RenalTransplant near Berkeley Heights, NJ

Biography: Pieter Jan Sebastian Smit, MD, is a surgeon, specializing in general surgery, trauma surgery, and surgical critical care at NewYork-Presbyterian Medical Group Brooklyn, affiliated with NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital. He is an assistant professor of clinical surgery at Weill Cornell Medicine. Dr. Smit performs both elective and emergency surgeries and cares for patients in the surgical intensive care unit. His clinical interests include abdominal wall reconstruction, minimally invasive emergency surgery, and damage control surgery and resuscitation. Dr. Smit is also involved in resident education through Weill Cornell Medical College. After graduating from Albany Medical College, Dr. Smit completed his general surgery residency and surgical critical care fellowship training at Orlando Regional Medical Center and Boston Medical Center, respectively. Before coming to NewYork-Presbyterian, Dr. Smit was a surgeon at NYU Langone Health in Brooklyn, where he served in several leadership committees. Dr. Smit has presented his research at annual medical meetings of the American College of Surgeons is a member of multiple national surgical and trauma organizations.

Biography: I am originally from Detroit, Michigan and attended the University of Michigan for my undergraduate studies in Neuroscience. I completed clinical research at Columbia University before going back to Detroit for medical school at Wayne State University School of Medicine. I then completed my residency in Urology at Emory University School of Medicine where I served as chief resident. I then was hired as Assistant Professor of Urology at Emory University where I practiced general urology with a focus on robotic surgery related to malignant and benign pathologies of the kidney as well as minimally invasive management of benign prostatic conditions. I am committed to equitable care for all and am actively involved in community outreach and community education on urology. I anticipate continued scholarship and advocacy for historically underrepresented patients and advocacy at associations including the American Urologic Association.

Care Philosophy: I strive to achieve the best outcomes through a collaborative effort with my patients and aim to ensure that all my patients understand their condition and treatment options.

Biography: Tomoaki Kato, MD, is a noted pioneer in multiple-organ transplantation, pediatric and adult liver transplantation. Dr. Kato is Surgical Director of Adult and Pediatric Liver and Intestinal Transplantation at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Irving Medical Center and is a professor of surgery at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Dr. Kato is known for unique and innovative surgeries for adults and children, including a six-organ transplant; a procedure called APOLT (auxiliary partial orthotopic liver transplantation) that resuscitates a failing liver by attaching a partial donor liver, making immunosuppressant drugs unnecessary and the first successful human partial bladder transplantation involving the transplant of two kidneys together with ureters connected to a patch of the donor bladder. In a highly publicized case, he led the first reported removal and re-implantation, or auto-transplantation, of six organs to excise a hard-to-reach abdominal tumor. Previously the director of pediatric liver and gastrointestinal transplant and professor of clinical surgery at the University of Miami School of Medicine, Dr. Kato received his medical degree from the Osaka University Medical School in Japan and received his residency training in surgery at Osaka University Hospital and Itami City Hospital in Hyogo, Japan. He completed a clinical fellowship in transplantation at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital, in Miami, Florida, where he was subsequently appointed to the surgical faculty in 1997, and promoted to full professor in 2007. He served as a surgeon and senior leader of the liver and transplantation center at Miami's Jackson Memorial Hospital, beginning in 1997, and at University of Miami Hospital (previously Cedars Medical Center), beginning in 2004. Dr. Kato is a member of numerous professional and honorary organizations, and the author or co-author of more than 180 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals.ResourcesFor more information, visit the Center for Liver Disease and TransplantationIf you need assistance in Chinese (Mandarin & Cantonese), please call 646-317-6325 or, visit the Columbia Liver Asian Outreach Office (English | Mandarin

Care Philosophy: Crescent Urological Care located in Somerset, NJ is dedicated to providing exceptional, personalized health care for our patients. Our practice specializes in diseases that affect our patients. We focus on the prevention of these il

Biography: Jason Hawksworth, MD is a noted pioneer in minimally invasive robotic hepatobiliary and transplant surgery. Dr. Hawksworth is the Surgical Director of Adult Liver Transplantation, Chief of Hepatobiliary Surgery, and the Director of Robotic Liver Surgery Program in the Division of Abdominal Organ Transplant and Hepatobiliary Surgery at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Irving Medical Center and is an Associate Professor at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Dr. Hawksworth is known for unique and innovative minimally invasive robotic surgeries to remove tumors of the liver, bile duct and pancreas, including robotic major hepatectomy, robotic pancreatectomy, and robotic Whipple. He also specializes in robotic transplantation including robotic kidney transplantation, robotic living donor nephrectomy and robotic living donor hepatectomy. Dr. Hawksworth received his undergraduate degree from The United States Military Academy at West point and his medical degree from Wake Forest University Bowman Gray School of Medicine. Dr. Hawksworth completed general surgery residency at Walter Reed Army Medical Center followed by an abdominal transplant and hepatobiliary surgery fellowship at Georgetown University Hospital. Previously the Chief of Robotic Surgery at Georgetown University Hospital, Dr. Hawksworth established one of the nation's premier robotic hepatobiliary and transplant programs in 2018 at Georgetown. He was recruited to Columbia University Irving Medical Center in 2023 to lead the liver transplant and hepatobiliary programs and continue to develop innovative techniques in robotic surgery. Dr. Hawksworth is a member of several key organizations including a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, American Society of Transplant Surgeons, International Laparoscopic Liver Society, and Americas Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association. His research interests include clinical transplant and hepatobiliary trials, and he has published over 60 scientific manuscripts and book chapters in leading journals such as Annals of Surgery, Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery, American Journal of Transplantation and Transplantation. Dr. Hawksworth is a Colonel in the Army reserves and has deployed four times to support combat operations in Afghanistan and the Middle East. Visit The Center for Liver Disease and Transplantation at columbiasurgery.org/liver.