Colorectal Surgery

Our Approach

Our surgeons include experts from Columbia University Medical Center’s division of colorectal surgery. They are highly experienced in the treatment of colorectal cancer, inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis), colorectal polyps, anal fistulas and fissures, and other diseases of the colon and rectum. They are joined by surgical nurses and nurse practitioners, pathologists, radiologists, and others who customize a plan of care specific to your disease — one that takes your needs and preferences into account. 

Meet our colorectal surgeons: 

Beatrice Dionigi, MD 
Dr. Dionigi is a double board-certified colon and rectal surgeon. She has expertise in the care of people with benign and malignant colorectal diseases, including colon and rectal cancers, polyposis syndromes, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), diverticulitis, and anorectal disorders. She specializes in re-operative colorectal surgery as well as in the use of robotics. 

Dr. Dionigi obtained her medical degree with highest honors from the University of Pavia, Italy. After a surgical internship at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, she completed her general surgery residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School in Boston. During this time, she also did a two-year translational research fellowship related to mesenchymal stem cells at Boston Children’s Hospital. She then completed a colon and rectal surgery fellowship through the Salvati Fellowship Program at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey, followed by two years of advanced training in complex re-operative colorectal surgery at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Ohio. Dr. Dionigi then joined the Division of Colorectal Surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center as Attending Surgeon and Assistant Professor of Surgery. Since her arrival, she created the first-of-its-kind Women in Surgery Association (WINGS) at Columbia, with the goal of promoting women in leadership. She became Associate Program Director of the General Surgery Residency Program and has started a collaborative translational project on Early Onset Colon and Rectal Cancer within the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center. 

In June 2023, her dedication to the education of surgery residents was recognized with the Teacher Award. She is the author of several publications, has received national and international awards for her research, and has been an invited speaker at meetings across the country and around the world. 

David M. Schwartzberg, MD 
Dr. Schwartzberg is a double board-certified colorectal surgeon who specializes in the full range of colorectal diseases, with a focus on robotic surgery for colorectal cancer and diverticulitis. He also performs complex and re-operative surgery for Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, including J-pouch surgery. After his surgery residency at NYU Langone Health, he completed a colorectal fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, followed by an additional fellowship in the surgical treatment of complex inflammatory disease at NYU's Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center. He has given numerous lectures nationally and published dozens of articles and book chapters on surgery, and is also involved with multiple academic surgical societies.