Jeffrey L. Zitsman, MD
Overview
Dr. Zitsman graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a degree in natural sciences, and received his M.D. degree from Tufts University Medical School in 1976. He received his training in General Surgery at Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston, and completed his Pediatric Surgery training at the Babies & Children's Hospital of New York. He is Board-Certified in General Surgery and Pediatric Surgery, and also holds a Certificate of Special Competence in Surgical Critical Care.
Dr. Zitsman has maintained an active clinical practice in pediatric surgery in the New York area since 1985. He holds the rank of Professor of Surgery at the Columbia University Medical Center. His areas of interest include applications of minimally invasive techniques in pediatric surgery, chest wall deformities, and weight loss surgery in adolescents. Dr. Zitsman has been named to Castle Connolly’s Best Doctors in the New York area list annually since 2002.
Dr. Zitsman is founder and Director of the Center for Adolescent Bariatric Surgery at the Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of New York-Presbyterian. He is Principal Investigator for an FDA-approved adolescent laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding study. He has performed over 500 minimal access weight loss procedures and served as Chairman of the Committee on Obesity of the American Pediatric Surgical Association as well as Chairman of the Childhood Obesity Committee of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. Dr Zitsman has served as a Consultant to the Medical Devices Evaluation Panel of the FDA.
Areas of Expertise / Conditions Treated
- Bariatric Surgery - Adolescents
- Chest Wall Deformities
- Minimally Invasive Pediatric Surgery
- Pectus Excavatum
- Repair of chest wall deformities
Academic Appointments
- Professor of Surgery at CUMC
Administrative Titles
- Director, Center for Adolescent Bariatric Surgery, NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital
Hospital Affiliations
- NewYork-Presbyterian / Columbia University Irving Medical Center
- NewYork-Presbyterian Westchester
- NewYork-Presbyterian / Weill Cornell Medical Center
- NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital
Gender
- Male
Schedule an Appointment
Virtual Visits/Telehealth
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Phone Appointments
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Location(s)
Insurance Accepted
Aetna
- Aetna Signature Administrators
- Medicare Managed Care
- NYP Employee Plan
- NY Signature
- Student Health
Affinity Health Plan
- Medicaid Managed Care
Amerigroup of New Jersey
- New Jersey Services (Medicaid Managed Care)
Amida Care
- Special Needs
Cigna
- EPO
- Great West (National)
- HMO
- Medicare Managed Care
- POS
- PPO
Emblem/GHI
- Medicare Managed Care
- PPO
Emblem/HIP
- ConnectiCare
- EPO
- Essential Plan
- HMO
- Medicaid Managed Care
- Medicare Managed Care
- POS
- PPO
- Select Care (Exchange)
- Vytra
Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield
- EPO
Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield HealthPlus
- Child/Family Health Plus
- Essential Plan
Fidelis Care
- Essential Plan
- Medicaid Managed Care
- Medicare Managed Care
Healthfirst
- Child/Family Health Plus
- Leaf (Exchange)
- Medicare Managed Care
Local 1199
- Local 1199
MagnaCare (National)
- MagnaCare
Multiplan
- Multiplan
MVP Health Care
- Child/Family Health Plus
- Essential Plan
- HMO
- Medicaid Managed Care
Quality Health Management
- Quality Health Management
UnitedHealthcare
- Columbia University Employee Plan
- Compass (Exchange)
- Empire Plan
- HMO
- Medicaid (Community Plan)
- Oxford Freedom
- Oxford HMO
- Oxford Liberty
- POS
- PPO
VNSNY CHOICE
- SelectHealth
WellCare
- Medicare Managed Care
World Trade Center Health Plan
- World Trade Center Health Plan
Credentials & Experience
Education & Training
- Tufts School of Medicine
- Internship: New England Medical Center-TUFTS University
- Residency: Babies & Children's Hospital - Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center
- Fellowship: American College of Surgeons
Committees, Societies, Councils
- American Society for Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery Committee on Pediatric Surgery (2008-2010) Program Committee (2009-2011)
- American Pediatric Surgical Association Committee on Childhood Obesity (2006-2009) Endosurgery Committee, (2002-2005)
- International Pediatric Endosurgery Group
- New York Surgical Society
- Fellow, American College of Surgeons
- Fellow, American Academy of Pediatrics (Surgical Section)
- Editorial Board, Childhood Obesity
Board Certifications
- Pediatric Surgery
- Surgery, General
Research
Research Interests
- Adolescent obesity surgery
- Pediatric Minimally Invasive Surgery
Selected Publications
- Kochis M, Bizima C, Zitsman JL, Pratt JSA, Griggs CL. Practice Patterns of GLP-1 Agonists Among Pediatric Bariatric Surgeons: A National Survery. J Surg Res. 2024; 301: 172-179.
- Schmoke N, Nemeth C, Gennell T, Schapiro D, Hiep-Catarino A, Alexander M, Chalphin AV, Crum R, Holynskyi L, Kubacki T, Schechter WS, Zitsman J. Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) Improves Clinical Outcomes In Adolescent Bariatric Surgery. Surgery for Obesity And Related Diseases. In press.
- Liang NE, Perez NP, Singhal V, Pratt JSA, Zitsman J, Griggs CL. Regional Variations in Pediatric Metabolic and Bariatric Surgeon Availability: A Call for Action. J Surg Res 2024; 295: 522-529.
- Shah A, Liang NE, Bruzoni M, Pratt JSA, Zitsman J, Nadler EP. Outcomes after metabolic and bariatric surgery in preteens versus teens using the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program database and center-specific data. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2023;1?6. doi:10.1002/oby.23908
- Griggs CL, Kochis M, Perez NP, FennoyI, Woo Baidal J, Parkinson K, Lynch L, Bank E, DeFazio J. Zitsman JL. Weight Loss After Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy in Children and Adolescents. Obes Surg 2023, Aug 23. Online ahead of print.
- Burghard A, Rahming V, Fisher AS, Zitsman J, Oberfield SE, Fennoy I. The Relationship Between Metabolic Comorbidities and Post-surgical Weight Loss Outcomes in Adolescents Undergoing Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy. Hormone Research in Paediatrics. Available online June 23, 2023 Horm Res Paediatr. 2023 Jun 23. doi: 10.1159/000531655. Online ahead of print.PMID: 37356432
- Richter LR, Albert BI, Zhang L, Ostropolets A, Zitsman JL, Fennoy I, Albers DJ, Hripcsak G. Data assimilation on mechanistic models of glucose metabolism predicts glycemic states in adolescents following bariatric surgery. Frontiers in Physiology, section Metabolic Physiology. Available online November 28, 2022, DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2022.923704
- Berg EA, Huang Z, Wang Y, Woo-Baidal J, Fennoy I, Lavine J, Zitsman J, Shen W. Magnetic Resonance Imaging to Assess Body Composition Change in Adolescents with Obesity after Sleeve Gastrectomy. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2022 Dec 1;75(6):761-767
- Schutte, GN, Zitsman JL. Splenic Ischemia in Adolescent Sleeve Gastrectomy. Obes Surg 2022; 32: 2403-2406
- Gerall CD, Defazio JR, Kahan AM, Fan W, Fallon EM, Middlesworth W, Stylianos S, Zitsman JL, Kadenhe-Chiweshe AV, Spigland NA, Griggs CL, Kabagambe SK, Apfel G, Fenster DB, Duron VP. Delayed presentation and sub-optimal outcomes of pediatric patients with acute appendicitis during the COVID-19 pandemic. J Pediatr Surg 2021; 56:905-910.
- Liu, J, Woo Baidal J, Fennoy I, Parkison KL, Lynch L, Zitsman JL. The prevalence of co-morbidities in adult and adolescent bariatric surgery candidates. Obes Surg 2021; 31:1369-1371.
- Weiner A, Cowell A, McMahon DL, Tao R, Zitsman J, Oberfield SE, Fennoy I. The effects of adolescent laparoscopic adjustable gastric band and sleeve gastrectomy on markers of bone health and bone turnover. Clin Obes 2020; 10:e12411. Doi:10.111/cob12411 E pub 2020 Sep 7.
- DeFazio JR, Kahan A, Fallon EM, Griggs C, Kabagambe S, Zitsman J, Middlesworth W, Stylianos S, Duron V. Development of pediatric surgical decision-making guidelines at the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. J Pediatr Surg 2020;55:1427-1430.
- Zitsman JL, DiGiorgi MF, Zhang AZ, Kophchinski JS, Sysko R, Devlin MD, Fennoy I. Adolescent gastric banding: a five-year longitudinal study. Obes Surg 2020;30: 828-836.
- Colman RJ, Woo Baidal, JA, Zitsman JL, Mencin AA. Upper GI Endoscopy in Adolescents with Severe Obesity Prior to Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr, 2019;69:287-291.
- Chin VL, Censani, M, Conroy R, Lerner S, Oberfield S, McMahon D, Zitsman J, Fennoy I. Gonadal Dysfunction in Morbidly Obese Adolescent Boys. J Pediatr Endrocrinol Metab 2018; 31: 1191-1197.