Cancer Surgeon Rajiv Datta, MD Named a “Super Doctor”

OCEANSIDE, N.Y. - April 23, 2014 - PRLog -- Prominent surgical oncologist Rajiv Datta, MD, has been named a 2014 “New York Super Doctor^®.”  No more than 5% of physicians in the New York metro region have achieved this designation, which is given by Key Professional Media, a leading research and medical ranking organization.

Dr. Datta is chair of the department of surgery and medical director of the Gertrude & Louis Feil Cancer Center at South Nassau Communities Hospital.  His exceptional skills are evidenced by his education and recognition in the field of surgery: he has the unusual distinction of holding three fellowships, as a fellow of the prestigious International College of Surgeons, the American College of Surgeons and the Royal College of Surgeons.  Dr. Datta is also a member of the editorial board of International Surgery, the official journal of the International College of Surgeons (ICS), and served as the president of the Nassau County Surgical Society in 2009.

Dr. Datta’s areas of expertise include cancers of the colon/rectum, endocrine system, breast and head and neck; soft tissue sarcoma and melanoma; upper gastrointestinal and colorectal procedures; tracheal and esophageal surgeries and radio frequency ablation for liver tumors.  Not only does he hold the aforementioned South Nassau titles, he is also director of its division of surgical oncology and head and neck surgery.  A Castle-Connolly New York Metro Area Top Doctor for seven consecutive years, Dr. Datta is actively involved in numerous clinical trials that are both federally and privately funded.

A graduate of Grant Medical College in Bombay, India, Dr. Datta has trained at some of the most prestigious surgical oncology and head and neck surgery programs in the world, including Tata Memorial Hospital, the largest cancer center in Asia; and England’s Royal College of Surgeons, where he achieved Fellowship.  Following his stay at the Royal College of Surgeons, Dr. Datta continued his training with a Research Fellowship at Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.  This was followed by a rare opportunity for a dual Fellowship in head and neck oncology and surgical oncology at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, NY.   Dr. Datta is a resident of Muttontown, NY.

Under Dr. Datta’s leadership, the Gertrude & Louis Feil Cancer Center has evolved into one of the Northeast corridor’s premiere providers of compassionate advanced cancer care.  The center is the only one on Long Island that is equipped with three of the most advanced and effective technologies used to treat and eradicate cancer: the Varian Novalis Tx™, da Vinci® Surgical System and Gamma Knife® Perfexion.  It is a recipient of many prestigious honors and citations, including the American College of Surgeons Comprehensive Community Cancer Center and the Commission on Cancer Outstanding Achievement Award.

According to Key Professional Media, in selecting physicians for Super Doctors, the publisher employs a rigorous multi-step process designed to identify physicians who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Super Doctors is a selective yet diverse listing of outstanding physicians, representing consumer-oriented medical specialties.

Key Professional Media invites doctors to nominate colleagues whom they know to be exceptional in their specified field. Physicians are asked to consider the following question: "If you needed medical care in one of the following specialties, which doctor would you choose?" Numerous safeguards are in place to prevent ballot manipulation. Physicians may not self-nominate.

Key Professional Media also searches medical databases, online sources, and publications for physicians who have attained certain credentials, honors or professional achievements. This process also includes physicians in less visible or highly specialized medical treatment areas.  Candidates are evaluated on 10 criteria of peer recognition and professional achievement.  Nominees are then grouped into specialties, and their nominations scored by a blue-ribbon panel of physicians from their respective specialties.

The nominees are awarded a final score based from nominations, research, and blue-ribbon panel review. Only the highest-scoring doctors are included on the Super Doctors list. The Super Doctors list consists of approximately 5% of the physicians within the respective state or region.

Designated a Magnet® hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), South Nassau® Communities Hospital is one of the region’s largest hospitals, with 435 beds, more than 900 physicians and 3,000 employees.  Located in Oceanside, NY, the hospital is an acute-care, not-for-profit teaching hospital that provides state-of-the-art care in cardiac, oncologic, orthopedic, bariatric, pain management, mental health and emergency services.  In addition to its extensive outpatient specialty centers, South Nassau provides emergency and elective angioplasty, and is the only hospital on Long Island with the Novalis Tx™ and Gamma Knife® radiosurgery technologies.  South Nassau is a designated Stroke Center by the New York State Department of Health and Comprehensive Community Cancer Center by the American College of Surgeons and is an accredited center of the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Association and Quality Improvement Program.  In addition, the hospital has been awarded the Joint Commission’s gold seal of approval as a Top Performer on Key Quality Measures, including heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia and surgical care; and disease-specific care for hip and joint replacement, wound care and end-stage renal disease. For more information, visit www.southnassau.org.