobiliary and Transplant Fellowship Johns Hopkins, MD |
Case Volume
To be eligible to take the American Board of Surgery qualifying examination residents must perform procedures in the minimum required number of cases in each surgical category. The table below shows required procedures, the minimum number of cases required and the median number of procedures in each category performed by our most recent graduating chief residents:
| Procedure | Minimum Required Number |
General Surg Chiefs Median Number |
| Skin & Soft Tissue | 25 | 74 |
| Breast | 40 | 62 |
| Head & Neck | 25 | 45 |
| Alimentary Tract | 180 | 270 |
| Abdominal | 250 | 428 |
| Vascular | 50 | 137 |
| Endocrine | 15 | 18 |
| Operative Trauma | 10 | 58 |
| Nonoperative Trauma | 40 | 51 |
| Thoracic | 20 | 27 |
| Pediatric | 20 | 34 |
| Plastic | 10 | 30 |
| Surgical Critical Care | 40 | 48 |
| Laparoscopic – Basic | 100 | 259 |
| Laparoscopic – Complex | 75 | 125 |
| Endoscopy | 85 | 104 |
| Total Major | 850 | 1121 |
| Total Chief | 200 | 331 |
| Total Teaching Assistant | 25 | 54 |
Previous Graduates
Graduation Year 2024
| Name | Post-Graduate Activity |
|---|---|
| Dr. Jacob Buckner | CT Surgery Fellowship Greenville, NC |
| Dr. Claire Gerall | Pediatric Surgery Fellowship New York City, NY |
| Dr. William Hopper | Vascular Surgery Fellowship Dallas, TX |
| Dr. David Lizarraga | Surgical Critical Care Fellowship San Antonio, TX |
| Dr. Katiuscha Merath Reis | Surgical Oncology Fellowship Los Angeles, CA |
| Dr. Joshua Morrell | General Surgery Layton, UT |
| Dr. Rutvi Patel | General Surgery Columbus, GA |
| Dr. Aashish Rajesh | Surgical Critical Care Fellowship San Antonio, TX |
| Dr. Qi Yan | General Surgery Picayune, MS |
Graduation Year 2023
| Name | Post-Graduate Activity |
|---|---|
| Casar, Alexandra | Pediatric Surgery Fellowship, Brown University, Providence, RI |
| Clevenger, Nicole | Surgical Critical Care Fellowship, San Antonio, TX |
| Effendi, Jahanzeb | General Surgery, Paris Regional Health, Paris, TX |
| Hansen, Daniel | General Surgery, USAF, London, England |
| Kwakman, Riom | Surgical Oncology Fellowship, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY |
| Laffoon, Allison | Cosmetic Plastics Fellowship, Nashville, TN |
| Thomas, Rose | |
| Threatt, Tabitha | Surgical Critical Care Fellowhsip, Medical University of South Carolina |
| Yracheta, Jaclyn | Colorectal Surgery Fellowship, UT Houston, TX |
Graduation Year 2022
| Name | Post-Graduate Activity |
|---|---|
| Gonzalez, Adam | General Surgery, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH |
| Jensen, Jason | Bariatric and Minimally Invasive Surgery Fellowship, KS |
| Sippel, Michael | Surgical Critical Care Fellowship, San Antonio, TX |
| Smith, Kari | Plastic Surgery Fellowship, University of Alabama, Birmingham, AL |
| Voytovich, Keely | Colorectal Surgery Fellowship, Baylor Hospital Dallas, TX |
| Wampler, Mallory | Craniofacial Plastic Surgery Fellowship, Cleveland Clinic, OH |
Graduation Year 2021
| Name | Post-Graduation Activity |
|---|---|
| Baer, Hallie | Colorectal Surgery Fellowship, New Orleans, LA |
| Brackett, Nicci | Surgical Oncology Fellowship, Columbus, OH |
| Brigmon, Erika | Surgical Critical Care Fellowship, San Antonio, TX |
| Finucan, Michael | Colorectal Fellowship, Atlanta, GA |
| Goddard, Sabrina | Surgical Critical Care Fellowship, UAB, Birmingham, AL |
| Grimm, Jillian | Colorectal Fellowship, Houston, TX |
| Riella, Juliano | HPB and Organ Transplant Fellowship, Miami, FL |
| Rogers, Elizabeth | General Surgery, Dallas, TX |
Graduation Year 2020
| Name | Post-Graduation Activity |
|---|---|
| Al Fayyadh, Mohammed | Colorectal Fellowship, Atlanta, GA |
| Bonilla, Rafael | General Surgery, Lebanon, MO |
| Hockridge, David | General Surgery, San Angelo, TX |
| Johnson, Michael | Cardiothoracic Surgery Fellowship, Greenville, NC |
| Jung, Hyungmin | General Surgery, Ft. Worth, TX |
| Merritt, Clint | Breast Surgery Fellowship, Washington, DC |
| Rabbani, Muhammad | HPB and Organ Transplant Fellowship, Birmingham, AL |
Graduation Year 2019
| Name | Post-Graduation Activity |
|---|---|
| Chodroff, Leah | Surgical Oncology Fellowship, Philadelphia, PA |
| Duncan, Mallory | Transition to Practice Fellowship, San Antonio, TX |
| Febres, Juan | Critical Care Fellowship, Bronx, NY |
| Ghani, Alina | General Surgery Private Practice, Laredo, TX |
| Hsiung, Grace | General Surgery Private Practice, San Antonio, TX |
| Jordan, Yekaterina | General Surgery Private Practice, San Antonio, TX |
| Lawson, Shari | Plastic Surgery Fellowship, Birmingham, AL |
| Lewis, Aaron | General Surgery Private Practice, Jackson, TN |
| Mitchell, Sarah | Endocrine Fellowship, Dallas, TX |
| Pedracini, Amber | Acute Care Surgery, Boise, ID |
