Robert J. Cerfolio, MD, MBA

As chief of clinical thoracic surgery, Dr. Robert Cerfolio treats patients who have lung cancer and esophageal cancer and provides surgical treatment to manage abnormalities of the chest outside the heart.

Inspired to pursue medicine by his father, a urologist, Dr. Cerfolio has now performed more than 17,000 thoracic surgeries. His robotic surgical techniques, which have improved survival rates and reduced complications, have been adopted by experts across the country and around the world.

Dr. Cerfolio’s practice centers around the patient experience, and finding innovative ways to care for people and improve treatment outcomes and recovery times. Working with a wide array of experts, including nutritionists, chemotherapy specialists, radiation oncologists, surgical oncologists, and psychosocial and spiritual care teams, Dr. Cerfolio strives to treat each patient as a whole person, rather than as a part of the body or a condition.

This philosophy of patient care extends to making the doctor’s visit as simple and convenient as possible. Dr. Cerfolio offers online visits for both preoperative and postoperative appointments. During a video visit, he reviews all of your laboratory tests with you, visually examines you, and discusses your diagnosis and treatment via a secure connection through the NYU Langone Health app. By providing online doctor visits, Dr. Cerfolio is able to consult with patients from across the country and around the world.

In addition to patient care, Dr. Cerfolio also performs research to improve clinical outcomes and patient experience at hospitals. He has published more than 150 original peer-reviewed articles and 40 book chapters, and previously served as president of the Southern Thoracic Surgical Association. His first book, Super Performing at Work and at Home: The Athleticism of Surgery and Life, was published in 2014.