Rasa Zarnegar, M.D. Specialties: Surgery, General Surgery, Endocrine Surgery

I am an Associate Professor of Surgery (Endocrine/Minimally Invasive Surgery) at Weill Cornell Medical College and an Associate Attending Surgeon at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. I have two major areas of foucs: (1)Endocrine disorders (Thyroid,Parathyroid, Adrenal) (2) Foregut Disorders (GERD,Achalasia,Gastric and complex GI disorders). I have focused on minimally invasive approaches for the management of these disorders and has been involved in the development of techniques to minimize scars through single incision and robotic surgery.In the realm of reflux and foregut surgery I direct the motility center at Weill Cornell and provides a multidisciplinary approach to the management of reflux, esophageal, and gastric dysmotility. By centralizing care our team has improved patient experience and outcomes. I am involved in multiple studies assessing outcomes in reflux and esophageal surgery. During my time at Weill Cornell I have paved the way for robotic surgery here and perform over a 150 robotic procedures a year. Using this technique I have been able to perform complex surgery for benign and malignant gastric and esophageal conditions. I have also performed reoperative surgery using this technique and avoided the need for open surgery reducing patients hospitalization and time to return to their regular activity.For endocrine disorders I perform thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal surgery. We perform outcome studies and use novel techniques to improve the cosmesis of patients undergoing these procedures with scarless surgeries. Moreover, I focus on the workup of patients with a multidisciplinary team for imaging and biopsies as necessary. On the research side, I also have a team of researchers and is supported by the NIH with a grant aimed at identifying novel methods for targeting solid tumors allowing for another potential pathway for improved patient outcome.I am widely published in these fields and have presented my work nationally and internationally. There are in the field of Cancer and Surgery over 100 peer reviewed articles and 9 book chapters.I have been repeatedly recognized by Castle Connolly as one of the "Best Doctors." I was also named by New York Magazine as one of New York's "Best Doctors."