Colon Surgeons & Rectal Surgeons near Hackensack, NJ

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

Care Philosophy: My goal, as a colon and rectal surgeon and as a surgical oncologist is to help my patients make informed decisions in their care and understand their disease process and treatment options, both surgical and non-surgical. I hope to help my patients find a better quality of life and to help them through their surgical experience (when necessary). I am lucky to work with a world renowned group of multidisciplinary specialists to help promote a multifaceted treatment plan for my patients, including radiation oncologists, medical oncologists, radiologists, pathologists, gastroenterologists, pelvic floor specialists, urologists, and interventional radiologists.

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 nbsp;

Biography: Mehraneh Dorna Jafari, MD, is Associate Professor of Surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College and Chief of Colorectal Surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital. She is the director of clinical research in the department of Surgery at Weill Cornell Medical Center. She is board-certified in general surgery and colon and rectal surgery. Dr. Jafari specializes in the comprehensive care of colorectal cancer patients, patients with peritoneal surface disease as well as those patients with benign colorectal disease.Dr Jafari works with a world-renowned group of multidisciplinary specialists to help promote a patient centered treatment plan for her patients, including radiation oncologists, medical oncologists, radiologists, pathologists, gastroenterologists, and interventional radiologists.Her goal is to provide precision medicine to patients that is safe and effective.Dr. Jafari has expertise in minimal access techniques, including laparoscopic, and robotic surgery. In addition, she has special interests in sphincter preserving surgery (helping rectal cancer patients avoid a permanent ostomy), maintaining fertility in cancer patients, and improving quality of life and bowel function after rectal surgery. Dr Jafari has been at forefront of research with regards to improving outcomes using enhanced recovery and narcotic sparing protocols.Dr. Jafari is among a small number of surgeons who offers surgery for metastatic colon, appendiceal and peritoneal surface disease. She utilizes cytoreductive surgery with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), which involves heated chemotherapy applied directly within the abdominal cavity following removal of cancerous tumors.Dr. Jafari's clinical research focuses on quality of life and oncological outcomes for colorectal cancer patients. Her main area of expertise is starting chemotherapy earlier in cancer treatment to allow patients to recover their quality of life sooner.Dr. Jafari has written extensively and published in many major journals, including the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Annals of Surgery, and the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. She has led numerable courses teaching surgeons around the country how to perform minimal invasive surgery.Dr. Jafari is actively involved in many national Surgical and Oncologic Societies, including the American College of Surgeons, Society of Surgical Oncologists, American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons and Association of Women Surgeons.Dr. Jafari completed her general surgical residency at University of California, Irvine and her Colorectal fellowship at NYP Weill Cornell/Columbia & Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. She then was appointed the as Director Education for the Department of Surgery and Associate program Director of Colon and Rectal Surgery at University of California, Irvine prior to joining Weill Cornell.

Biography: Dr. Usama Ahmed Ali is a colorectal surgeon who has expertise in the whole gamut of colorectal surgery, including minimally invasive and open colorectal surgical procedures, anorectal operations, and colonoscopy. He completed his medical training at Utrecht University in the Netherlands in 2007. He then did colorectal research as a PhD researcher and was a colorectal research fellow at the Cleveland Clinic in 2011 under the guidance of Dr. Pokala Ravi Kiran. He trained in general and colorectal surgery at the University Medical Center Utrecht and the St. Antonius Hospital in The Netherlands after which he worked as a general and colorectal surgeon in Riverieland Ziekenhuis in Tiel until 2022. Dr. Ahmed Ali has an interest in a wide spectrum of colorectal conditions including benign colorectal conditions, diverticular disease, colon and rectal cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, polyposis and anorectal disorders such as hemorrhoids, abscesses and anal fistulas. Dr. Ahmed Ali trained extensively with Dr. Kiran and Dr. James Church. He works collaboratively with Dr. Church on complex fistula disease within the Anal Fistula Center and is part of the Hereditary Cancer and Familial Polyposis Center. He also works closely with Dr. Kiran in the management of various conditions including complex and reoperative colorectal surgery. Dr. Ahmed Ali has a double PhD in medicine, one of which is in the surgical treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. He also has a Masters in Evidence-Based Medicine from Oxford University. He is a Member of Dutch Society for Surgery and Dutch Society for Gastro-intestinal Surgery (2021).

Biography: Dr. Dionigi is a double board certified colon and rectal surgeon with a specific interest and expertise in colon and rectal cancer, polyposis syndromes, re-operative colorectal surgery, as well as robotic and minimally invasive procedures. Dr. Dionigi obtained her medical degree with highest honors from the University of Pavia, Italy. After a surgical internship at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York, she completed her general surgery residency at the Brigham and Women's Hospital Harvard Medical School in Boston. During this time, she also did a two-year translational research fellowship related to mesenchymal stem cells at Boston Children Hospital. She then completed a colon and rectal surgery fellowship at the Salvati Fellowship Program at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson in New Jersey, followed by two years of advanced training in complex reoperative colorectal surgery at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Ohio. Dr. Dionigi then joined the Division of Colorectal Surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center as Assistant Professor of Surgery. Since her arrival at NYP/Columbia, she has created the Women in Surgery Association (WINGS) first of its kind at Columbia with the goal of promoting women in leadership, she has served as Associate Program Director of the General Surgery Residency Program, and she is the founder and co-Chair of the collaborative translational project on Early Onset Colon and Rectal Cancer within the Columbia Research Cancer Center. Her dedication to the education of surgery residents was recognized with the 2023 Teacher Award. She is the author of several publications, received national and international awards for her research, and has been an invited speaker to national and international meetings.

Biography: James Church, MD is a colorectal surgeon who cares for all aspects of colorectal disease, with a particular focus on hereditary colorectal cancers and polyposis. Born and raised in New Zealand, Dr. Church did his medical school, postgraduate research and general surgical training in Auckland before training in colorectal surgery at the Cleveland Clinic and eventually joining the faculty there. Over the 34 years that followed, he played an instrumental role in developing what was widely considered the finest Department of Colorectal Surgery in the world. Dr. Church has been co-Investigator of the Collaborative Colorectal Cancer Family Registry, funded by a research grant from the National Cancer Institute. In addition, he has served as the Chairman of the Leeds Castle Polyposis Group and the International Collaborative Group on Hereditary Non-Polyposis Colorectal Cancer and President of the Collaborative Group of the Americas on Inherited Colorectal Cancer. These international societies are dedicated to the care of patients with inherited colorectal cancer and research into their disease. Dr. Church's other areas of interests include colonoscopy, functional colorectal and anal problems including constipation and incontinence, perianal and perineal infections and inflammatory bowel disease. As head of the Section of Endoscopy at Cleveland Clinic, he helped develop several advances in the art of colonoscopy for the benefit of patients. He is also deeply commitment to education and is currently a Fellow of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons, American College of Surgeons, Costa Rican Society of Surgery, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, American College of Gastroenterology, American Surgical Association and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, Glasgow.

Biography: Lea Lowenfeld, MD is a colorectal surgeon at NewYork-Presbyterian / Weill Cornell Medical Center and an Assistant Professor of Surgery in the Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery. She was born and raised in New York, NY. Dr Lowenfeld received her BA in Philosophy from Cornell University, received her medical degree from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and continued her surgery training at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. After completing three years of general surgery clinical training, she was awarded the Henle Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship to study cancer immunotherapy. She authored several peer-reviewed manuscripts, book chapters, and two biomedical patents.After completing her general surgery residency, she completed fellowship training in Colon and Rectal Surgery at the University of Southern California.

Biography: Alessandro Fichera, MD, is the Chief of the Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medicine. Dr. Alessandro Fichera received his medical degree from Catholic University of Rome, Italy in 1989 as a Magna cum Laude graduate and completed his internship and residency in general surgery at the 2nd University of Rome and then again at the University of Chicago followed by fellowship training in colorectal surgery at Mount Sinai in New York. He accepted an Assistant Professor position the University of Chicago in 2002 and became the Program Director for the Colon and Rectal Surgery Residency Training Program. In 2012, Dr. Fichera accepted a position as Professor at the University of Washington. In 2014, Dr. Fichera was named Section Chief of Gastrointestinal Surgery and in 2015 he became the Clinical Director for the Gastrointestinal Oncology Program for the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and Associate Medical Director for Colorectal, Surgical Care and Outcomes Assessment Program as part of the Foundation for Health Care Quality.In November 2017 he moved to University of North Carolina as the Division Chief of Gastrointestinal Surgery. In September 2019 he moved to Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Texas where he was the Division Chief of Colorectal Surgery, President Elect of the Medical Staff and the Surgery Safety and Quality Officer. He was the NSQIP and ERAS surgeon champion and the co-director of the NAPRC accredited Rectal Cancer Program. He serves on the ASCRS Executive Council and the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation National Scientific Advisory Committee

Biography: Caley Parobek is a board-certified Nurse practitioner who works in the Section of Colon and Rectal Surgery at New York Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medicine. She works closely with board certified surgeons who specialize in cancers of the colon, rectum, and anus along with an array of benign yet complex diseases of the lower digestive tract. Caley strives to provide patient centered comprehensive care to achieve optimal health outcomes. Caley graduated with honors from The Ohio State School of Nursing and later went on to obtain a Master of Science in Nursing from Ohio University. Prior to joining New York Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medicine, she was working at Ohio Health as a Nurse Practitioner in Gastroenterology.Caley is an active member of many national organizations including American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons, American Association of Nurse Practitioners, American College of Gastroenterology and American Gastroenterological Association.

Biography: Mollie R. Freedman-Weiss, MD MHS is an Assistant Professor of Surgery in the division of Pediatric Surgery and Pediatric Trauma at Weill Cornell Medical College and New YorkPresbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. She specializes in complex minimally invasive surgery including advanced laparoscopy, thoracoscopy, and robotic surgery for GI/colorectal surgery, thoracic surgery, and surgical oncology. She enjoys a wide range of clinical interests and expertise, including counseling for prenatally-diagnosed fetal diseases, neonatal and congenital anomalies, gastrointestinal and colorectal issues including constipation/bowel management, oncology, repair of pectus excavatum, thoracic surgery, trauma care, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).She received her undergraduate degree from Bucknell University and her medical degree from the University of Rochester. She then spent nearly a decade training as a surgeon-scientist, first as a general surgery resident at Yale and then as a fellow in pediatric surgery at Johns Hopkins. During Dr. Freedman-Weiss's surgical training, she was chosen by the Yale Department of Surgery and her peers to serve as the Administrative Chief Resident, responsible for more than seventy surgical residents across four hospitals. She also spent two years at the Yale School of Medicine researching outcomes in pediatric surgery as well as minimally invasive approaches to prenatally diagnosed diseases under Dr. David Stitelman. Concurrently, she studied surgical education and received a Masters of Health Sciences in Medical Education.She has received numerous awards for clinical excellence, research, and education, including the Ira S. Goldenberg Intern of the Year from the Yale Department of Surgery, the Yale School of Medicine Power Award, the Chief Resident Award for Resident Education, the Chief Resident Award for Medical Student Education, a first-place podium prize at the 2020 New England Surgical Society Meeting, and the Johns Hopkins Frank L. Coulson Award for Clinical Excellence.Dr. Freedman-Weiss has published numerous peer-reviewed journal articles on topics such as surgical education, Hirschsprung's disease, fetal disorders, and using data-driven opioid prescribing practices to help curtail the opioid epidemic. Her current research is on optimizing both the training of surgeons and clinical outcomes in pediatric surgery as to inform best practices.

Biography: Rachel Patel is a board-certified Chief Physician Assistant who works in the Section of Colon and Rectal Surgery at New York Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medicine. She works closely with board certified surgeons who specialize in cancers of the colon, rectum, and anus along with an array of benign yet complex diseases of the lower digestive tract. Rachel graduated with her Masterof Science in Physician Assistant Studies from New York Institute of Technology. Prior to joining NewYork Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medicine, she was working at NYU Langone Health as a Physician Assistant in Surgery.Rachel is actively involved in many national organizations including American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons, American Academy of Physician Assistants and National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants.