David Zeltsman, MD

What determines success for a physician are his patients. Dr. David Zeltsman is the chief of Thoracic Surgery and the director of Minimally Invasive Thoracic Surgery at Long Island Jewish Medical Center. He is also a professor in the Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell.Dr. Zeltsman performs a revolutionary surgery called single incision (or uniportal) video assisted thoracic surgery and Long Island Jewish Medical Center is one of only a few centers in the world that offer it. The procedure, which requires exceptional precision and expertise, uses only one small incision to perform minimally invasive surgeries for conditions such as lung cancer and esophageal cancer.Dr. Zeltsman and his highly trained team work closely with other experts in areas including medical oncology, radiation oncology, head and neck surgery, pulmonology and gastroenterology in order to give every patient the most effective and comprehensive care possible. He says the team approach makes all the difference when it comes to a surgery s success. It s one of the reasons our patients do so well, he says.A love of medicine seems to run in Dr. Zeltsman s family his parents and grandparents were all physicians (as is his wife and two of his children). This, along with his upbringing in the former Soviet Union, gave him a unique perspective on the medical field as well as a deep appreciation for modern technology. He spent his early career as a pediatric surgeon in Moscow before enrolling in a cardiothoracic surgery fellowship that would change the course of his medical career. He would later go on to begin his general and thoracic surgery training in America in the early 1990s.Dr. Zeltsman is a member of organizations including the Eastern Cardiothoracic Surgical Society, the American College of Surgeons, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, and the American Association for Thoracic Surgery. He s been the recipient of multiple awards, including accolades for research on innovations like 3D printing to help repair tracheal damage, and he s involved in various clinical trials to offer patients the most advanced treatments available. Dr. Zeltsman was also instrumental in implementing the health system's first lung cancer screening program.The extraordinary care offered by Dr. Zeltsman is combined with true accessibility and convenience, with same or next day appointments offered whenever possible. It s important that I try to understand the complexity of what goes through a patient s mind. This is a life-changing experience for them, he says. I want to help them in any way I can. Dr. Zeltsman s genuine humility and reliable optimism are part of his everyday routine he truly looks forward to his time talking with patients. Nobody comes here to socialize, they come to have surgery, he says. I want to make them smile and feel comfortable. He adds that loving your job is the only way to do it well. You need to love it in order to live it.