Richard S. Lazzaro, MD, FACS

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Being a surgeon is not just my job; it s my life s passion. Dr. Richard Lazzaro is the system director of robotic thoracic surgery at Northwell Health, and the chief of thoracic surgery and director of robotic thoracic surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital. A renowned national leader, Dr. Lazzaro has pioneered many groundbreaking firsts, bringing more than 20 years of specialized expertise in minimally invasive and robotic thoracic surgery. What sets us apart is that about 90 percent of my patients are treated using minimally invasive techniques, Dr. Lazzaro says. We deliver precise care with less scarring to get patients back to doing what they love. It s this experience that has helped him and his team earn recognition from the Surgical Review Corporation as America s first Robotic Surgery Network of Excellence. Under Dr. Lazzaro s leadership, Lenox Hill s award-winning thoracic surgery program was established as one of the top 10 hospitals in the country for lung cancer surgery outcomes for the last six consecutive reports of the General Thoracic Surgery Database of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons. The hospital was also the first in the Northeast and third in the nation to be designated as a Center of Excellence and Epicenter for Robotic Thoracic Surgery. Renowned surgeons travel from across the country to learn about robotics from Dr. Lazzaro and his team. In 2018, Dr. Lazzaro made medical history by being the first surgeon in the world to perform minimally invasive robotic surgery on a patient with tracheobronchomalacia (TBM), a debilitating condition that is treated historically through open surgery. Today, Dr. Lazzaro leads one of the world s largest TBM programs, helping patients breathe easy and recover faster. His accomplishments also include performing the first complete robotic pneumonectomy in the NYC area, as well as one of the first pulmonary lobectomies for intralobar pulmonary sequestration in the U.S., a procedure that has been rarely accomplished in adults. These groundbreaking evolutions completely change the way we help people, Dr. Lazzaro says. Dr. Lazzaro graduated from a biomedical education program at Union University and from Albany Medical College. He completed his medical training at North Shore University Hospital and State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn. He is board certified in general and thoracic surgery, and serves as associate professor of cardiothoracic surgery at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. Throughout his many years in practice, Dr. Lazzaro has been identified as a Top Doctor by New York magazine and as America s Top Doctor by Castle Connelly. When asked why he chose to become a thoracic surgeon, Dr. Lazzaro will tell you it runs in his blood. I have five generations of doctors in my family. Being a surgeon is not just my job; it s my life s passion. It brings me great joy to help other people.