Gender Surgery Fellowship
The Division of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery offers a 1 year fellowship in Advanced Gender Surgery. The fellow will be exposed to the full breadth of gender surgery with a focus on facial and genital gender affirming surgery. The fellowship is unique in that our trainees will also spend significant amount of time with our Urology colleagues and work in close collaboration with the Reconstructive Urology fellow. Our fellows are also exposed to the full multi-disciplinary aspect of gender affirming care through interactions and clinical exposure to: primary care, endocrinology, voice and speech, adolescent endocrinology, gynecology, mental health, social work and if desired fertility counseling and treatment. Participation in programmatic building and community engagement is desired; as well as involvement in monthly multi-disciplinary care discussions.
Core surgical curriculum:
- Facial gender confirmation surgery
- Laryngeochondroplasty
- Chest affirmation surgery
- Phalloplasty including erectile device placement
- Metoidioplasty
- Vagino and Vulvoplasty
- Body contouring
- Simple and complex genital revision surgeries
Qualifications:
- Medical Degree
- Completion or anticipated completion of ACGME accredited Plastic Surgery Residency
- Broad exposure in residency to microsurgery, facial trauma and aesthetic surgery
- Board Eligibility in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
How to apply
To apply, please email your CV, 2 letters of recommendation and personal statement to our program coordinator.
Applications are currently being accepted through March 1, 2024 via email and interviews will be held in-person in April. Our interviews and match day are aligned with other academic gender surgical fellowships, so that applicants can apply broadly and evaluate all programs.
Program Director
Dr. Jens Berli directs the Gender Surgery Fellowship and is Associate Professor and Head of the Division of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery. He obtained his medical degree from the University of Zurich, Switzerland. Following this, he undertook a part of residency in general surgery and ortho-trauma at Triemli City Hospital, Zurich. In 2010, before moving to the United States, he worked at Uummannaq Regional Hospital in rural Greenland.
Subsequently, Dr. Berli completed his Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery residency at the renowned Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. During this period, he gained experience in gender-affirming surgery and phalloplasty for congenital malformations. Between 2014 and 2016, he further enriched his expertise as a traveling fellow at leading centers for transgender health across Europe and Asia.
Since 2016, Dr. Berli has been a faculty member at Oregon Health & Science University. He predominantly focuses on phalloplasty and facial gender confirmation surgeries. Presently, he holds the position of Associate Professor and Division Head in the Department of Surgery. Additionally, since 2019, he has been entrusted with the responsibility of Residency Program Director. In the same year he started one of the first fellowships with focus on Gender Surgery. Beyond gender surgery he has a keen interest in neuroplastics and cranio-facial trauma.
In terms of professional affiliations, Dr. Berli is a member of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health. He has notably contributed to the surgical committee of the Standards of Care Version 8. He serves as an Associate Editor for "Transgender Health" and is a Contributing Editor for "Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery." Central to his research endeavors is the enhancement of the safety protocols for phalloplasty procedures, objective aesthetic outcomes, and patient-reported outcomes.