MetroHealthAnesthesia Alumni Page

List of selected former department members.
If you wish to be listed here, notify Webmaster.

June, 06, former resident Hamman Akbik, M.D., is Director of Pain Management Services at the University of Cincinnati.
email: [email protected]
8 April, 02, Charanjit Bahniwal, M.D., sends greetings to all. He is setting up an excellent pain center in West Virginia at Summers County ARH Hospital. His email is [email protected]
24 Oct 01, Carlos Botero, M.D., says 'hi' to everyone. He sends his best regards and misses Metro (but not the winter). He is working in Florida near Tampa. He is doing primary care, pain medicine, and a little bit of anesthesia. This is in anticipation of obtaining permanent residency in the US. His email is [email protected]
Our former resident, Ovidiu Brescan, M.D., is pleased to announce that he is practicing 'Board-Certified' anesthesia in the Las Vegas, Nevada area!
Dr. Emil Choi, our former Chief Resident, passed away on 15 March 2008. Funeral planned in Vancouver, British Columbia. Our condolences to Emil's family.
Emil's brother Eric's email: cwchoi1@gmail
Tony Cooper, M.D., attending anesthesiologist, 2004, departs to a more outpatient focused practice in the greater Cleveland area.
email: [email protected]
Euclid Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio is lucky to enjoy the anesthesia services of Katrina DeSantos, M.D. who completed residency with us July 1999.
email: [email protected]
Former resident, Yanping Duan, M.D., says (from Texas in December, 2004): "Thank you for your wonderful e-card. Did pretty well in my first post-resident year. I passed the written board. I am going to take the oral exam next April. Good harvest (~500K) for the last busy year. My schedule for a week is just like that: Monday for General, Tuesday for OB, Wed for Eye and Neuro/Ortho, Thu for Ped (dental and ENT) and Fri for CT. Personal history(done by myself, no CRNA or AA help) made as the following: 15 babies delivery in one day with 8 C/S and 7 epidural; twenty cataract surgies (retrobulbar blocks) in 4 hours; survival of MH in a three-year old girl; three emergent open heart surgies (2 CABG and 1 CABG/AVR) in one day. Our family will move into our new house next month. Welcome to visit our house
Say hi to all you guys and miss you all.
Happy New Year!
Yanping Duan"
email: [email protected]
Mohan Ettyreddy, M.D., former resident, wishes everyone to know that he is (Dec, 2005) happily practicing Board Certified anesthesia in sunny California!
email: [email protected]
John Fisgus, M.D., former attending, writes (April 2006): Life is alot different here in the "big city" - Maimonides is a trip - 6600 deliveries - 90% get anesthesia - it's wild. Tell Norm - I now use the Arrow reinforced epidural catheter - I cannot tell you how much better it is then the braun nylon one - there is a big difference - I would never go back to it now.
Great to hear from you - please say hi to everyone for me.
Have a great pesach.
email: [email protected]
Diego Gonzales, M.D., former resident, says (May, 2005) "Quick email to tell you that we had a new addition to the family his name is Felipe 5# 9 onz both mom and child are doing great. Also this is just a quick e-mail to tell everyone thank you for teaching me all I needed to know and how to become a good consultant anesthesiologist. O did I forget to mention I passed my ORAL BOARDS!!!! Yes I did I passed im so happy I can even believe it I thought the orals where so easy after doing all thoses sick patients at metro I think it was easy I did was study jensens oral prep and here I am done with my boards and could be any happier." "Good end to a good chapter in my life thanks guys."
On December, 2004: "How are you guys doing? How are things in snowy cleveland? Things here in Albuquerque are going great; its not so cold and when it does snow (about 1 or 2 inches) it melts away next morning by noon since it warms up pretty quickly...as for the family Ana Isabel is already in that stage of the terrible twos!!! Lorena is doing great with the pregnancy and we are marching along...as for me know I'm covering 4 different hospitals and everything is going great; I am doing hearts at one of them directing CRNA's; at the others I work solo (which is more efficient I think) anyways everything is going great although sometimes I miss Metro ...anyways happy holidays and say hi to everyone from me. Sincerely, Diego"
email: [email protected]
Sam Hemans, M.D. passed the ABA Oral Boards and continues to shine and impress all at his practice in Washington DC. (0ctober 2007)
Former resident, Nicole Hodge, M.D., has a new email address (Oct 08): [email protected]
Satish Joshi, M.D., our former resident, then attending anesthesiologist, left us to join an anesthesia group in Gallion, Ohio, in November 1999.
Former resident Nageswararao (Rao) Kanumuri, M.D., began (July 2000) a fellowship in Pediatric Anesthesia at the University Hospitals of Cleveland.
Former resident Tikhon Kim, M.D. has joined the Anesthesiology group at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
Dharmesh Mehta, M.D., former resident writes in May, 2005: "I am enjoying spring, here with my family. Yesterday, we found out that I passed my oral board examination and became board certified in Anesthesiology. I passed both examinations on First Attempt. I will take my pain medicine board next year. At present, I am working at Geisinger Medical center, Danville, PA. This is more then 600 bed tertiary Care center in Middle of PA, with level 1 Trauma center. We are total more than 25 Anesthesiologists with 4 Fellowship trained in Pain Management and more than 50% staff Anesthesiologists are trained in other sub-specialties. I enjoy working hard and learning more anesthesiology and Pain medicine. I am doing all kinds of Anesthesia supervision and every available procedure in pain management. Thank you again for all your help and encouragement.
email: [email protected]
Our former resident, Chris Metzger, M.D., and his wife, Clover, are proud to announce the birth of their beautiful daughter, Ava Lilith (7 lbs 15 oz, 21 in), on May 26, 2008!
email: [email protected]

Our former resident, Emil Michaels, M.D. says (Nov, 05) "Last year I visited MetroHealth and it was very short. I wished we had more time to chat. I visit metrohealth web site from time to time and am glad everyone is doing well. I have been Board Certified and promoted to Assistant Professor in Anesthesiology at Elmhurst Hospital of Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Elmhurst NY for more then 2 years. Please welcome everyone that remembers me to chat. Please also say hello particularly to Dr Joy Loy. Enjoy the upcoming holidays!" Elmhurst Hospital, Mt. Sinai System - NYU in Elmhurst, New York (7901 Broadway, NY, NY 11373).
email: [email protected]
Louise Patterson, former MHMC CRNA, says she is "excellent" and reports finishing 3rd in her age group in the 2003 Rite-Aid 10,000 meter run!
email: [email protected]
Zakir Qureshi, M.D. has completed his J1-required 2-year foreign residency in London, England. Zakir is now happily practicing anesthesia in Saginaw, Michigan. Zakir wrote: "The time I had at Metro was the best. And I mean it.."
email: [email protected]
Sheldon Regenbaum, former resident says in November, 2006, "Hi from sunny West Palm Beach. Only saw one Metro person at the ASA in Chicago; Satish Joshi. I am now medical director of an outpatient surgery center. No more hospital call the last 5 years! I do a small amount of out-patient peds. I am doing quite a lot of pain management. I took the pain boards 2 years ago so now I have three boards! Life is good. Still only have four kids and they are very busy with sports etc. Still playing a fair amount of golf. Say hi to Chuck Smith. Hope you are all keeping well. Regards Sheldon
Sudha Sawkar, M.D., former attending, is having a great time practicing anesthesia part time in the wine country of California.
email: [email protected]
Our beloved former attending, Kutaiba Tabbaa, M.D.,, after sunning 'for a while in Tucson, Arizona, where he was the big cheese Medical Director of the University of Arizona Pain Institute, has rejoined our group. Welcome home!
email: [email protected]
Our former resident, Darko Vodopich, M.D., is enjoying family life (Theresa & Ian) and practicing pain medicine in California (May 2007).
May 2008: Theresa and I have 2 siblings. Son Ian and daughter Mia. Regards to everyone Darko
email: [email protected]
webpage: http://www.permanente.net/homepage/doctor/vodopich/
Rod Yamat, M.D. who completed residency in June 1999, is, as of May, 2001, a happy new home owner in Hinkley, Ohio. He and his wife, Catherine are both practicing anesthesia with the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. Rod is, as of 2002, the director of the CCF Strongsville Surgery Center.
email: [email protected]



Greg Gordon MD
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