Clinical Expertise:
My area of expertise is to treat surgical diseases of the chest, as it pertains to the lung, esophagus, mediastinum, pleura, and diaphragm. My clinical focus has been placed on complex thocacic cancer cases, minimally-invasive foregut/esophageal surgery, VATS lung and mediastinal surgery, and the surgical management of mesothelioma. I have also had specialized training in treating many different types of benign thoracic surgical problems, such as GERD and hyperhidrosis.
Certifications:
American Board of Surgery;
American Board of Thoracic Surgery
I joined the surgical staff here at Fox Chase in 2010. I completed my premedical and undergraduate training at Stanford University and went on to St. George’s University for medical school, where I completed the bulk of my medical rotations in New York. I went on to stay in New York and completed my general surgical residency at Maimonides Medical Center, followed by a cardiothoracic fellowship at SUNY Downstate. I then went on to pursue further specialized training, and completed a Harvard fellowship in Thoracic Oncology at Brigham & Women's Hospital, followed by a Harvard fellowship in Minimally-Invasive Thoracic Surgery. During my training at Brigham & Women's Hospital, I also served as a surgical clinical instructor for Harvard Medical School.
I feel that my rigorous training has given me a very broad base of experience and knowledge to apply the newest, cutting-edge minimally-invasive techniques to help treat surgical conditions that affect the chest and foregut.
In the not-so-distant past, chest surgery patients would have undergone large surgical incisions, significant postoperative pain, lengthy hospital stays, and long recovery periods. With the latest minimally-invasive techniques, more and more thoracic surgical diseases can now be treated with far smaller incisions, affording patients less pain and faster recovery time. My specific area of professional interest and clinical expertise is to broaden the applications of minimally-invasive techniques to a variety of diseases of the chest and foregut and to discover new innovative multimodal approaches to complex thoracic cancer cases.
My personal philosophy of patient care is to listen and empathize, meaning to treat patients like I myself would like to be treated. A new diagnosis of an aggressive cancer is never easy for a patient or family members to deal with. In many cases, it is an emotional life-altering period, where they have to struggle with making drastic changes and rational decisions regarding options to advance their treatment. I have successfully counseled hundreds of patients and their family members during this difficult chapter in their life. As a counselor, my foremost goal is for the patient and their family members to “understand”: to “understand” their disease process, to “understand” the multiple options that are available, and to “understand” that they are not alone—but that I, as well as the team here at Fox Chase, will be there with them every step of the way.
I enjoy working here at Fox Chase and with the Fox Chase staff for several reasons. First of all, it is a highly-ranked comprehensive cancer center, ranked among the top 20 in the country. Patients that are treated here know that they are being cared for by some of the brightest physicians and most talented and skilled surgeons in the country. There is a fundamental inspiration here at Fox Chase to not only stay on the cutting edge, but to actually also pioneer the newest techniques and advanced methodologies in the treatment of human cancers. To be part of the team that pioneers these new approaches is very important to me.
Secondly, the clinical team here at Fox Chase believes in the multimodality approach. In the past, unilateral approaches may have worked for simplex cancers. But, in this day and age, more and more cancers are found to be complex and wholly aggressive at presentation, requiring us to be aggressive with our treatment strategy. The fact that Fox Chase has hosted and continues to host hundreds of multimodal cancer clinical trials speaks to how committed the physicians here are in reducing the burden of human cancer.
But, the most fundamental reason why I enjoy working here, is that the highest priority of the Fox Chase staff is patient care. At the end of the day, what matters most is that all patients are treated with the utmost kindness, dignity, and respect by the entire staff.
For me, it is truly an honor and a privilege to be working with such a highly motivated and talented staff of caregivers. It is also a privilege for me to use my expertise to help care for patients with surgical diseases of the chest and foregut. As I continue to work here at Fox Chase, I will always be thankful and appreciate all of the well-placed confidence that you and others have placed in me.
Medical Education
MD, St. George's University School of Medicine. Grenada, West Indies, 2000
Residencies
Brooklyn South Surgical Training Program, Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York
Fellowships
Advanced Minimally-Invasive Thoracic Surgery Fellowship, Brigham and Women's Hospital. Harvard Medical School. Department of Surgery, Division of Thoracic Surgery. Boston, Massachusetts;
Advanced Thoracic Oncology Fellowship, Brigham and Women's Hospital;
Cardiothoracic Surgery Fellowship, SUNY Health Science Center at Brooklyn; Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York
Research Interests
Thoracic oncology (lung and esophagus) clinical outcomes
Publications
Manuscripts
- Davis WJ, Vaynblat M, Chiavarelli M, Shah P, Fazylov R, Zisbrod Z, Cunningham JN, Jr. Open Heart Surgery in Patients 85 Years and Older. Journal of Cardiac Surgery. Vol. 19, No. 1 (Jan 2004), p. 7-11.
- Boesch RP, Shah P, Vaynblat M, Marcus M, Pagala M, Narwal S, Kazachkov M. Relationship Between Upper Airway Obstruction and Gastroesophageal Reflux in a Dog Model. Journal of Investigative Surgery. Vol 18, No. 5 (Sept-Oct 2005), p. 241-245.
- Ednick MD, Pagala M, Barakat JP, Nino G, Shah P, Cunningham JN, Jr., Vaynblat M, Kazachkov M. Telemetric Recording of Intrapleural Pressure. Journal of Surgical Research. Vol 138, No. 1 (March 2007), p. 10-14.
Abstracts
- Pagala M, Shah P, Raval M, Abrol S, Cunningham JN, Jr. Abstract: Changes in Superoxide Dismutase Activity in Cerebrospinal Fluid and Serum During Spinal Cord Ischemia and Reperfusion in a Dog Model. The FASEB Journal. Vol. 17, No. 5 (March 2003), p. A842.
- Boesch RP, Shah P, Pagala M, Vaynblat M, Kazachkov M. Abstract: Upper Airway Obstruction Causes Pathologic Gastroesophageal Reflux in Dogs. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. Vol. 167, No. 7 (April 2003), p. A506.
- Shah P, Davis WJ, Vaynblat M, Chaviarelli M, Fazylov R, Cunningham JN, Jr. Abstract: Secondary Risk Factors in Cardiac Surgery. The Journal of Heart Disease. Vol. 3, No. 1 (July 2003), p. 72.
- Pagala M, Vaynblat M, Shah P, Karaka S, Zhukovskiy Y, Fazylov R, Cunningham JN, Jr. Abstract: Influence of Premature Ventricular Complex on Left Ventricular Pressure in Dog Heart. The FASEB Journal. Vol. 18, No. 4 (March 2004), p. A279.
- Pagala M, Vaynblat M, Shah P, Patel S, Karaka S, Fazylov R, Cunningham JN, Jr. Abstract: Effect of Premature Ventricular Complex on Contractility of Canine Heart. The FASEB Journal. Vol. 19, No. 5 (March 2005), Ab 919.21.
- Shah P, Vaynblat M, Pagala M, Bhaskaran D, Cunningham JN, Jr. Abstract: Factors Influencing the Outcome of Resuscitation After Postoperative Arrest in Cardiac Surgery Patients. Chest. Vol. 128, No. 4 (October 2005), p. 269S.
- Shah P, Pagala M, Dhadwal A, Gustavo N, Cunningham JN, Jr., Vaynblat M, Kazachkov M. Abstract: Telemetric Monitoring of Intrapleural Pressures in a Dog Model. Journal of Surgical Research. Vol. 130, No. 2 (February 2006), p. 288.
Presentations
- Pagala M, Shah P, Raval M, Abrol S, Cunningham JN, Jr. Changes in Superoxide Dismutase Activity in Cerebrospinal Fluid and Serum During Spinal Cord Ischemia and Reperfusion in a Dog Model. Accepted for poster presentation. American Physiological Society, FASEB 2003 Conference. San Diego, California. April 11-15, 2003.
- Boesch RP, Shah P, Pagala M, Vaynblat M, Kazachkov M. Upper Airway Obstruction Causes Pathologic Gastroesophageal Reflux in Dogs. Accepted for poster presentation. American Thoracic Society. 99th International Conference. Seattle, Washington. May 16-21, 2003.
- Shah P, Pagala M, Raval M, Abrol S, Cunningham JN, Jr. Changes in Superoxide Dismutase Activity in Cerebrospinal Fluid and Serum During Spinal Cord Ischemia and Reperfusion in a Dog Model. Accepted for oral presentation: Best Resident Research Paper. Maimonides Day 2003 Scientific Conference. Brooklyn, New York. May 28, 2003.
- Shah P, Vaynblat M, Pagala M, Cunningham JN, Jr. Factors Influencing the Outcome of Resuscitation After Postoperative Arrest in Cardiac Surgery Patients. Accepted for oral presentation. Maimonides Day 2003 Scientific Conference. Brooklyn, New York. May 28, 2003.
- Shah P, Davis WJ, Bhaskaran D, Vaynblat M, Cunningham JN, Jr. Secondary Risk Factors in Cardiac Surgery. Accepted for oral presentation. International Academy of Cardiology, 3rd World Congress on Heart Disease: New Trends in Research, Diagnosis, and Treatment. Washington, DC. July 12-15, 2003.
- Pagala M, Vaynblat M, Shah P, Karaka S, Zhukovskiy Y, Fazylov R, Cunningham JN, Jr. Influence of Premature Ventricular Complex on Left Ventricular Pressure in Dog Heart. Accepted for poster presentation. American Physiological Society, FASEB 2004 Conference. Washington, DC. April 17-21, 2004.
- Pagala M, Vaynblat M, Shah P, Patel S, Karaka S, Fazylov R, Cunningham JN, Jr. Effect of Premature Ventricular Complex on Contractility of Canine Heart. Accepted for poster presentation. American Physiological Society, FASEB 2005 Conference. San Diego, California. March 31-April 5, 2005.
- Shah P, Vaynblat M, Pagala M, Bhaskaran D, Cunningham JN, Jr. Factors Influencing the Outcome of Resuscitation After Postoperative Arrest in Cardiac Surgery Patients. Accepted for poster presentation. Chest 2005 Conference. Montreal, Quebec, Canada. October 29-November 3, 2005.
- Shah P, Pagala M, Dhadwal A, Gustavo N, Cunningham JN, Jr., Vaynblat M, Kazachkov M. Telemetric Monitoring of Intrapleural Pressures in a Dog Model. Accepted for oral poster presentation. AAS/SUS 2006 Conference: First Academic Surgical Congress. San Diego, California. February 7-11, 2006.
- Shah P, Vaynblat M. Lessons Learned in the Management of a Giant Thoracic Neurofibroma Mass. 1st Place Winner- resident/fellow presentations of difficult operative cases. New York Society for Thoracic Surgery (NYSTS), Winter Meeting. NYU Medical Center, New York, New York. February 7, 2008.
- Shah P, Eckstein J, Lazzaro R, LoCicero III J. Minimally-Invasive Technique and Management of a Giant Traumatic Diaphragmatic Hernia. 2nd Place- resident/fellow video presentations of innovative operative procedures. New York Society for Thoracic Surgery (NYSTS), Spring Meeting. University Club, New York, New York. April 15, 2008.
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