LaparoscopicGallbladderRemovalCholecystectomy near Bronx, NY

Biography: Dr. Zitsman graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a degree in natural sciences, and received his M.D. degree from Tufts University Medical School in 1976. He received his training in General Surgery at Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston, and completed his Pediatric Surgery training at the Babies & Children's Hospital of New York. He is Board-Certified in General Surgery and Pediatric Surgery, and also holds a Certificate of Special Competence in Surgical Critical Care. Dr. Zitsman has maintained an active clinical practice in pediatric surgery in the New York area since 1985. He holds the rank of Professor of Surgery at the Columbia University Medical Center. His areas of interest include applications of minimally invasive techniques in pediatric surgery, chest wall deformities, and weight loss surgery in adolescents. Dr. Zitsman has been named to Castle Connolly's Best Doctors in the New York area list annually since 2002. Dr. Zitsman is founder and Director of the Center for Adolescent Bariatric Surgery at the Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of New York-Presbyterian. He is Principal Investigator for an FDA-approved adolescent laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding study. He has performed over 500 minimal access weight loss procedures and served as Chairman of the Committee on Obesity of the American Pediatric Surgical Association as well as Chairman of the Childhood Obesity Committee of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. Dr Zitsman has served as a Consultant to the Medical Devices Evaluation Panel of the FDA.

Biography: Dr. Ravi P. Kiran is the co-director of the Global Center for Integrated Colorectal Surgery and IBD Interventional Endoscopy at NewYork-Presbyerian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Prior to that, he served as chief and program director of the Division of Colorectal Surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center for over a decade. He is also the Director of the Center for Innovation and Outcomes Research in the Department of Surgery. Dr. Kiran, a renowned surgeon-scientist with expertise in inflammatory bowel disease, colorectal cancer, and other complicated colorectal conditions, joined NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia from the Cleveland Clinic, where he was staff surgeon and head of the research section in the Department of Colorectal Surgery and director of its Rupert B. Turnbull Jr. School of Enterostomal Therapy. Dr. Kiran brings a wealth of experience in laparoscopic and open colorectal surgery, anorectal procedures and reoperative abdominal and pelvic surgery. With expertise in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) like complex Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, he specializes in bowel conservation as well as avoiding an ostomy (external bag) for these conditions when others may be unable. Having trained with Dr Victor Fazio at the Cleveland Clinic, he is an expert at pouch procedures. In addition to J and S pouch creation, he has experience in the repair, revision and redo of these pouches when pouch failure occurs. In addition to IBD, he is also expert in the surgical management of primary and recurrent colon and rectal cancer, diverticulitis, enterocutaneous fistula, functional bowel problems including constipation, incontinence and pelvic floor disorders. He is one of only a few highly skilled surgeons world-wide to perform continent ileostomy reservoir procedures and other complex operations to avoid a permanent ostomy after rectal or colon resection. As a researcher, Dr. Kiran has specific interests in surgical outcomes and quality and in evidence-based strategies for inflammatory bowel disease and other conditions. With a joint appointment at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and at Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health, Dr. Kiran facilitates research collaborations in epidemiology between the Department of Surgery and the Mailman School. Dr. Kiran received his medical degree from and completed surgical training at Osmania Medical College in Hyderabad, India, and received advanced training in colorectal surgery in the United Kingdom. He completed his general surgery residency at Yale-Saint Mary's Hospital and Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center and fellowship training in colorectal surgery at the Cleveland Clinic. He is board certified in surgery and in colon and rectal surgery from the American College of Surgeons (FACS) and the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons (FASCRS) and is a fellow of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons of England and Glasgow. The author of more than 200 peer-reviewed publications, Dr. Kiran is also an editor and reviewer for numerous prominent journals and textbooks. As a student and physician, he has earned several distinctions, including the National Merit Scholarship and Gold Medals during his medical education and surgical training in India, Resident Researcher of the Year during surgical residency, Teacher of the Year in Colorectal Surgery at Cleveland Clinic in 2011, and the ASCRS Travelling Fellow Award in 2012. He has been voted to the list of Best Doctors in New York many times. Dr Kiran has a patient-centered approach to care and is available to see patients at the Main Campus, Midtown and New Jersey colorectal surgery office locations. Watch Video Profile

Biography: Dr. Kevin Chow is a trauma and acute care surgeon as well as a surgical intensivist joining the Acute Care Surgery Division. He completed a residency in General Surgery at the University of Illinois at Chicago and an Acute Care Surgery and Surgical Critical Care Fellowship at Emory University and Grady Memorial Hospital. His clinic interests include surgical innovation, point of care ultrasound, robotic surgery, and trauma. He also has an interest in resident education through simulation and cadaver labs.

Biography: Naomi Berezin is an Assistant Professor of Surgery and Critical Care at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. She specializes in both emergency and elective general surgery to treat such conditions as gallbladder disease, hernias, diverticulitis, and bowel obstruction, as well as the care of critically ill surgical patients. Dr Berezin's two passions are patient care and medical education. "I liked working with my hands as a child," says Dr. Berezin, who continued that interest in college at New York University where she studied English literature and music, before going on to complete the Post-Baccalaureate Premedical Program at Columbia University. "Working with my hands is what drew me to surgery." Dr. Berezin talks to patients about their diagnosis and treatment using language they can grasp. "I like to draw pictures for my patients so they can understand what I am talking about," she says. "I'm a visual learner and I've found that doing this enables patients to participate in their care. People ask really insightful questions when they are included in shared decision making." Dr Berezin teaches medical students and residents and is involved in courses on palliative care and surgical board preparation. Dr. Berezin is a member of a number of professional societies including the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma, American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, Society of Critical Care Medicine, and American College of Surgeons. She is dually board-certified in both General Surgery and Surgical Critical Care. After graduating from Sackler School of Medicine, Dr Berezin went on to complete her general surgery residency training at Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Montefiore Medical Center. She then completed a trauma and surgical critical care fellowship at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center before embarking on her career at Yale School of Medicine.