Shaikh Hai, MD, FCCP, FICS, FSSC, FACS
Dr Hai is the Program Director for the General Surgery Residency and is a double board-certified surgeon who has over 30 years of extensive GME experience teaching medical students, residents and fellows. He completed his surgical training at the Virginia Commonwealth University, Brooklyn Hospital Center and his Trauma/Critical Care fellowship from the University of Connecticut. He specializes in General Surgery, Trauma/Acute Care Surgery and Surgical Critical Care. He is very involved in clinical research, having published in numerous peer-reviewed journals, written chapters in surgical textbooks and is an invited guest lecturer at many symposiums and to community groups locally and nationally. Throughout his career, Dr Hai has mentored numerous surgery residents to obtain competitive fellowship positions and received best attending faculty awards from them. He is also a member of national and international surgical organizations holding leadership positions in many of them. His current teaching appointments are as Clinical Professor of Surgery at Nova Southeastern University, Florida International University, and Kansas City University Medical Colleges.
Charles Lago, MD, FACS, FASCRS
Dr. Lago is the Associate Program Director and also serves as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees for HCA Florida Westside Hospital and as Medical Director of Colon & Rectal Surgery Clinic of Ft. Lauderdale. Dr. Lago is a Diplomat of the American Board of Surgery and a Diplomat of the American Board of Colon Rectal Surgery. He completed his surgery residency training at SUNY Buffalo and Colorectal fellowship at Orlando Regional Medical Center. In addition to academic and medical pursuits, Dr. Lago is a well-recognized member of the community for the past 25 years and was a board member for the American Cancer Society, The Broward County Medical Association and numerous other medical and civic groups. Dr. Lago has sponsored the Cancer Society’s annual “Relay for Life” fund raiser and is a proponent of Colon Cancer awareness. As such he is spearheading the Cancer program at Westside and is frequently a guest lecturer at many symposiums and to many community groups locally and nationally. He is a Clinical Associate Professor of Surgery at Nova Southeastern University Medical College.
Joseph Corallo, MD, FASCRS, FACS
Dr. Joseph P. Corallo received his Medical Doctor degree from UMDNJ/New Jersey Medical School in Newark, NJ. He then did his residency in general surgery at Jackson Memorial Hospital / University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and stayed there for a fellowship in Colon and Rectal Surgery. He is certified by the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery. Dr. Corallo has received numerous awards and accolades and has various peer-reviewed publications and national presentations. He has a great interest in research and teaching and mentors the surgery residents. Dr. Corallo also sits on multiple hospital committees, and frequently lectures at local hospitals and community outreach programs on colon and rectal disease topics. He Core Faculty and the Site Director for the residency program for Westside Hospital.
Charan Donkor, MD, FACS
Dr Donkor is Core Faculty for the program and is board certified in General Surgery and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, a member of Society of American Gastrointestinal Surgeons, International Hepatopancreatobiliary Association and American Medical Association. He trained at University of Miami Jackson Memorial Hospital and Harlem Hospital-Columbia University, NYC, and then completed an advanced minimally invasive and bariatric surgery fellowship at the prestigious Baptist Health MIS Program, Miami, FL. He is the author of several medical journal articles on surgical techniques and has given many national and international presentations and lectures on robot-assisted surgery and bariatics. He serves as a proctor for Intuitive Surgical, and teaches and trains other surgeons on the robotic platform. Dr Donkor prides himself on being a mentor for our residents and delivering thoughtful and compassionate care utilizing state of the art technology. He is a Clinical Associate Professor of Surgery at Nova Southeastern University and Florida International University Medical Colleges.
Ihor Pidhorecky, MD, FSSO, FACS
Dr. Pidhorecky is a native of the Big Apple. He grew up in NYC, where he attended NYU as an undergraduate, went to Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, and then Zucker School of Medicine for his general surgical training. He went on to complete his Surgical Oncology fellowship at the renowned Roswell Park Cancer Center in Buffalo, NY. He works closely with the surgical residents during their Surgical Oncology rotation and runs the Westside Tumor Board. He has over 30 years of and is heavily invested in clinical research and, together with the residents, continues to publish in peer-reviewed journals. He is an active member in the Society of Surgical Oncology, American Society of Breast Surgeons and American Society of Clinical Oncology and has presented his work in numerous national and international meetings.
Alfredo Rego, MD, PhD, FCCP, FACS
A native of Guatemala, he obtained his PhD in Cardiovascular Physiology at Georgetown University and completed his surgery residency at the Washington Hospital Center and Ohio State University. He then completed fellowships in Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery at University of Minnesota and Washington University. He is the Medical Director of the Cardiovascular and Structural Heart Services for HCA Broward Region. Having published extensively in numerous peer-reviewed journals, he is an active member of numerous CVT Surgery professional organizations. Dr Rego is the lead preceptor, excellent teacher and mentor for the surgery residents during their Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery Rotations.
Joshua Shaw, MD, FACS
Dr. Shaw is a board-certified general surgeon, as well as an accredited HPB Surgical Oncologist by the American Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association and American Society of Transplant Surgeons. He graduated from the University of Massachusetts Medical School where he also completed his general surgery residency training. He also completed a surgical scholars’ program through the Harvard School of Public Health where he focused on improving outcomes and disparity within the healthcare system. He then completed a fellowship in HPB Surgical Oncology and Abdominal Transplant at the University of Toronto, Canada. Dr. Shaw continues to focus on Surgical Oncology and employs the use of multidisciplinary tumors boards, and nationally recognized best practices in the treatment of cancer to achieve superior patient outcomes.
Mark S. Shachner, MD, FACS
Dr. Shachner is Core Faculty and the Site Director of the surgery residency program for HCA Florida Northwest Hospital. He is a board-certified surgeon whose trained at Yale University and University of Pennsylvania Hospitals. He specializes in minimally invasive surgery for a wide variety of surgical diseases with an emphasis on GI malignancies, hiatal hernia and GERD. He is one of a few surgeons in South Florida who performs a high volume of Robotic Surgery for Hiatal Hernia, Colon Cancer, and Single Incision Gallbladder removal. He is the only surgeon in Broward County that performs the new LINX procedure for reflux disease. Dr Shachner is an accomplished educator, preeminent surgeon, prominent member of our community and an erudite teacher, who has mentored our residents for numerous research papers which have been presented at the American College of Surgeons and SAGES meetings. He is a Clinical Associate Professor of Surgery at Nova Southeastern University Medical College.
Brian Weinstein, MD, FACS
Dr. Weinstein is Core Faculty for the surgery residency, and a board-certified Surgeon who also serves as Chief of Surgery at HCA Florida Westside Hospital. He trained at SUNY Downstate and Mt. Sinai Medical Center in NYC. Apart from a variety of interests in all areas of General Surgery, he was an early adopter of Robotic Surgery techniques and is one of the most prolific Robotic Surgeons in South Florida, having performed over 1500 cases robotically at Westside. As such he is very experienced in both open and advanced minimally invasive techniques for gallbladder, hernia repair, as well as Gastro-Esophageal reflux and Hiatal hernia repair. He has a particular interest in diseases of the breast, and attends the Annual Miami Breast Cancer Conference regularly and performs minimally invasive breast biopsies using ultrasound and mammographic techniques. Another area of his expertise is Endocrine Surgery, and he specializes in treatment of diseases of the Thyroid and Parathyroid glands, both benign and malignant. He is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery at Nova Southeastern University Medical College.