LaparoscopicAppendectomy near Elmhurst, NY

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.

Care Philosophy: The focus of my practice is to have a multidisciplinary approach to the management of specific disorders and cater care to the specific needs and conditions of the patient.

Biography: Devoting considerable time to teaching, mentoring and the development of physicians in training, Dr. Dakin has been presented with number of teaching awards, including the Humanism and Excellence in Teaching Award and the Medical Student Teaching Award in Surgery. Most recently, he received the Excellence in Teaching Award from Weill Cornell Medical College.His interest in clinical and basic science research focuses on various aspects of bariatric surgery, including its effects on bone metabolism; on reproductive function in obese women; and on gene expression and metabolic profile of weight loss of patients following gastric bypass surgery. Dr. Dakin is a member of many numerous professional societiesA board-certified surgeon, Dr. Dakin received his undergraduate degree with honors from Colgate University and obtained his MD from the New York University School of Medicine. He completed his general surgery residency at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, including a dedicated research fellowship in laparoscopy. He continued at Mount Sinai for a clinical fellowship in minimally invasive surgery.

Care Philosophy: Certified by the American Board of Surgery and National Board of Medical Examiners, Dr. Lieberman utilizes the latest innovations in surgical techniques--including minimally invasive laparoscopic procedures--to minimize patient discomfort and promote recovery from surgical procedures. He performs laparoscopic procedures on the colon, gallbladder, liver, pancreas, spleen, and stomach.

Biography: Nima Maghami, MD FACS is an Assistant Professor of Surgery in Weill Cornell Medicine's Division of Trauma, Burns, Acute and Critical Care Surgeryand an Assistant Attending Surgeon at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. Dr. Maghami earned his B.S. degree, magna cum laude, in Physiology and Neurobiology from University of Maryland. Subsequently, he received his medical degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin where he obtained the Distinguished Medical Student Research Award for his work on transplantation immune tolerance induction. He then completed his internship and residency training in General Surgery at Albany Medical College, in Albany, NY followed by fellowship training in Surgical Critical Care atNew York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. After obtaining his dual board certifications in General Surgery and Surgical Critical Care, he joined the faculty at Houston Methodist Hospital as an acute care surgeon and surgical intensivist. Having a strong passion for medical education, Dr. Maghami has mentored numerous medical students and residents over the years. As an Assistant Professor of Surgery at Texas A&M College of Medicine, he had the opportunity to be involved in medical education and curriculum development. Dr. Maghami's efforts in medical education and distinction as a clinician-educator have been recognizedby both students and residents. He won the Best Faculty for Surgery Award by Texas A&M College of Medicine students for two years consecutively, in 2019 and 2020. In addition, he won the prestigious Golden Apple Faculty Teaching Award given by the general surgery residents at the Houston Methodist Hospital in 2020 as well as the Faculty Award for Outstanding Service by the hospital that year. By being a member of various medical organizations and global outreach programs, Dr. Maghami strives to be part of a collaborative team advancing medical care and advocating for patient care nationally and internationally.

Biography: Cassandra Villegas, MD MPH is an Attending Surgeon at Weill Cornell Medical Center in the Division of Trauma, Burns, Critical, and Acute Care Surgery. She received her B.S. in Biological Sciences from Stanford University, where she was a President' Scholar and received the Teaching Excellence award. She remained at Stanford University as an instructor and doing neuroscience research before joining Teach for America to teach high school science in Los Angeles Unified School District for five years. There, she won the Most Inspirational Teacher Award before leaving education to attend Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. As a medical student, she completed her MPH at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, focusing on data outcomes research while diversifying her medical training at Guy's, King's, and St. Thomas's Hospital in London, England as well as the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin, Ireland.She continued her outcomes research in trauma and health disparities before starting her general surgery residency at the University of Arizona. While there, she took 1st Place in the American College of Surgeons Resident Paper Competition and earned the American Association for the Surgery Resident Scholarship for her work her in trauma outcomes. She received Resident Educator of the Year twice, and was Awarded Resident of the Year at the Southern Arizona Veteran's Hospital. At the conclusion of her residency, she was awarded the Charles Putnam Chief Resident Teaching Award.Dr. Villegas then completed her Surgical Critical Care and Acute Care Surgery Fellowships at New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, where she now serves as faculty and continues her research interest in trauma, emergency surgery, and global health surgery. She is a member of the American College of Surgeons, the Easter Association for the Surgery of Trauma, and the Surgical Outcomes Society.

Biography: If you need assistance in Chinese (Mandarin & Cantonese), please call 646-317-6325. Visit Columbia Liver Asian Outreach Office (English | Mandarin) Tomoaki Kato, M.D., is a noted pioneer in multiple-organ transplantation, pediatric and adult liver transplantation. Dr. Kato is Surgical Director of Adult and Pediatric Liver and Intestinal Transplantation at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Irving Medical Center and is a professor of surgery at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Dr. Kato is known for unique and innovative surgeries for adults and children, including a six-organ transplant; a procedure called APOLT (auxiliary partial orthotopic liver transplantation) that resuscitates a failing liver by attaching a partial donor liver, making immunosuppressant drugs unnecessary and the first successful human partial bladder transplantation involving the transplant of two kidneys together with ureters connected to a patch of the donor bladder. In a highly publicized case, he led the first reported removal and re-implantation, or auto-transplantation, of six organs to excise a hard-to-reach abdominal tumor. Previously the director of pediatric liver and gastrointestinal transplant and professor of clinical surgery at the University of Miami School of Medicine, Dr. Kato received his medical degree from the Osaka University Medical School in Japan and received his residency training in surgery at Osaka University Hospital and Itami City Hospital in Hyogo, Japan. He completed a clinical fellowship in transplantation at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital, in Miami, Florida, where he was subsequently appointed to the surgical faculty in 1997, and promoted to full professor in 2007. He served as a surgeon and senior leader of the liver and transplantation center at Miami's Jackson Memorial Hospital, beginning in 1997, and at University of Miami Hospital (previously Cedars Medical Center), beginning in 2004. Dr. Kato is a member of numerous professional and honorary organizations, and the author or co-author of more than 180 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals. Visit The Center for Liver Disease and Transplantation at columbiasurgery.org/liver