General Surgery Residency

About the Program

Message from the Program Director 
Steven A. De Jong, M.D.

Welcome to the website of the general surgery residency at Loyola University Medical Center. We are one of the country’s preeminent educational programs in general surgery. We offer a comprehensive training program at an academic medical center to provide tertiary and quaternary care services to a very diverse community, serving both urban and suburban patients. Loyola also treats the highest acuity patients in the state of Illinois. We have developed a curriculum that will give you an exceptional learning experience, complete with hands-on training, exposure to the latest technology, and involvement in all aspects of contemporary training in general surgery.

Our program offers outstanding clinical training in academic and community general surgery combined with other service rotations for the trainee to experience many surgical subspecialties. The three training sites are located in close proximity to one another and each provides a unique experience to enhance resident training in general surgery. Patients enter Loyola Medicine through a variety of access points from a robust emergency general surgery service to many outpatient clinics throughout a wide catchment area to provide residents with exposure to both common and complex surgical disease. Many of our experienced department faculty are leaders in national surgical organizations and all are engaged in your training as teachers, mentors and colleagues. We offer weekly educational conferences, led by our department faculty, for didactic and skills training where residents are free from work responsibilities to immerse themselves in learning and interact with their colleagues. Our simulation center has the latest equipment and technology to create a robust virtual training and robotic surgery experience.

We encourage and support a wide variety of research opportunities. Some residents elect to spend an additional two years of training with protected time for basic science investigations, health services/outcomes research, global health experiences, educational studies, or fellowships in surgical quality. All residents are encouraged to work with faculty on clinical studies. Our residents easily meet national standards for operative procedures, successfully match into prestigious fellowships across the country, and are consistently certified by the American Board of Surgery. Finally, our training program is flexible to meet the professional and personal goals of each of our trainees. We prioritize wellness and celebrate diversity throughout all years of training and we value resident input and implement the ideas that come from resident feedback about their experience. You will train and practice in a learning environment like no other institution.

Steven De Jong, MD, FACS, FACE 
Program Director, General Surgery Residency 
Professor of Surgery 
Vice Chair, Clinical Affairs for the Department of Surgery

Michael Anstadt, MD, FACS 
Associate Program Director, General Surgery Residency 
Associate Professor, Division of Trauma, Critical Care, and Burns

Gifty Abraham, MD 
Associate Program Director, General Surgery Residency 
Assistant Professor, Trauma Medical Director – Gottlieb Memorial Hospital

Mark Knab, MD 
Associate Program Director, General Surgery Residency 
Assistant Professor, Gastrointestinal Surgical Oncology

About the Department

Loyola Surgery has a long history as an outstanding academic surgery program. In parallel with the missions of Loyola Medicine, Loyola Surgery is committed to excellence and innovation in clinical care, research and mentorship to define the future of American surgery.

The Department of Surgery at Loyola University Medical Center is a multi-specialty surgical service. The Department is comprised of a number of Divisions, including: General Surgery, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Colon and Rectal Surgery, Intra-Abdominal Transplantation, GI/Minimally Invasive Surgery, Surgical Oncology, Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy, Trauma, Surgical Critical Care and Burns, Oral Surgery and Dental Medicine, and Surgical Research. In collaboration with the Burn Shock Trauma Institute and the Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center Oncology Research Institute, the Department has developed active research programs in burn, shock and trauma injury, health services research, inflammation, oncology, and vascular biology. Research funding is derived from a variety of sources including the NIH. The Department bears the distinction as one of the few surgery departments in the country with two NIH- training grants.

Our General Surgery Residency Program is core of our educational program and is comprised of six categorical residents chosen per year. By combining a well rounded clinical experience with academic opportunities, the Loyola program trains the future leaders of American surgery. The Department has Fellowship positions in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Critical Care, Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy, and Oral Surgery and Dental Medicine. Our Department of Surgery is an exceptional group of clinical and research faculty, trainees, and staff. It is this central core that will allow us to shape the future of academic surgery.

For additional information, including faculty profiles, visit the Department of Surgery Website.

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