General Surgical Anesthesia

There are three anesthesia resident rotations for the General Surgical Anesthesia Division:

1. Milstein Initial Rotation

The Milstein Initial Rotation is structured so that the CA-1 resident who has completed the Orientation Rotation can continue to acquire additional knowledge, skills and attributes required for surgical anesthesiology residency training.

The focus is to have the resident acquire the knowledge and skills in order to deliver anesthetic care in a slightly more independent manner, albeit always under close attending supervision. It is expected that the resident will gain clinical experience on the ENT, General Surgical, Gynecologic, Urologic (including Cystoscopy suite), and Vascular/Endovascular Anesthesiology services.

2. Milstein Junior Rotation

Residents will manage introductory anesthetic cases competently with the supervision of an attending anesthesiologist  The resident will gain additional clinical experience on the ENT, General Surgical, Gynecologic, Urologic (including Cystoscopy suite), and Vascular Anesthesiology services. The assigned cases are increasingly more complex and the resident is expected to develop more independence in managing cases.

3. Milstein Senior Rotation

The Senior Milstein Resident should be able to plan and manage complex anesthetic cases independently and competently. The Milstein Senior should have knowledge of Hospital and Departmental Practice Guidelines, how to access them, and be a role model and resource for junior Residents. The Milstein Senior should be able to manage Hospital and Departmental resources in an efficient and competent manner. The Milstein Senior should be able to discuss perioperative issues with patients, family members and surgical staff in a clear, competent, and compassionate manner.  The Resident should be able to be a competent and efficient team leader, particularly when they act as Team Captain.

Note that the name of the rotation reflects the name of the Milstein Hospital Building – the site of our adult operating rooms.  

The Columbia University Department of Surgery is active in many subspecialties including breast, colorectal, esophagus, endocrine, gallbladder, kidney, liver, obesity, pancreatic, plastic and reconstructive, spleen, small and large intestine, oncology, transplant, and minimal access surgery.  Anesthesiology residents benefit from this diversity and learn to employ a variety of anesthetic techniques including general anesthesia, regional anesthesia, peripheral nerve blocks, and monitored anesthetic care.  By the end of their exposure to this service residents are expected to be competent, efficient team leaders who can manage complex cases independently.

Faculty in the General Surgical Anesthesiology Division are a diverse group with many different clinical and research interests.

Faculty:

Dean Jones, MD, FRCPC
Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology
Division Chief, General Surgical Anesthesiology
Assistant Program Director – PGY-1 Year
Assistant Director - Resident Education

Tricia Brentjens, MD
Associate Clinical Professor of Anesthesiology
Director of Liver Transplant Anesthesia
Clinical interests: Critical care anesthesia, vascular/liver anesthesia.

Charles Emala, MD
Associate Professor of Anesthesiology
Clinical interests: Regional anesthesia.
Research interests: Signal transduction in smooth muscle, asthma, and muscle relaxants.

J. Stephen Mercer, MD
Associate Clinical Professor of Anesthesiology
Associate Vice-Chairman Clinical Affairs/OR Management
Clinical Director Milstein OR.
Clinical interests: Vascular surgery, one lung ventilation, and liver transplantation.

Richard Raker, MD
Associate Clinical Professor of Anesthesiology
Clinical interests: Anesthesia for urologic surgery.

Jeffrey Baird, MD
Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology
Clinical interests: General Anesthesia

Brian Egan, MD
Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology
Assistant Program Director – PGY-1 Year

H.T. Lee, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Anesthesiology
Research interests: Renal ischemic preconditioning, adenosine receptor modulation, and apoptosis.

Terezia Manczur, MD
Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology
Clinical interests: General Anesthesia

Joseph Meltzer, MD
Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology
Clinical interests: Critical care anesthesia, vascular/liver anesthesia.

Vivek Moitra, MD
Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology
Clinical interests: Critical care anesthesia.

Oliver Panzer, MD
Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology
Clinical interests: Critical care anesthesia.

Gebhard Wagener, MD
Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology
Clinical interests: Critical care anesthesia, vascular/liver anesthesia.
Research interests: Acute kidney injury, ICU outcomes.

Yejun Zhao, MD
Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology
Research interests: Norepinephrine transporter and nociceptive signal processing in the spinal cord.
Clinical interests: Liver Anesthesia

Benjamin Unger, MD
Instructor of Anesthesia
Clinical interests: General Anesthesia