University Hospitals Selected for Prestigious Reconstructive Urology & Gender Affirmation Fellowship Program

CLEVELAND, Ohio – University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center has been selected by the Society of Genitourinary Reconstructive Surgeons (GURS) as the home of its newest Reconstructive Urology and Gender Affirmation Surgery Fellowship. One of 29 GURS-verified programs in the world, this new fellowship offered by UH Urology Institute will serve to train surgeon-scientists interested in providing for the LGBTQ+ and gender expansive communities.

The Graduate Medical Education (GME)-approved fellowship – one or two years in length – will focus on lower urinary tract reconstruction, upper urinary tract reconstruction, survivorship reconstruction and gender affirmation surgery. UH faculty reconstructive urologists and gynecologists with a wealth of knowledge from various internationally ranked training facilities will share their knowledge of reconstruction and gender affirmation with select talented and driven fellows. Through their

time in the program, fellows can expect to gain proficiency in simple and complex urethral stricture disease, flap/graft harvest, open/robotic intra-abdominal reconstruction and genitoplasties such as vaginoplasty, metoidioplasty and phalloplasty.

UH is the proud home of the only comprehensive gender affirmation program in the region, UH LGBTQ+ & Gender Care, housed within its Urology Institute. The program performs more than 100 primary genitoplasties and approximately 50 revision surgeries per year making it the perfect home for budding gender affirmation surgeons looking to enhance the physical and emotional well-being of LGBTQ+ individuals.

Alongside clinical growth, research opportunities will be plentiful and encouraged for Reconstructive Urology and Gender Affirmation Surgery fellows as they contribute data to existing prospective clinical and biorepository registries. Fellows will have the opportunity to engage in ongoing basic sciences and translational research in tissue engineering, device design and microbiome fields, as well as engage with current academic and community partners of UH LGBTQ+ & Gender Care to gain instruction and expertise in community-based participatory research, advocacy and legal aid.

For fellows who are interested in building a gender affirmation program upon graduation, additional professional development opportunities will include a customized leadership course, as well as an eight-week population health program focusing on LGBTQ+ health (the latter culminating in a capstone project for program design and award of a health certificate).

“We’re thrilled and honored that GURS has chosen University Hospitals as the home of its next fellowship,” said Shubham Gupta, MD, (pictured) Division Chief, Reconstructive Urology, University Hospitals Urology Institute & Surgical Director, UH LGBTQ+ & Gender Care. “Having this program puts University Hospitals in the company of some of the best reconstructive urology programs in the world. We can’t wait to accept our first fellow and play a part in the training the next generation of surgical reconstruction and gender affirmation providers.”