My grandfather, who was a successful surgeon, was a little disappointed about my desire to go into anesthesia.  "Fifty years ago," he said, "your job was done by a nurse!" "That's not bad", I replied, "considering 200 years ago your job was done by a barber!"

I am very happy that I have chosen a career in anesthesiology.   I enjoy working with people and getting patients through the operation comfortably.   I like the hands-on approach and the relatively limited number of patients I have, thereby giving me more time to focus on a particular patient.

My special interests are cardiac anesthesia, anesthesia for the trauma patient and the difficult airway.   The reason I went into cardiac anesthesia is the challenge of getting a severely sick patient through the surgery and therefore making a difference in that patient's quality of life.   Furthermore I enjoy spending time with my family and (as you can see in the picture) post-call days.

I have been working with and teaching residents since 2001.   I enjoy seeing residents making progress and developing into good physicians.   My teaching interests are the practical approach to deliver a good anesthetic, to perform a safe anesthetic for a patient with severe cardiac disease, and a practical approach to manage a difficult airway.   My goal is to "translate" the information my residents read in textbooks into good clinical skills.

I am looking forward to future residents coming through and sharing with them Chinese, Indian or Middle Eastern food when we are on call.

Academic Background

M.D., Rostock University Medical School, Rostock, Germany, 1993.

Postdoctoral Training

Rostock University Hospitals, Rostock, Germany, Residency in Anesthesiology, 1993-1995.
UMass Memorial Medical Center, Residency in Anesthesiology, 1996-2000.
UMass Memorial Medical Center, Fellowship in Cardiovascular Anesthesiology, 2000-2001.