Patients who need revisions to a colorectal surgery procedure known as a J-pouch now have an option for a minimally invasive procedure thanks to Mather Hospital Surgeon David Schwartzberg, MD.
J-pouch is a procedure done after a person has had their colon (large intestine) and rectum removed due to serious disease. The surgeon then creates a J-shaped pouch with the end of the small intestine. The J-pouch replaces the colon and rectum to allow waste to pass out through the anus.
“Some patients can develop problems with their J-pouch and traditionally they needed a formal surgery with large incisions to correct these problems,” Dr. Schwartzberg said. “I have figured out a way to fix many of these problems with a minimally invasive operation. Minimally invasive operations lead to much smaller incisions, less pain, quicker recovery and a shorter hospital stay.”
Dr. Schwartzberg’s paper “Minimally Invasive Revisional-IPAA (Ileal Pouch-Anal Anastomosis) Surgery: The Future of Redo Pouches?” was accepted for the American Society of Colorectal Surgeons 2022 scientific meeting in May. Dr Poppy Addison, MD, a surgery resident at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan, assisted in the research.
Dr. Schwartzberg practices with Mather Colon and Rectal Surgery, a practice of Harbor View Medical Services. He completed his surgery residency at NYU Langone and fellowship in colon and rectal surgery at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, OH. He worked at the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at NYU Langone before joining Harbor View in 2019.
Dr. Schwartzberg was named to the Super Doctors® New York Rising StarsSM list for 2021 and 2022, an award given to no more than 2.5 percent of doctors in any state, as well as being named a 2021 Top Doctor by his peers.