Surgical Residency

The Department of Surgery offers an ACGME approved five year residency program in General surgery that fulfills the training requirement for certification by the American Board of Surgery.  In addition all residents are required to complete a salaried mandatory year of research between their PGY-2 and PGY-3 year.  The program is clinically focused and fosters the development of general surgical skills as well as extensive consultative skills.

The residency program is approved for 3 categorical positions per year.  All applications are accepted through ERAS and filled through the match.  We have a great mix of young and newly graduated fellowship-trained and experienced faculty that is dedicated to residency training and clinical development.  Residents work under close supervision with a large variety of clinical material to permit progressive development of surgical maturity.

In addition to general surgery, the department includes active subspecialty services in Trauma and Critical care, Minimally Invasive Surgery, Neurosurgery, Vascular Surgery, Breast Surgery, Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck, Hand and Plastic surgery. Brookdale is a state designated Level I Trauma center with more than 100,000 emergency visits of which more than 20,000 are trauma visits.  We have a high volume of penetrating trauma therefore our residents gain extensive experience in the management of major trauma including being in the 95th percentile for operative trauma.

Our General Surgery residents are exposed to all subspecialty services without any designated fellows.  We have a Surgical Skills Lab/Simulation Center with three laproscopic stations, endoscopy training and open surgical skills training.  The Simulation Center is capable of doing patient care scenarios, ACLS training, central line, chest tube and other bedside procedure workshops.  Brookdale also has a DaVinci robot Z model along with simulation capabilities.

The Brookdale surgery residency program is dedicated to provide graded professional responsibility creating proficient surgeons capable of administering exceptional care to the surgical patient.

Department Chair

Patricia O'Neill, MD, FACS

Acting Chairperson, of Surgical Services

Trauma Medical Director

Dr. Patricia O’Neill, R.N., M.D., F.A.C.S. is  the Vice Chairman of the Department of Surgery and the Medical Director of the Trauma Program at the Brookdale  Hospital and Medical Center .  Dr. O’Neill obtained her undergraduate degree from Brooklyn College and a Medical Degree from the State University of New York-Downstate Medical Center where she graduated summa cum laude in 1986.  After graduating medical school, Dr. O’Neill remained at SUNY-Downstate/Kings County Hospital for her surgical residency and subsequently completed a surgical critical care fellowship at the University Of Miami School Of Medicine.  Dr. O’Neill is currently the State Chair for the Greater New York Committee on Trauma for the American College of Surgery and has also been appointed as the Vice Chair of the State Trauma Advisory Committee of New York State which serves as an advisory committee on trauma related issues to the New York State Commissioner of Health.  Dr. O’Neill has served as principal and co-investigator for several clinical research trials investigating peri-operative infection in surgery and trauma, prevention of sepsis and organ failure, and hemostasis in massive hemorrhage.  She has several publications in peer reviewed journals and has been invited to speak on these topics  at both local and national symposia.

Faculty

Xổ số Đồng Nai hàng tuầnProgram Director

Ravi Kothuru, MD, FACS

Dr. Kothuru completed his residency at Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center and his Cardiothoracic Fellowship at SUNY Downstate and Maimonides Medical Center.  His main interests are in minimally invasive thoracic and foregut surgery.

Under his direction as Program Director, extensive changes were made in the Surgical Residency training program at Brookdale Univ. Hospital over the past two years.

Dr. Kothuru is also the co-founder and President of a charity surgical organization.  He has been the team leader in many International Surgical Missions all over the world.

Dr. Kothuru has academic appointments at Ross University and New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY.  He is a member of the Independent Program Committee and the Association of Program Directors in Surgery, Society of Thoracic Surgeons and a Fellow of American College of Surgeons.  He is also a contributor to the national TWIS question bank program.

He is Board certified in General surgery and Thoracic Surgery

Frederick Amog, MD

General Surgery/Trauma

Dr. Amog completed his residency at Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center and completed a fellowship in Minimally Invasive Surgery/Bariatric Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas.

Dr. Amog is actively involved with our advanced bariatric center and he also provides trauma coverage.  He is an active participant in our skills lab curriculum as well as an avid marathon runner.

Hadley Cadot, MD

General Surgery/Trauma

Dr. Cadot completed his residency at Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center.   He is the Medical Director of the Wound Healing Center at Brookdale, as well as an Attending in General Surgery and Trauma.

He holds an academic appointment at Ross University.  Dr. Cadot is our most recent fellow admitted to the American College of Surgery.

M. Rashid Chaudhry, MD

Director, Division of ENT

Dr. Chaudhry completed his Otolaryngology residency at SUNY Downstate Medical Center.  He is the Director of the Division of Otolaryngology at Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center.  He has published multiple papers and remains involved in several research projects

Lucio Flores, MD

Director of Vascular Surgery

Associate Chairman

Dr. Flores completed his residency at Brooklyn Jewish Hospital Medical Center in Brooklyn.  Dr. Flores is the Director of Vascular Surgery and the Associate Chairman of Surgery.   He actively participates in clinical local, regional and national activities and presentations, and he is active in the Spanish – American Society.  He has mentored numerous Brookdale graduates toward their successful vascular surgery fellowships and careers.

Charles LaPunzina, MD

Thoracic Surgery

Dr. La Punzina completed his residency at New York Medical College and his Cardiothoracic fellowship at SUNY Downstate - Maimonides Medical Center.   In addition to Brookdale Hospital, he is a Thoracic Attending at Flushing Hospital Medical Center and Jamaica Hospital Medical Center.  He holds an academic appointment at SUNY Downstate.   Dr. La Punzina is instrumental in developing our Mock Oral program and is actively developing new scenarios.

Hrishkesh Nerkar, MD

General Surgery

Dr. Nerkar earned his bachelor of medicine and bachelor of surgery degree at Seth G. S. Medical College in Mumbai, India. He then completed residency in general surgery at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi. He also completed his training in US at Maimonides Medical Center, NY and fellowship in Minimally Invasive and Bariatric Surgery at Geisinger Medical Center, PA.

His clinical and research interests include Foregut and Bariatric surgery, General Surgery, Minimally Invasive Solid Organ Surgery (adrenals, spleen and pancreas) and Gastrointestinal Laparoscopic procedures. He also has expertise in Single Incision Laparoscopic Procedures (SILS).

Dr. Nerkar has developed an individualized skill lab curriculum for Surgery residents at Brookdale. He is also surgery clerkship director for New York Medical College students and holds academic appointment at New York Medical College.

He is board certified by the American Board of Surgery and certified by American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery in Bariatric Surgery.  He is a member of American College of Surgeons, Society of American Gastrointestinal an Endoscopic Surgeons and American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.

Magdalena Plasilova, MD, PhD

Director of Breast Surgery

Dr. Plasilova completed her PhD in Prague, Czech Republic and her residency at Danbury Hospital Wake Forest Baptist University Medical Center.  Her fellowship in Breast Surgery was completed at the Yale School of Medicine, New Haven CT.  She is the Director of Breast Surgery at Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center.

Daniel Ramirez, MD

Vascular Surgery

Daniel E Ramirez MD completed medical school at Iberoamerican University (Unibe) in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.  He completed his general surgery residency at Brookdale University Medical Center, and his Vascular Surgery fellowship at Ochsner Medical Foundation in New Orleans, LA.  He subsequently had private practice experience in a busy vascular surgery practice in Jackson, Mississippi where he was involved in the CREST trial performing high volume carotid endarterectomies and carotid stenting prior to returning to Brookdale as a Vascular Attending.

His clinical interests include urgent carotid endarterectomies after minor strokes, Iliofemoral deep venous thrombosis and its management, aortic dissection, limb salvage, aortoiliac occlusive disease, abdominal and thoracic aneurysms, arcuate ligament syndrome, mesenteric artery disease and venous insufficiency.

Dr. Ramirez is board certified in Vascular Surgery and is an active member of the American College of Surgery, the Society of Vascular Surgery, and the Gulf Coast Vascular Society.

Francesco Serafini, MD

Surgical Oncology

Dr. Serafini completed his surgical residency as well as his fellowship in GI Surgical Oncology and HPB Surgery at the University of South Florida.  Dr. Serafini  is the Surgical Oncology Attending at Brookdale and the Director of Surgical Oncology at Kings County Hospital Center and at SUNY Downstate Medical Center.  Dr. Serfini holds an academic appointment at the University of South Florida and at SUNY Downstate.  His particular clinical areas of interest are GI Cancers, including but not limited to HBP cancers, and Sarcomas.

Ruben Toribio, MD

General Surgery/Trauma

Dr. Toribio completed his residency at Maimonides Medical Center.  He is an attending in General Surgery and Trauma at Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center.   He has vast experience in all general surgical procedures, especially in GI pathology.

John Tymchak, MD

Director, Plastic and Hand Surgery

Dr. Tymchak completed his residency at SUNY Downstate Medical Center and his fellowship in Plastic Surgery at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.  He also completed a fellowship in Hand Surgery at the Institute of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery at NYU.  He is the Director of Plastic and Hand Surgery at Brookdale Hospital.  He is also actively involved in mentoring and advising residents about choices for their research year.