Top Doctors 2010
Sarasota has a penchant for the very best. And our medical professionals, like our culture, cuisine and beaches, are second to none. From allergists to vascular surgeons, you’ll find not just one great Sarasota doctor per specialty, but many, along with outstanding hospitals and other medical facilities.
This story features the standouts—an exclusive listing of doctors who were nominated by their peers, then rigorously screened by national research firm Castle Connolly Medical, which scours the country every year to compile its reference annual, America’s Top Doctors. The doctors are chosen not just for their resumés and their records, but for their continued clinical prowess and their ever-important interpersonal skills. They are models of our medical community, and we applaud them.
We asked some of these doctors to share critical turning points in their career, the experiences and encounters that made them the physicians—and people—they are today. Those “Medical Milestones” range from a surgeon’s first attempt at revolutionary robotic surgery to the oncologist who learned from a courageous patient that sometimes it’s better to forgo painful treatments and die with your dignity intact.
The researchers at Castle Connolly would be the first to agree that despite all the expertise that went into compiling this list, you are the most important expert when it comes to choosing the doctor who best suits your needs. Communication skills, character and the ability to inspire trust are essential but intangible attributes of top physicians. Start your search here, and don’t stop until you’ve found the best physician for you. It’s a relationship that can enrich—and even save—your life.
Castle Connolly Medical Ltd. is a healthcare research and information company founded in 1991by a former medical college board chairman and president to help guide consumers to America’s top doctors and top hospitals. Castle Connolly’s established survey and research process, under the direction of an M.D., involves tens of thousands of top doctors and the medical leadership of leading hospitals.
Castle Connolly’s physician-led team of researchers follows a rigorous screening process to select top doctors on both the national and regional levels. Using mail and telephone surveys, and electronic ballots, they ask physicians and the medical leadership of leading hospitals to identify highly skilled, exceptional doctors. Careful screening of doctors’ educational and professional experience is essential before final selection is made among those physicians most highly regarded by their peers.
The result—we identify the top doctors in America and provide you, the consumer, with detailed information about their education, training and special expertise in our paperback guides, national and regional magazine “Top Doctors” features and online directories.
Doctors do not and cannot pay to be selected and profiled as Castle Connolly Top Doctors
Physicians selected for inclusion in this magazine’s “Top Doctors” feature may also appear as Regional Top Doctors online at castleconnolly.com, or in one of Castle Connolly’s Top Doctors guides, such as America’s Top Doctors® or America’s Top Doctors® for Cancer.
$34.95 (paperback); available online at castleconnolly.com,
via toll-free 1-800-399-DOCS (3627) and at major national bookstore chains
Medical Milestone
Radiation oncologist Gray Swor learned when it’s time to stop further treatment from a young woman’s life-and-death struggle.
Radiation oncologist Dr. Gray Swor of 21st Century Oncology is the daughter of a cardiologist and a bacteriologist. Growing up in a small Virginia town, she would stop by her father’s office on the way home from school, and from an early age was a hospital go-fer, an EKG technician and a patient transport. “It’s all I’ve ever known,” she says. “I never questioned that I would become a physician.”
Swor earned her medical degree at Eastern Virginia Medical School and did her radiation oncology residency at Duke University. She moved to Vanderbilt University as assistant professor of radiation oncology. There an encounter with a patient changed the way she approached her field.
“I saw a girl my age—30—a nonsmoker, very fit, engaged to be married, who had a horrible cancer that had spread everywhere,” she remembers. “In our heart of hearts, we knew there was no way she would survive, but we treated her very aggressively because of her young age and her will.
“Six months after she died, I ran into her mom. She told me, ‘If I had known there was no hope and she was going to suffer that much, I wouldn’t have pushed her to go through with the treatments.’ I learned there’s a stopping point. It’s hard for us as cancer specialists to say we can’t do anything else. But there’s a fine line: instilling hope but also dignity and preservation of the self.”
The hardest part of her job, Swor says, is “the peaks and valleys of emotions. In one day I’m telling somebody their cancer’s back and 15 minutes later I’m celebrating five years cancer-free with another patient.”
To stay centered, Swor tends a rose garden, and she recently took up the harp. “My end-of-the-year recital is coming up,” she says. “It will be me and some little girls.”
What keeps her inspired? “The resilience and bravery of every person I see,” she says. “They fight so hard; it makes me want to come to work every day. It changes how I live; I enjoy the simple things—a rose that I might grow—because it can change in an instant.”
—Ilene Denton
The List
Allergy & Immunology
Donna Jamieson
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
2650 Bahia Vista St., Ste. 304
Sarasota, FL 34239-2699
(941) 366-9711
Cardiovascular Disease
Michael Mollod
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Doctors Hospital - Sarasota
Sarasota Heart Center
1921 Waldemere St., Ste. 512
Sarasota, FL 34239
(941) 917-8185
Coronary Artery Disease, Nuclear Cardiology, Echocardiography
Alberto Montalvo
Manatee Memorial Hospital
Blake Medical Center
Bradenton Cardiology Center
316 Manatee Ave. W.
Bradenton, FL 34205
(941) 748-2277
Interventional Cardiology, Cardiac Catheterization, Coronary Angioplasty/Stents
Daniel Pacifico
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
1540 S. Tamiami Trail, Ste. 401
Sarasota, FL 34239
(941) 917-0060
Venice Regional Medical Center
600 Nokomis Ave. S., Ste. 101
Venice, FL 34285
(941) 485-8190
Interventional Cardiology
Colon & Rectal Surgery
Richard Golub
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Doctors Hospital - Sarasota
Surgical Specialists
Intercoastal Medical Group
3333 Cattlemen Road., Ste. 206
Sarasota, FL 34232
(941) 341-0042
Colon & Rectal Cancer, Laparoscopic Surgery, Hemorrhoids
Dermatology
Alfred Hernandez
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
1849 S. Osprey Ave.
Sarasota, FL 34239-3614
(941) 957-4767
Dermatologic Surgery, Mohs' Surgery, Skin Cancer
Cathy Milam
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
7400 S. Tamiami Trail
Sarasota, FL 34231
(941) 364-8220
Skin Cancer, Acne, Eczema
Susan Weinkle
Blake Medical Center
Manatee Memorial Hospital
5601 21st Ave. W., Ste. B
Bradenton, FL 34209
(941) 794-5432
Skin Cancer, Mohs' Surgery, Cosmetic Dermatology
Joseph Yohn
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Doctors Hospital - Sarasota
IMG Dermatology
3333 Cattlemen Road, Ste. 106
Sarasota, FL 34232
(941) 379-1799
Skin Cancer, Acne, Psoriasis, Hair & Nail Disorders
Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism
Jose Antunes
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
2400 Fruitville Road
Sarasota, FL 34237
(941) 365-0333
Diabetes, Cholesterol/Lipid Disorders, Thyroid Disorders
Jesus Perez
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Doctors Hospital - Sarasota
IMG Endocrinology
3333 Cattlemen Road, Ste. 104
Sarasota, FL 34232
(941) 379-1777
Thyroid Disorders, Osteoporosis, Diabetes, Obesity
Family Medicine
Joseph Larkin
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Doctors Hospital - Sarasota
IMG-Palmer Ranch
8592 Potter Park Drive
Sarasota, FL 34238-5439
(941) 921-6618
Preventive Medicine
Barry Stein
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
6128 S. Tamiami Trail
Sarasota, FL 34231-4029
(941) 923-5882
Gastroenterology
F. Scott Corbett
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Doctors Hospital - Sarasota
Gastroenterology Assocs. of Sarasota
2089 Hawthorne St., Ste. 200
Sarasota, FL 34239
(941) 365-6556
Endoscopy, Pancreatic/Biliary Endoscopy (ERCP, Barrett's Esophagus)
Elliot Livstone
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Doctors Hospital - Sarasota
1515 S. Osprey Ave., Ste. C-11
Sarasota, FL 34239
(941) 955-0000
Esophageal Disorders, Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal Cancer, Barrett's Esophagus
Bruce Trotman
Manatee Memorial Hospital
Blake Medical Center
5715 21st Ave. W.
Bradenton, FL 34209
(941) 761-1800
Biliary Disease, Hepatitis B & C, Colon & Rectal Cancer
Geriatric Medicine
Deven Dave
Venice Regional Medical Center
1720 E. Venice Ave.
Venice, FL 34292
(941) 483-9700
Gynecologic Oncology
James Fiorica
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
1888 Hillview St.
Sarasota, FL 34239
(941) 917-8383
Gynecologic Cancer, Breast Cancer, Cervical Cancer
Infectious Disease
Eliot Godofsky
Manatee Memorial Hospital
Blake Medical Center
6010 Pointe West Blvd.
Bradenton, FL 34209
(941) 746-2711
Hepatitis C, Clinical Trials, Viral Hepatitis, HIV
James Knapp
Venice Regional Medical Center
Englewood Community Hospital
406 N. Indiana Ave., Ste. 9
Englewood, FL 34223-2713
(941) 475-3980
Internal Medicine
David Bittleman
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Doctors Hospital - Sarasota Intercoastal Medical Group
3333 Cattlemen Road, Ste. 210
Sarasota, FL 34232
(941) 371-3337
Carlos Caballero
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Doctors Hospital - Sarasota
1801 Arlington St., Ste. 2
Sarasota, FL 34239-3502
(941) 917-8365
Concierge Medicine
David Daiello
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Doctors Hospital - Sarasota Intercoastal Medical Group
2881 Hyde Park St.
Sarasota, FL 34239
(941) 366-2460
Geriatric Medicine
Scott Elsbree
Doctors Hospital - Sarasota
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
5831 Bee Ridge Road, Ste. 210
Sarasota, FL 34233
(941) 379-8481
Charles Hollen
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Doctors Hospital - Sarasota Intercoastal Medical Group
3333 Cattleman Road, Ste. 208
Sarasota, FL 34232
(941) 379-5121
Robert Schulman
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Doctors Hospital - Sarasota
5831 Bee Ridge Road, Ste. 210
Sarasota, FL 34233
(941) 379-8481
Interventional Cardiology
Stephen Culp
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Heart Specialists of Sarasota
1852 Hillview St., Ste. 308
Sarasota, FL 34239
(941) 917-4250
James Fox
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
1540 S. Tamiami Trail, Ste. 401
Sarasota, FL 34239
(941) 917-0060
Cardiac Catheterization
Maternal & Fetal Medicine
Washington Hill
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Manatee Memorial Hospital
First Physicians Group-Maternal Fetal Med
1888 Hillview St.
Sarasota, FL 34239
(941) 917-6260
Pregnancy-High Risk, Prenatal Diagnosis, Multiple Gestation
Medical Oncology
Richard Brown
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Doctors Hospital - Sarasota
Florida Cancer Specialists
1970 Golf St.
Sarasota, FL 34236-6907
(941) 957-1000
James Rubinsak
Florida Cancer Specialists
Venice Regional Medical Center
836 Sunset Lake Blvd., Ste. 101
Venice, FL 34292
(941) 408-0500
Caryn Silver
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Doctors Hospital - Sarasota
Florida Cancer Specialists
1970 Golf St.
Sarasota, FL 34236
(941) 957-1000
Breast Cancer
Robert Whorf
Blake Medical Center
Manatee Memorial Hospital
Florida Cancer Specialists
2401 60th St. Court W.
Bradenton, FL 34209
(941) 792-1881
Neurological Surgery
John Cassidy
Venice Regional Medical Center
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
842 Sunset Lake Blvd., Ste. 302
Venice, FL 34292
(941) 484-3404
Brain Surgery, Spinal Surgery
Robert Knego
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
5831 Bee Ridge Road, Ste. 100
Sarasota, FL 34233
(941) 308-5700
Brain Tumors, Spinal Surgery
Neurology
Julio Cantero
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Doctors Hospital - Sarasota
Intercoastal Medical Group
943 S. Beneva Road, Ste. 102
Sarasota, FL 34232
(941) 906-7155
Epilepsy, Sleep Medicine
Mauricio Concha
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Doctors Hospital - Sarasota
Intercoastal Medical Group-Neurology
943 S. Beneva Road, Ste. 102
Sarasota, FL 34232
(941) 906-7155
Stroke/Cerebrovascular Disease
Donald Negroski
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Doctors’ Hospital
1921 Waldemere St., Ste. 701
Sarasota, FL 34239-2913
(941) 487-2160
Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's Disease, Alzheimer's Disease, Migraine
Obstetrics & Gynecology
Gary Easterling
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Doctors Hospital - Sarasota
5741 Bee Ridge Road, Ste. 390
Sarasota, FL 34233
(941) 379-6331
Robotic Surgery
Michael Finazzo
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
1921 Waldemere St., Ste. 307
Sarasota, FL 34239-2941
(941) 917-8565
Karen Liebert
Blake Medical Center
Manatee Gynecology - Blake Park
1850 59th St. W., Ste. B
Bradenton, FL 34209-2391
(941) 792-4993
Gynecology Only
G. Michael Swor
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
1617 S. Tuttle Ave., Ste. 1A
Sarasota, FL 34239
(941) 330-8885
Gynecology Only, Robotic Surgery, Laparoscopic Surgery, Urogynecology
Ophthalmology
Liaquat Allarakhia
Manatee Memorial Hospital
Blake Medical Center
Bradenton Eye Clinic
4812 26th St. W.
Bradenton, FL 34207-1705
(941) 727-3937
Cataract Surgery-Lens Implant, Glaucoma, Macular Degeneration, Dry Eye Syndrome
Thomas Schwartz
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Doctors Hospital - Sarasota
1219 East Ave. S., Ste. 105
Sarasota, FL 34239-2351
(941) 957-4216
Cataract Surgery, Cornea & External Eye Disease
Harris Silverman
Blake Medical Center
Eye Associates
6002 Pointe West Blvd.
Bradenton, FL 34209
(941) 792-2020
Cataract Surgery/Lens Implant
Orthopaedic Surgery
John Hand
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Doctors Hospital - Sarasota
1950 Arlington St., Ste. 111
Sarasota, FL 34239
(941) 921-2600
Hand Surgery
William Mehserle
Venice Regional Medical Center
1525 S. Tamiami Trail, Ste. 602
Venice, FL 34285
(941) 497-2663
Hip Replacement, Knee Replacement, Sports Medicine
Joseph Noah
Englewood Community Hospital
Venice Regional Medical Center
Suncoast Orthopaedic Surgery
836 Sunset Lake Blvd., Ste. 205
Venice, FL 34292-2103
(941) 485-1505
Sports Medicine, Joint Replacement, Knee Replacement, Knee Injuries/ACL
Arthur Valadie
Blake Medical Center
Manatee Memorial Hospital
Coastal Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine
6015 Pointe West Blvd.
Bradenton, FL 34209
(941) 792-1404
Sports Medicine, Arthroscopic Surgery, Knee Reconstruction
Otolaryngology
Matthew Byers
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Lakewood Ranch Medical Center
Intercoastal Medical Group-Otolaryngology
3333 Cattlemen Road, Ste. 204
Sarasota, FL 34232
(941) 379-1800
Trauma-Face, Nasal & Sinus Disorders, Nasal Surgery, Sleep Disorders/Apnea
Jack Wazen
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Silverstein Institute
1901 Floyd St.
Sarasota, FL 34239
(941) 366-9222
Skull Base Surgery, Meniere's Disease, Acoustic Neuroma, Hearing & Balance Disorders
Pediatrics
Johnny Alvarez
Manatee Memorial Hospital
3908 Ninth Ave. W.
Bradenton, FL 34205-1704
(941) 747-3116
Immunizations
Helene Hubbard
Manatee Memorial Hospital
408 Manatee Ave. E., Ste. 1
Bradenton, FL 34208
(941) 922-5366
Developmental & Behavioral Disorders, Developmental Delay, Learning Disorders, Autism
Jack Rodman
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
First Physicians-Pediatrics/Internal Med
929 S Tamiami Trail, Ste. 101
Sarasota, FL 34229
(941) 917-4700
Internal Medicine, Pediatrics
Robert Weiss
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Pediatric Assocs.
1215 East Ave. S., Ste. 303
Sarasota, FL 34239
(941) 366-3000
Adolescent Medicine
Plastic Surgery
Christopher Adamson
Doctors Hospital - Sarasota
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
5741 Bee Ridge Road, Ste. 510
Sarasota, FL 34233
(941) 343-9900
Breast Augmentation, Liposuction & Body Contouring, Cosmetic Surgery-Face
Marguerite Barnett
Venice Regional Medical Center
1715 Stickney Point Road
Sarasota, FL 34231
(941) 927-2447
Cosmetic Surgery-Face, Liposuction & Body Contouring, Cosmetic Surgery-Breast, Breast Reconstruction
David Mobley
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
2255 S. Tamiami Trail
Sarasota, FL 34239
(941) 366-8897
Cosmetic Surgery-Face, Cosmetic Surgery-Breast, Liposuction & Body Contouring, Laser Surgery
Charles Rodriguez
Venice Regional Medical Center
Renaissance Plastic Surgery
321 Nokomis Ave. S.
Venice, FL 34285
(941) 488-7727
Breast Augmentation, Cosmetic Surgery-Breast, Liposuction & Body Contouring, Cosmetic Surgery-Face
James Schmidt
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Doctors Hospital - Sarasota
2255 S. Tamiami Trail
Sarasota, FL 34239
(941) 366-8897
Facial Rejuvenation, Cosmetic Surgery-Breast, Liposuction & Body Contouring
John Strausser
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Doctors Hospital - Sarasota
1900 S. Tamiami Trail
Sarasota, FL 34239
(941) 955-9096
Cosmetic Surgery, Reconstructive Surgery, Cancer Surgery
Psychiatry
Robert Mignone
Gulf Coast Health Services
Venice, FL 34285
(941) 408-8988
Bipolar/Mood Disorders, Complementary Medicine
Pulmonary Disease
Glenn Adams
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Doctors Hospital - Sarasota
1625 S. Osprey Ave.
Sarasota, FL 34239
(941) 917-8772
Sleep Disorders/Apnea, Restless Legs Syndrome, Narcolepsy
Kenneth Hurwitz
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Doctors Hospital - Sarasota
Lung Assocs. of Sarasota
1895 Floyd St.
Sarasota, FL 34239
(941) 366-5864
Critical Care
Janine Mylett
Blake Medical Center
Manatee Memorial Hospital
The Lung Center
2210 61st St. W.
Bradenton, FL 34209
(941) 792-0611
Sleep Disorders/Apnea
Radiation Oncology
Stephen Patrice
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
3210 Fruitville Road
Sarasota, FL 34237
(941) 364-8887
Lung Cancer, Brain Tumors, Stereotactic Radiosurgery
Gray Swor
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
21st Century Oncology
3210 Fruitville Road
Sarasota, FL 34237
(941) 364-8887
Breast Cancer
Rheumatology
Jeffrey Kaine
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Sarasota Arthritis Center
3500 S. Tamiami Trail
Sarasota, FL 34239
(941) 365-0770
Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus Nephritis, Lupus/SLE, Clinical Trials
Daniel Small
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Doctors Hospital - Sarasota
Sarasota Arthritis Center
3500 S. Tamiami Trail
Sarasota, FL 34239
(941) 365-0770
Arthritis
Surgery
David Napoliello
Venice Regional Medical Center
Lakewood Ranch Medical Center
8340 Lakewood Ranch Blvd., Ste. 101
Bradenton, FL 34202
(941) 388-9525
Minimally Invasive Surgery, Laparoscopic Surgery
Scott Stevens
Sarasota Memorial Hospital Intercoastal Medical Group
3333 Cattlemen Road, Ste. 206
Sarasota, FL 34232
(941) 341-0042
Laparoscopic Surgery, Obesity/Bariatric Surgery
Nanette Wendel
Blake Medical Center
Bradenton Surgical Assocs.
5601 21st Ave. W, Ste. D
Bradenton, FL 34209
(941) 748-1471
Laparoscopic Surgery
Thoracic Surgery
Martin Beggs
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Doctors Hospital - Sarasota
Sarasota Cardio & Thoracic Surgery Assocs.
1540 S. Tamiami Trail, Ste. 301
Sarasota, FL 34239
(941) 952-1913
Robotic Surgery, Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery
Alessandro Golino
Manatee Memorial Hospital
Blake Medical Center
Manatee Cardiac Surgery
623 39th St. W., Ste. 2
Bradenton, FL 34205-2457
(941) 744-2640
Mitral Valve Surgery, Carotid Artery Surgery
Richard Peterson
Blake Medical Center
Manatee Memorial Hospital
Manatee Cardiac Surgery
623 39th St. W., Ste. 2
Bradenton, FL 34205
(941) 744-2640
Heart Valve Surgery, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Atrial Fibrillation, Carotid Artery Surgery
Atiq Rehman
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
1540 S. Tamiami Trail, Ste. 303
Sarasota, FL 34239
(941) 917-8791
Robotic Surgery, Minimally Invasive Heart Surgery, Heart Valve Surgery, Coronary Artery Surgery
Urology
A. Joseph Bilik
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Florida Urology Specialists
1 S. School Ave., Ste. 200
Sarasota, FL 34237
(941) 309-7000
Robotic Surgery
Robert Carey
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Urology Treatment Center
1921 Waldemere St., Ste. 310
Sarasota, FL 34239
(941) 917-8488
Robotic Surgery, Minimally Invasive Surgery, Prostate Cancer, Kidney Cancer
Edward Herrman
Manatee Memorial Hospital
Blake Medical Center
200 Third Ave. W., Ste. 210
Bradenton, FL 34205
(941) 792-0340
Kidney Stones, Incontinence, Erectile Dysfunction, Minimally Invasive Surgery
Alan Treiman
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Doctors Hospital - Sarasota
1921 Waldemere St., Ste. 310
Sarasota, FL 34239-2941
(941) 917-8488
Prostate Cancer, Erectile Dysfunction, Bladder Cancer, Kidney Stones
Vascular Surgery
Michael Lepore
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Doctors Hospital - Sarasota
600 N. Cattlemen Road, Ste. 220
Sarasota, FL 34232
(941) 371-6565
Endovascular Surgery, Aneurysm-Aortic, Minimally Invasive Vascular Surgery, Angioplasty & Stent Placement
Russell Samson
Doctors Hospital - Sarasota
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
600 N. Cattlemen Road, Ste. 220
Sarasota, FL 34232
(941) 371-6565
Peripheral Vascular Disease,Vein Disorders
The doctors chosen for this—and for every magazine feature Castle Connolly
does—are a representative sample of the top doctors selected in this region.
For other Castle Connolly top doctors who may be available in the Sarasota Magazine area, readers are encouraged to search online at Castle Connolly’s Web site, castleconnolly.com, for a much fuller list of the outstanding physicians available to you. ❚
Medical Milestone
A two-year-old with a genetic disorder led internist and pediatrician Jack Rodman to provide care for many other disabled children.
Dr. Jack Rodman aspired to become a pediatrician as early as third grade. “I had a speech impediment, and I was put into classrooms with children with special needs,” he remembers. “The struggles that these kids go through every day—it opened my eyes. That’s why I went into medicine.”
Now chief medical administration officer for Sarasota’s First Physicians Group, Rodman appreciates that as an internist and a pediatrician, he can develop long-term relationships with his patients and their families. One relationship that has affected him deeply, both as a doctor and a person, began 13 years ago, when he first met Sammy Lomas.
As a two-year-old with an extremely rare genetic disorder called 22q13 Deletion Syndrome, Sammy was unable to walk, talk or even eat. “They were feeding him with a g-tube while he slept, so he would gain weight,” Rodman remembers. The disorder, which is also called Phelan McDermid Syndrome, affects fewer than 10 in 10 million births.
Sammy’s parents had struggled to find a local pediatrician for their only son, but Rodman welcomed the new patient. “You realize that what the family wants you to do is just treat him like a human being,” he explains. The amiable, self-effacing doctor began guiding Sammy and his parents through numerous specialists and years of extensive treatments—including major orthopedic surgery. “They’ve got my home number,” he says. “They know I’m there when they need me.”
Word of Rodman’s dedication spread through Venice’s Oak Park School, a special needs center where Sammy is still a student. Rodman, just as he was inspired to do in grade school, developed a niche providing care for disabled children.
More than a decade later, Sammy can now walk and communicate nonverbally and no longer relies on a feeding tube. But Rodman says he’s inspired not just by Sammy, but by his parents, who champion the fight against their son’s disease—notably through Sammy’s Run, a 5K in which Sammy’s father, an avid runner, pushes his son in a specially made stroller. Rodman and his children also participate in the race.
“It’s why I love my field,” says Rodman, who admits he gets goose bumps when he tells Sammy’s story. “There’s a relationship built into the care.” —Hannah Wallace
Medical Milestone
Diagnosing a woman with a rare thyroid disorder steered Dr. Jesus Perez into the challenging field of endocrinology.
For Dr. Jesus Perez, who’s been with Sarasota’s Intercoastal Medical Group almost seven years, entering medicine came naturally. His father was a doctor, and Perez grew up wanting to follow in his footsteps. “But I didn’t really understand everything he did until I was in college and I joined him at work for a time, in a rural area of the Dominican Republic,” says Perez. That was an eye opener.
“He was not only the chief surgeon and director of the hospital, he did everything, including his own anesthesia,” remembers Perez. “He could go from doing a C-section to taking care of an infected appendix to fixing bones, and in a rough environment. When he was out in public, he could not walk two or three meters without being stopped by someone who wanted to thank him. I realized the human impact this profession could have, more than any other.”
But it wasn’t until Perez was a first-year intern at a hospital in Connecticut that he decided the specialty he would embrace: endocrinology. “A middle-aged woman was gravely ill with some type of infection,” he recalls. “I saw she had a very large thyroid gland, or goiter. I recommended a CAT scan-guided biopsy”—a test of her thyroid that senior attendants didn’t believe necessary.
The scan confirmed that the woman had a thyroid abscess, a life-threatening infection almost unheard of outside of Third World countries. Underlying that, she had hyperthyroidism, explaining the enlarged gland.
“We were able to take care of her with aggressive antibiotics, and within 48 hours she was drastically improved,” says Perez. “Beyond the abscess, this was a chronic condition that was manageable. I realized that I wanted to know more about endocrinology, because I liked the problem-solving aspect of it and because it’s a specialty where you as a doctor can grow old with your patients, unlike, say, oncology. Intellectually, it’s a very challenging field. And once you’re able to make a diagnosis, you’re able to help your patient have a good quality of life for many years.” —Kay Kipling
Medical Milestone
Dr. Robert Carey remembers the prostate cancer patient who volunteered for Carey’s first-ever da Vinci robotic surgery.
Dr. Robert Carey is something of an anomaly in the medical profession. A board-certified urologic surgeon, he also holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from M.I.T. and has been working with technology his whole life. In 2006, as one of the few surgeons statewide to master the state-of-the-art da Vinci robotic surgery system, Carey was recruited by Sarasota Memorial Hospital to offer the high-tech, laparoscopic prostate cancer treatment locally. While the robotics system has shaped his career, the doctor remains most inspired by the people he treats—especially the patient who volunteered for Carey’s first-ever da Vinci surgery.
“I was fortunate to have access at the University of Miami to one of the first [da Vinci] systems that came out,” Carey remembers. “I spent extraordinary time in the lab carefully learning how to tie surgical knots, how to do surgical dissections, how to apply the robot to a specific operation for prostate cancer. It was years of my personal development with that system before I ever operated on a human.”
Carey remembers that first surgery “like it was yesterday,” he says. “I remember the courage of that patient. It was a local doctor with high-grade, high-risk cancer; he trusted me. And, he said, ‘Probably no one else wants to be first.’”
The surgeon’s attitude going in? Cautious optimism. “If you didn’t think you were going to do a better job [than traditional surgery], you wouldn’t be doing it,” he says. “But it’s sort of like when you send a man to the moon: You can prepare in Houston and Cape Canaveral all you want, but the astronaut’s perspective is going to be unique.”
The procedure was a definitive success, removing the cancerous prostate with less blood loss and a much faster recovery than traditional surgery. “By the time I finished, I knew I would never go back to open surgery,” says Carey. “A new era of surgery was upon us.”
The patient was able to leave the hospital the next day. Seven years later, Carey still keeps in touch with him.
“The fact that another physician volunteered to be the first case, it shows you something of humanity,” says Carey. “This was someone who truly knew what a big deal this was.” —Hannah Wallace