Cardiothoracic Surgery in New York

Care Philosophy: "Because of my good fortune in training with some of the pioneers in general and cardiac surgery, I had opportunities to join the faculty of many well established cardiovascular surgery programs throughout the country. I chose to return to Weill Cornell because I could not find a program anywhere in the United States that could provide the same high level of care to patients that the nurses, anesthesiologists and technicians do here at Weill Cornell. I take great pride in being a member of a team that can handle the most complex patient situation, regardless of the time, whether day or night, the circumstances or the nature of the problem."

Biography: Dr. David Kalfa is a Board-certified cardiothoracic surgeon with a subspecialization in pediatric cardiac surgery. A Native of France, Dr. Kalfa graduated from Marseilles University Graduate School of Medicine with the highest level of distinction in 2004. During his certification, he developed a research program in Tissue Engineering applied to the field of Congenital Heart Diseases that led to the attainment of numerous grants including a European Research FP7 Grant. He completed a research fellowship in Fondation Alain carpentier/INSERM in Paris and received his PhD degree in 2011 with the highest level of distinction. He then performed a 2-year clinical fellowship in Congenital Cardiovascular Surgery in one of the highest-volume centers (Marie Lannelongue Hospital in Paris) with exposure to highly complicated cases from all age groups (from neonates to adults). He completed a clinical fellowship in Adult Cardiac Surgery at Laval University Hospital in Quebec, Canada (2012-2013). He was then Assistant Attending in Congenital Cardiac Surgery at Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital/NYP (2013-2015) and is currently Associate Professor of Surgery (tenure track) in the Section of Pediatric and Congenital Cardiac Surgery, Columbia University, and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Surgery in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Weill Cornell Medical College.

Care Philosophy: David H. Adams is the Marie-Jos?e and Henry R. Kravis Professor and Chairman of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Mount Sinai Medical Center. He is a recognized leader in the field of heart valve surgery and mitral valve reconstruction. As Program Director of the Mount Sinai Mitral Valve Repair Center, he has set national benchmarks with greater than 99% degenerative mitral valve repair rates, while running one of the largest valve repair programs in the United States.

Care Philosophy: "The Diagnosis of cancer can be overwhelming. At Cornell, we utilize a multidiciplinary team approach in the treatment of patients with lung and esophageal cancers. Our dedicated team is involved from the initial evaluation through the completion of a patient's post-operative course. This unparalleled attention to the patient helps to ease the burden of the diagnosis. For those of us involved in research as well as care, this is a very important time -- several novel treatment approaches recently have been developed here at Cornell, and we currently are showing promising results."

Biography: Dr. Hiroo Takayamais Chief of Adult Cardiac Surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center. He has more than 20 years of experience in treating patients with heart and vascular problems. As the Director of the Aortic Surgery Program and co-Director of the Aortic Center, the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center, and the Marfan Clinic at NYP/Columbia, Dr. Takayama has contributed to the care of over 4,000 patients by performing a variety of aortic and cardiac surgical procedures, approximately 300-350 operations every year. Dr. Takayama is internationally recognized for his work on complex aortic surgery (minimally invasive aortic surgery, valve-sparing aortic root replacement, aortic valve repair, aortic arch and thoracoabdominal aneurysm repair), hybrid aortic surgery (thoracic endovascular aneurysm repair), myectomy for obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and heart failure surgery. He is a leader in outcome research in aortic diseases and heart failure. He has published more than 300-350 manuscripts in prestigious, peer-reviewed journals and has authored numerous book chapters about heart disease. Dr. Takayama attended University of Tokyo for Medical School, did his internship at University of Tokyo, general surgery residency in University of Washington Medical Center, and cardio-thoracic surgery fellowship in New-York Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center.

Biography: Dr. Raja Flores, MD is a Cardiothoracic Surgery Specialist who practices in New York, NY. He has been practicing for 33 years. Dr. Raja Flores, MD is affiliated with Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai Queens, Mount Sinai Brooklyn and Mount Sinai Morningside.

Biography: Dr. John Puskas, MD is a Cardiothoracic Surgery Specialist who practices in New York, NY. He is 65 years old and has been practicing for 39 years. Dr. John Puskas, MD is affiliated with Mount Sinai Hospital and Mount Sinai Morningside.

Care Philosophy: "What we hope to do is assemble a world class medical and research team that can provide our patients with first rate medical care and bring them the most advanced treatments."

Biography: Dr. Andrew J. Kaufman, an expert in advanced minimally invasive thoracic surgery and thoracic surgical oncology, is the Director of The Thoracic Surgery Airway Program and The Asian Thoracic Surgery Program at Mount Sinai, as well as the Associate Program Director for the Thoracic Surgery Residency Program. He attended New York University School of Medicine for medical school and general surgery training. He completed a two year research fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and was awarded a national TSFRE Research Fellowship Grant and the Chairman's Award for Excellence in Basic Science Research. Dr. Kaufman went on to complete his residency on the Thoracic Surgery track in cardiothoracic surgery, specializing in thoracic surgery, at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center/New York Hospital Weill-Cornell Medical Center as the Memorial Fellow in General Thoracic Surgery where he received the Alumni Foundation Award for All-Around Clinical Excellence. He is certified by the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery. Dr. Kaufman especially enjoys spending time with and getting to know the people he meets in the office and hospital. He is dedicated to the compassionate care of people and their families across all social, economic, and cultural backgrounds. Having lived and studied in China for two years, Dr. Kaufman is fluent in Mandarin and conversational in Cantonese. His background in Asian language and culture inspired the development of the Asian Thoracic Surgery Program at the Mount Sinai. The program focuses on providing the most advanced multidisciplinary care for the Asian community with the goal of integrating community outreach, patient education, and scientific research to provide comprehensive care in this important New York City population. Dr. Kaufman is clinically focused on advanced minimally invasive and lung sparing surgery for thoracic malignancies. These specialized cancer operations conserve lung tissue and preserve respiratory function with faster recovery times. Andrew has published and presented widely on his lung sparing techniques of Video Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery (VATS) segmentectomy for early lung cancers as well as pleurectomy and decortication for malignant pleural mesothelioma. His research interests are focused on combining clinical, pathologic, and genetic data to better understand lung cancer in smokers and non-smokers. Dr. Kaufman works closely with the Interventional Pulmonary Division to locate and mark small early cancers with Navigational Bronchoscopy in order to facilitate VATS lung sparing segmentectomy. This collaboration is also essential to The Thoracic Surgery Airway Program, which focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of benign and malignant diseases of the trachea and airways, such as tracheobronchomalacia and tracheal stenosis, utilizing both surgical and interventional techniques. In his spare time, Dr. Kaufman enjoys spending time with his wife and two terrific daughters. He is an avid cook, guitarist, and tennis player.

Biography: Dr. Daniel Nicastri, MD is a Cardiothoracic Surgery Specialist who practices in New York, NY. He is 51 years old and has been practicing for 23 years. Dr. Daniel Nicastri, MD is affiliated with Mount Sinai Morningside, Mount Sinai Brooklyn and Mount Sinai Hospital.

Care Philosophy: My philosophy on care is patient centered. The role of a cardiac surgeon is to provide options for advanced treatment of cardiac disease, being an excellent technical surgeon with exemplary outcomes. The decision of what treatment pathway is selected is totally in the hands of the patient and patient's family. My team strives to be easily accessible and responsive to patient question and concerns prior to surgery, during hospital stay and after discharge from the hospital. Cardiac surgery may be routine to the cardiac surgeon but is not routine to individual patient and facing the options of cardiac surgery can be daunting. I make every effort to ensure that the experience is exemplary from the patient's standpoint.

Care Philosophy: ``I take great pride in being a cardiac surgeon in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Weill Cornell Medicine and New York Presbyterian Hospital, as I am practicing with a group of the finest cardiac and thoracic surgeons in the country. I

Care Philosophy: We are committed to delivering the best care and an exceptional patient experience. We are devoted to providing services that are patient-centered and compassionate, and care for you as a person.

Biography: Dr. Smith earned his MD at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio (Phi Beta Kappa), going on to a general surgery internship and residency and a vascular surgery fellowship at the University of Rochester Medical Center/Strong Memorial Hospital (1977-1982). He completed his cardiothoracic surgery residency at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in 1984, immediately joining the faculty of the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He was Director of Cardiopulmonary Transplantation at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center during 1986-1996 and was appointed Chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery in 1996. He became a full professor of surgery in 1998. In 2010, Dr. Smith became Chair, Department of Surgery. Dr. Smith's clinical specialties include medical support for pre- and postoperative transplant recipients, use of bioartificial support devices, and alternative immunosuppressive strategies. His research interests focus on mitral valve repair, transmyocardial laser revascularization, long-term heart and lung transplantation outcomes, preoperative risk factors for stroke after CABG, and adaptation in cardiac transplantation. Dr. Smith was named Practitioner of the Year for 2004 by the Society of Practitioners at Columbia University Medical Center. He is co-Principal Investigator for the multicenter PARTNER aortic transcatheter valve trial.

Biography: Dr. Dong-Seok Lee, MD is a Cardiothoracic Surgery Specialist who practices in Astoria, NY. He is 47 years old and has been practicing for 21 years. Dr. Dong-Seok Lee, MD is affiliated with Mount Sinai Morningside, Mount Sinai Hospital and Mount Sinai Queens.

Biography: Michael Argenziano, MD, FACS, is Associate Chief of the Division of Cardiac, Thoracic, and Vascular Surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center. He also serves as the director of the Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery and Surgical Arrhythmia programs, director of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Research Laboratory and Clinical Research Program, and program director of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Residency program. Dr. Argenziano received his medical degree from Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, and completed his postgraduate training at Columbia University Irving Medical Center/NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. Dr. Argenziano is board certified in Surgery and Thoracic Surgery. He is the immediate past president of the New York Society for Thoracic Surgery. He has authored more than 100 publications, presented at numerous scientific conferences, and received several grants and awards for his research. He has led two national trials of robotic surgery, and his atrial fibrillation research has been supported by the TSFRE's Career Development Award. He currently serves as Columbia's principal investigator in the NIH/NHLBI Network for Cardiothoracic Surgical Investigations.

Biography: Peter Pastuszko, MD, is the Chief of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery and the Director of Pediatric Cardiovascular Services at the Mount Sinai Health System and Co-Director of the Children's Heart Center at the Mount Sinai Kravis Children's Hospital.

Biography: Dr. Mark E. Ginsburg is an associate Professor of Surgery at Columbia University Medical Center and surgical director of the Diaphragm Program and the Lung Volume Reduction program. Dr. Ginsburg received his MD from Tufts University School of Medicine in 1980, completed his General Surgery residency in 1985 and Thoracic and Cardiovascular Residency in 1987 both at the University of Rochester Medical Center. He is renown for his surgical work in patients with disorders of the Diaphragm, and is one of few surgeons in the country to perform pacing of the diaphragm. Dr. Ginsburg has lectured and published extensively on this subject, and recently addressed the 95th AATS Annual Meeting in 2015, presenting ten-year data on lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS). The results, based primarily on surgical experience in the Division of Thoracic Surgery at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia, showed durable benefits that should promote wider adoption of LVRS in patients with severe emphysema. Dr. Ginsburg has been an invited speaker and principal and co-investigator of numerous clinical trials, author of numerous publications in renown journals such as the Journal of The American College of Cardiology, Annals of Thoracic Surgery, and the Journal of Heart and Lung Transplant, among many others, including co-author of the book, Lung Volume Reduction Surgery published by Humana Press. He's also currently on the department of surgery QA committee and is a member of numerous professional societies including, the American College of Surgeons, New York State Medical Society, New York Society of Thoracic Surgeons, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons and the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation.

Biography: Dr. Paul Stelzer, MD is a Cardiothoracic Surgery Specialist who practices in New York, NY. He is 78 years old and has been practicing for 53 years. Dr. Paul Stelzer, MD is affiliated with Mount Sinai Hospital.

Biography: Luigi Pirelli, MD earned his medical degree from the University of Milan, Italy. He completed his cardiac surgery training at the University of Milan and New York University. Dr. Pirelli's expertise include transcatheter valve therapies and surgical valve repairs.

Biography: Dr. Ahmed El-Eshmawi, MB BCH is a Cardiothoracic Surgery Specialist who practices in New York, NY. He has been practicing for 25 years. Dr. Ahmed El-Eshmawi, MB BCH is affiliated with Mount Sinai Hospital.