Match Day 2017 ushered in a new group of surgery residents, while saying goodbye to others who will soon leave UAB for different programs across the country.

According to the UAB School of Medicine Office of Graduate Medical Education, 220 medical students from 63 U.S. universities and 27 international universities will join UAB as residents in 2017.

In a new series, the Department of Surgery will feature incoming and outgoing trainees for all UAB Surgery programs. This week, learn about those joining and leaving the Vascular Surgery Integrated Residency Program and the Vascular Surgery Fellowship.

At his Match Day 2017, Luke M. Stewart (pictured above) matched into our Vascular Integrated Residency Program from East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina.

Incoming Vascular Surgery Trainees

This year, the UAB Vascular Integrated Residency Program welcomes one new categorical intern from North Carolina, Luke M. Stewart. Stewart joins UAB from East Carolina University in Greenville.

“UAB Vascular Surgery personifies excellence with great faculty, staff and residents who are striving to create the best vascular surgery training environment in the country,” Stewart said. “I was also impressed by the great relationship between vascular surgery residents and general surgery residents at UAB, as this is not the case at many programs.”

The Vascular Surgery Fellowship Program also welcomes its newest fellow, Daniel Torrent, M.D. This summer, Torrent will complete his general surgery residency at East Carolina University in Greenville, and then join UAB as a vascular surgery fellow later this year.

“​There's no substitute for operating,” Torrent said. “I was looking for a program with high volume, variety and complexity. I wanted a balance between endovascular and open surgery. UAB fit this profile very nicely.”

Outgoing Vascular Surgery Trainees

This year, the Vascular Surgery Integrated Residency Program sees its second graduate after its creation in 2010, Charles Leithead, M.D. After graduation, Leithead will return to his home state of Louisiana to practice at Ochsner Health System.

Leithead said he felt incredibly fortunate to have been a UAB vascular surgery integrated resident.

“Our curriculum, camaraderie and vast exposure to complex vascular conditions, as a tertiary referral medical center, makes you an outstanding surgeon and more importantly a better person,” Leithead said. “I expect to carry the prestige of UAB with me into my career after graduating, and continue to make positive impacts on patients' lives.”

Similarly, Frank Stegall, M.D., will graduate from the Vascular Surgery Fellowship Program to go into private practice in Rome, Georgia. Stegall said he is grateful to have been a part of our Vascular Surgery Fellowship Program.

“UAB has been an incredible place to train as a vascular fellow. The clinical volume and breadth of surgical exposure has been tremendous,” Stegall said. “More than that, however, it's the people that make UAB such a great place to work. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here and will always be grateful for the training I've received.”