The Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery at The Mount Sinai Hospital is nationally and internationally recognized for providing excellent clinical care to patients with a wide variety of gastrointestinal disorders. The Division provides the latest innovations in colon and rectal care from benign diseases – such as hemorrhoids, fecal incontinence, and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) – to cancer. Our surgical team collaborates with other medical experts at Mount Sinai to provide the best treatment available.

The Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery is active in research program and multi-center trials in various colorectal diseases. This offers our patients the most advanced treatments for colorectal disorders.

Providing Advanced Treatments for Colon and Rectal Disease

There are many benign conditions that affect our quality of life that we do not discuss nor address because of embarrassments. There are many options available now that many patients are unaware of. Here are some of the more common conditions that we treat:

• Fecal Incontinence: Our Fecal Incontinence Program focus on a common but less talked about problem. The program is spearhead by Alex Ky, MD, who used the first InterStim sacral nerve stimulator in New York City. Patients who needed wear diapers before are now back to wearing their underwear and going out again. This is a tremendous change on the patient's quality of life.
• Fistulas: Dr. Ky has published three different chapters on anal fistulas and its treatment. She is also involved with many multicenter trials to improve the treatment of this common disease.
• Hemorrhoids: Many patients are afflicted and suffer from this condition. Most patients hear stories of pain and suffering from surgical options of treatment. However, many are unaware of the less painful options that are available. Our surgeons have performed over a thousand non-painful treatments for hemorrhoids in our office. Even our surgical options are less painful than the traditional surgeries.
• IBD: Randolph M. Steinhagen, MD, and Sergey Khaitov, MD, as well as the other members of the Division, are experts in treating IBD and doing it using minimally invasively techniques.

New Technologies and Laparoscopic Surgeries

The goal of the Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery is to provide the highest quality of care with the latest options and technologies to produce the best possible outcomes. We work collaboratively with referring physicians to ensure seamless coordination of care for patients.

Below are some of the types of innovative treatments that we offer:

• Transanal Endoscopic Microsurgeries (TEM): Sanghyun Alexander Kim, MD, and Dr. Ky both have performed hundreds of TEMs for the treatment of benign and malignant polyps. TEM helps avoid an unnecessary abdominal surgery for high rectal polyps.
• Robotic Surgeries: The Mount Sinai Hospital has three da Vinci robots, which allow for sharper visualization as well as better dexterity for our surgeons to work in a smaller space. This allows better nerve preservation and helps patients with cancer keep their sphincters, whereas in other cases they may have had a permanent stoma.
• Laparoscopic Procedures: The Mount Sinai Hospital is one of the few institutions offering one stage laparoscopic total proctocolectomy with ileoanal pullthrough. This is especially important for those young patients who are most affected by the presence of a stoma.

Catering to Our International Clientele

The Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery has physicians fluent in Russian, Spanish, and Chinese (i.e., Mandarin and Cantonese). In addition, our staff members are also multilingual, allowing the experience to be as seamless and least stressful as possible.

We strive to provide the most comfortable and convenient experience as possible by offering accommodations such as Eleven West, a premium patient floor that allows hospitality and a refined atmosphere to promote privacy and foster healing. Mount Sinai also partners with various local hotels for the convenience of our patients and their families.