Chair, Division of Neurosurgery

Dr. James Rutka
Tel: 416-813-8441 (office of the Chairman)
      416-813-6425 (clinical office)
Fax: 416-813-4975
Email: james.rutka@sickkids.ca

Chair: Dr. James Rutka

From the Chairman's Office
Welcome to the Division of Neurosurgery at the University of Toronto. Chris Wallace and I take great pride in presenting you with this overview of our Program in Neurosurgery. You will see that our Division of Neurosurgery is steeped in a rich tradition of excellence and contributions to world neurosurgery. With twenty-seven full-time faculty and over thirty neurosurgical residents, we are the largest training program in North America. The four major teaching centres combined (St Michael’s, Sunnybrook Health Science Centre, The Hospital for Sick Children, and The Toronto Western Hospital) boast over 7000 operative cases each year with over 30000 out-patient visits – offering an unparalleled experience and training ground for residents in neurosurgery.

Our mandate, stated quite simply, is to train academic neurosurgeons for the future. In my opinion, there is no surgical subspecialty that offers as much opportunity for innovation and advancement as does neurosurgery. In this new millennium, it is my strong conviction that neurosurgeons will continue to be at the forefront of the treatment of patients with neurological diseases. Neurosurgeons will assume this quintessential role by developing novel neurosurgical procedures, by performing essential basic science research leading to an increased understanding of neurological disease processes, and by conducting carefully controlled clinical studies to test the effects of these treatments on our patients. In addition to our strong clinical training program, we offer a myriad of opportunities for residents to undertake basic science research projects often leading to a higher degree in the School of Graduate Studies at the University of Toronto. Currently, many of our faculty members have graduate school appointments at the University of Toronto and can mentor residents in research projects in neuro-oncology, cerebrovascular physiology, peripheral nerve injury and regeneration, head injury, spinal cord injury, stereotactic and functional neurosurgery, and hydrocephalus. Our faculty has been consistently successful at obtaining peer reviewed funding for grant applications, and our residents have traditionally garnered a multitude of awards in clinical and basic science research.

In the past 7 years, we have captured the attention of the Teaching Hospitals and the University in the establishment of 6 endowed Chair positions. Funds from these Chairs will ensure that our academic mission can be maintained in perpetuity. In my opinion, there is no better time to consider a career in academic neurosurgery. As you read through these pages, I hope you will see just how well positioned we are at the University of Toronto to continue to make significant contributions to world neurosurgery.

back to top

Clinical Fellowships

For more information on clinical fellowships please see Clinical Fellowships in Neurosurgery.

Program Director

Program Director: Dr. Christopher Wallace

From the Program Director's Office
The Postgraduate training program in Neurosurgery at the University of Toronto is very large with over 30 residents enrolled in study. Both men and women in the program hail from centres across Canada. Approximately a third are completing graduate degrees in research and 20 are active in clinical rotations in multiple hospitals towards their Royal College certification in Neurosurgery. The size and breadth of such a training program provides both distinct advantages and challenges to the successful training of an academic neurosurgeon.

Clearly the large volumes of patients in the clinic and the operating room provide a wealth of clinical exposure for instruction of the clinical and operative skills in our specialty. Graded surgical responsibility is carefully and progressively delegated over the residency program, and results in the production of confident and skilled neurosurgeons at the completion of their training. In addition to clinical and operative skills, the faculty and residents contribute to an extensive didactic curriculum resulting in a 3 hour presentation/lecture every Friday morning, when residents are excused from their clinical duties to participate. This curriculum is supplemented by weekly rounds at each of the hospital sites, subspecialty rounds, city-wide rounds, practical workshops and the Bi-annual W. Lougheed Microsurgical Course. Junior residents participate in the large Principles of Surgery lecture series organized by the Department of Surgery. These resources provide a rich educational environment for neurosurgical instruction. This is borne out by the regular success rate of our Royal College candidates.

The large number of residents and the multiple faculty and hospitals provide terrific diversity but also a challenge in terms of maintaining communication, camaraderie and a personal character to the program. Electronic communication provides the means for regular information dissemination. Visiting professorships, the W. Lougheed Microsurgical Course, journal club evenings and social events throughout the year (including the Chairman's camping trip!) add to the social and personal flair of our program. We are committed to promoting regular, open, two-way discussion about the training our residents receive and need.

As stated by Professor Rutka, we are very proud of our training program and are dedicated to improving our teaching as you train in Neurosurgery with us.