Weill Cornell Medicine’s trauma, burns, acute and critical care surgery program provides a vitally-needed service for the community, and offers critically-ill patients a unique expertise and compassionate care from highly-skilled surgeons who are at the top of their field.
The trauma center at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center has been designated a Level I adult and a Level II pediatric trauma center by the American College of Surgeons for our ability to provide the highest quality of care, especially in critical and complex cases.
Our first priority is to save lives. Our philosophy is to provide total care for each of our patients and to always be available when needed. We not only preform surgery and provide other lifesaving treatments, but we also follow our patients throughout hospitalization and recovery, providing a seamless continuity of care.
Our multidisciplinary team includes highly trained trauma surgeons, burn specialists, critical care specialists, acute care surgeons, rehabilitation professionals, psychologists, and social workers. We have all the specialists needed to care for any injury and are ready to manage a wide variety of emergencies.
We recognize that particularly at the time of a crisis, patients and their families need compassion, sensitivity to their concerns, and ongoing communication. We maintain an environment of open dialogue so patients and their families are involved in decision-making as much as possible.
The Division of Trauma, Burns, Critical and Acute Care Surgery provides a vitally-needed service for the community, and offers critically-ill patients a unique expertise and compassionate care from highly-skilled surgeons who are at the top of their field.
Our program provides ultramodern evaluation and treatment for patients with a full range of emergency general surgery needs. From the Emergency Department to the Operating Room to the ICU to the Floor, the care of the patient must be under study. Ultimately, this permits us to tackle our principal goal of improving patient care and growing understanding of surgical disease. The most common serious complaints and diagnoses encountered include chest pain, heart failure, infectious diseases, cerebrovascular accidents, abdominal pain and gastrointestinal bleeding.
Our surgeons work with state-of-the-art emergency surgery technology used in caring for emergency surgical patients. With the use of diagnostic and advanced monitoring equipment, mixed with the high volume of operations performed, we have the esteemed experience in treating a wide spectrum of urgent conditions.
Our surgeons provide exceptional care to patients during our outpatient office hours with conditions like:
To refer patients to our outpatient practice for evaluation by one of our expert surgeons and compassionate team, please call 646-962-8490 for an appointment.
The Laser Scar Revision Program at the Burn Center at NYP/Weill Cornell Medicine uses the fractional CO2 technology for burn survivors with hypertrophic scars. Hypertrophic Scars caused by burns and other traumatic injuries are more complicated in nature and can negatively affect the quality of life due to disfigurement, pain, bleeding, pruritis (itching) and restricted range of motion.
This is the only program in New York City to offer this service. Currently, it is the only ABA verified burn center in NYC for both adult and pediatric population. The most popular and widely used machine is the UltraPulse CO2 laser by Lumenis.
The Lumenis UltraPulse Laser Therapy is the most advanced laser of its kind, and in various studies, has demonstrated a great deal of success in decreasing scars, improving color match, improving texture and improving function.
The 20-bed NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) is staffed by highly experienced critical care surgeons and nurses, complemented by skilled respiratory therapists, and other healthcare professionals trained to care for very ill patients and victims of severe trauma. The unit follows the most stringent infection control policies, and is equipped to provide patients with state-of-the-art therapies at the bedside, including continuous renal replacement and percutaneous insertion of tracheostomies and feeding tubes. The synergy between our professional expertise and the expertise of our surgical intensive care unit allows for clinical outcomes and results which are among the best in the nation.
The trauma center at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center has been designated a Level I adult and a Level II pediatric trauma center by the American College of Surgeons for our ability to provide the highest quality of care, especially in critical and complex cases.
The trauma service at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center is covered at all times by full-time attendings from the Department of Surgery. In addition, the pediatric surgery attendings are on call for care of the injured child.
See how Dr. James Gallagher, a burn surgeon and associate professor of surgery at Weill Cornell Medicine, helped medical staff in Tanzania improve care for burn patients.
Dr. James Gallagherdescribes the aftermath patients endure following home fires.
"Dr. Kira Smith is my hero. I found myself in the ER under very traumatic circumstances and was comforted by her warmth and compassionate nature. Dr. Smith performed my emergency surgery through all hours of the night, kept my family informed, and demonstrated great continuity of care throughout my stay by visiting me daily and emailing on her days off. She also saw me for months of wound care and kept in touch once I was discharged to complete my recovery at home. Dr. Smith's medical expertise, care, concern, and compassion are all five stars! I even had a second surgery with her 6 months later. I highly and confidently recommend Dr. Smith."
"Dr. Kelly is a brilliant, caring doctor and surgeon. He is a miracle worker! I had a critical leg wound and he not only saved my leg, but he is now treating the scar! I cannot imagine what might have happened had I not been under the care of Dr. Kelly!"
"Very good doctor He has very good ideas and always ask at end are there any questions I needed answers too before he goes to next patient."