Bergen New Bridge Announces Partnership with Columbia University Irving Medical Center’s Department of Surgery

Surgical services will expand at the Medical Center

Bergen New Bridge Medical Center is proud to announce its partnership with Columbia University Irving Medical Center’s Department of Surgery. Columbia University Irving Medical Center’s Department of Surgery consists of physicians, researchers, and other health care professionals united in their mission to deliver the best surgical care possible.

“Together with Columbia, we will elevate the standard of treatment our patients receive by using innovative technologies and surgical techniques,” said Deborah Visconi, President & CEO, Bergen New Bridge Medical Center. “This partnership will allow our patients to receive treatments from highly trained surgeons, further expanding the reach of the surgical services offered at the Medical Center.”

Two leading Columbia surgeons will be joining the team that provides surgical services at the Medical Center – colorectal surgeon, Marco Bertucci Zoccali, MD, FACS, FASCRS, and abdominal wall surgeon, Philip George, MD.

“Partnerships like the one with Columbia surgeons will continue the efforts to expand the types of care provided by the Ambulatory Surgery Center and the accessibility of those services,” said Dr. J. Christopher Kollar, Chair of the Surgery Department, Bergen New Bridge Medical Center.

Dr. Zoccali is a minimally invasive surgeon with extensive expertise in the treatment of the broad range of colorectal diseases including IBD, colon and rectal cancers, and benign colorectal diseases. Beyond his clinical practice, Dr. Zoccali is also a prolific researcher. He has published more than 50 articles in major surgical journals including The Journal of The American College of Surgeons, The British Journal of Surgery and Inflammatory Bowel Disease, and has contributed to several book chapters.

Dr. George is a board-certified general surgeon who is skilled in advanced minimally invasive anti-reflux and hernia repair techniques. These include tissue flap repair of hiatal hernias, transversus abdominis release (TAR), enhanced view totally extraperitoneal hernia repairs (eTEP), and robotic total abdominal wall reconstruction of massive ventral incisional hernias.