General Surgery Vascular Bariatric Expert Witness

EDUCATION

• Bachelor of Arts (Summa Cum Laude), Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania – 1970
• M.D. (rank 1st in class) – Cornell University Medical College, New York, N.Y. – 1974
• Resident in Surgery – The New York Hospital – Cornell Medical Center – 1973-1978
• J.D. (rank 2/310) – Hofstra Law – 2010, Summa Cum Laude, Law Review.

CERTIFICATION & LICENSURE

• Diplomat American Board of Surgery, (DABS), continuously certified since 1979
• Certified National Board of Physicians & Surgeons (Surgery), since 2018
• Diplomate, National Board of Medical Examiners, 1975
• New York State Medical License
• New York State Board of Law Examiners (BOLE), 2011
• Certified American Board of Legal Medicine, 2022

ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS

• Associate Professor of Clinical Surgery New York Medical College 1995 – present
• Proctor Hofstra Medical School – Structures Course 2011 –
• Preceptor SUNY-Southampton Hospital Osteopathic Residency 2015 – present

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Chairman of Surgery, North Shore/LIJ Syosset Hospital, Syosset, NY 2005-2008

• Responsible for all quality assurance activities, credentialing, strategic planning within the Department of Surgery.
• All Chiefs of General Surgery, Vascular Surgery, Orthopedic Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynecologic Surgery, Plastic Surgery, etc report to the position of Director of Surgery, who also serves on the Medical Board and runs weekly morbidity and mortality conferences for the Department.
• Oversee minimally invasive/bariatric fellowship program.

Director of Surgery and Wound Care Gurwin Jewish geriatric Center 1985-2005

Long Island Surgicenter, Melville, NY 2000-2005

Chief of Surgery

• As Chief of Surgery and member of Board of Directors, introduced state-of-the-art technology which attracted new MD surgeons to utilize facility.
• Assessed new technology in terms of its impact on patient care and the financial well being of the organization.  Favorable risk assessment led to the creation of state-of-the-art laparoscopic surgery and orthopedic arthroscopy suites, facilitating recruitment of new MD surgeons.
• Created standards and credentialing tools for physicians, conducted monthly quality assurance reviews and activities.
• Together with the Board of Directors, developed capital and operating budget.

Chief of Vascular Surgery – Huntington Hospital, NY 1995-2005

• Responsible for quality assurance for Department of Vascular Surgery
• Set policies and procedures for operation of noninvasive vascular laboratory

Huntington (NY) Noninvasive Vascular Laboratory  1978-2010

Medical Director

Responsible for standardization of day-to-day operations of the Vascular Laboratory, including direct supervision of participating MD’s as well as the technical director and vascular technologists.

• Successfully directed accreditation process with the Intersocietal Commission for Accreditation of Vascular Laboratories (ICAVL).
• Responsible for benchmarking and collection of data for quality assurance.
• Developed comprehensive policy and procedure manual for laboratory operations.
• Led implementation of process changes that were validated by Quality Assurance Program.

MDNY Healthcare, Melville, NY 2002-2006

Member, Medical Delivery Committee

• Collaborated in development of quality initiatives, including alerts and disease management guidelines for HMO.
• Reviewed drug formulary.
• Assessed new medical technology.

Huntington (NY) Hospital 1995-2007

Medical Director, Surgical Intensive Care Unit

• Oversaw policy and procedures for the unit, including ongoing quality improvement initiatives.
• Led successful accreditation process conducted by Joint Commission for Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAH).

Chairman, Critical Care Integrated Committee  1995-2007

• Led quality improvement initiatives that extensively reviewed structure and process issues in critical care units at Huntington Hospital.
• Led initiative for data collection and benchmarking throughout the North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System.  Standardization of intensive care practice at Huntington Hospital was achieved through ongoing evaluation and benchmarking with intensive care areas in the overall hospital network.

Office-Based Surgical Practice 2015-present

• AAAHC and AAAASF fully accredited ORs
• Staff includes receptionist; nurses; scrub technicians
• Offices in New York, NY, Great Neck NY, and Hauppauge NY
• Full unrestricted operating privileges in General and Vascular Surgery

HOSPITAL APPOINTMENTS

Attending Surgeon in General and Vascular Surgery:

• Northwell Health System at Huntington, Manhasset, Plainview & Syosset
• Hospitals; SUNY University Hospital, New York (1978-2010)
• Catholic Health System at St. Charles and St. Catherine Hospitals, New York (2021-present)
• Full and unrestricted operating privileges in General and Vascular Surgery

MAJOR POSTGRADUATE COURSES

• Course Certification in the Use of CO2 Laser. CO2 Laser Workshop for General Surgeons at UMD – New Jersey, 1988
• Course Certification in Duplex Scanning of the Carotid and Deep Venous System, Ultrasonix – Yonkers, New York, 1986
• Course Certification in Transcranial Doppler Sonography – Medasonics – Mountainview, California, 1987
• Course Certification in Laparoscopic Laser Cholecystectomy, E.J. Reddick, M.D., Nashville, Tennessee, 1990
• Course Certification in Advanced Laparoscopic Surgery including appendectomy, hernia repair, vagotomy, bowel resection and adhesio-lysis, Patrick Leahy, M.D., University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark, New Jersey, 1991
• Course Certification in Laparoscopic Transperitoneal and Preperitoneal Hernia Repair – Ethicon, New Jersey, 1992
• Course Certification in Nissen Hiatal Hernia Repair – Ethicon, New Jersey, 2001.
• Clinical Congresses of the American College of Surgeons, 1981, 1985, 1989, 1999, 2000
• Selected Readings in General Surgery: The University of Texas, Southwestern Medical School, Dallas, Texas – (58 Category I CME credits a year) 1974-Present
• SESAP 1 -12, American College of Surgeons, Self Assessment Program
• Course Certification – Sentinel Node Biopsy, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida, 1997
• Laparoscopic Bowel Resection Course – Medical Education Collaborative, Bolder, CO, 1998
• Laparoscopic Nissen Fundoplication Course – Medical Education Collaborative, Bolder, CO, 1998
• BLS, ATLS, ACLS Certification
• Top Gun Advanced Laparoscopic Suturing Course, US Surgical, Norwalk, CT, 2006.
• Mini-Fellowship in Bariatric Surgery, Dr. Hans Schmidt, Hackensack Medical Center, NJ, 2005.
• Lap-Band Course, Inamed, Chicago, IL, 2005
• Course Certification: Adipose Derived Stem Cell Therapy, Cell Surgical Network, 2015

PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES

• Fellow and Vice Regent of the International College of Surgeons (FICS)
• New York Society for Cardiovascular Surgery
• Life Fellow of the American Society of Abdominal Surgeons
• Society for Minimally Invasive Therapy
• New York Metropolitan Breast Cancer Group
• Surgical Society of the New York Medical College
• Elected Fellow of American College of Surgeons – 1979
• Elected Fellow of American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery – 2005
• Fellow of College of Legal Medicine

COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES

• Board of Governors, New York Friar’s Club
• Board of Directors, South Huntington Jewish Center
• Board of Directors, Suffolk Chapter of the American Cancer Society
• Board of Directors, Y.M.C.A. of Huntington
• 10th Dan Karate Black Belt
• Two-time Ironman® Triathlon Finisher

PUBLICATIONS/BOOK CHAPTERS: Available upon request. 

ARTICLES: Available upon request. 

MAJOR PRESENTATIONS: Available upon request.

EDITORIAL POSITIONS/EDITORIAL REVIEWER: Available upon request.