Alessio Pigazzi, M.D., PhD, FACS

Dr. Alessio Pigazzi, was appointed chief of colorectal surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and Weill Cornell Medicine, effective September 2020. He also serves on Weill Cornell Medicine’s faculty. In this role, Dr. Pigazzi leads a world-class team of colorectal surgeons that uses state-of-the-art technologies and innovative surgical techniques to provide patients with the very best in comprehensive colorectal care.

Dr. Pigazzi was previously chief of the Divisions of Colorectal Surgery and Surgical Oncology at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), where he also served as professor in the Department of Surgery and vice chair for research. His new appointment marks a return to New York-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medicine, where he completed his residency nearly 20 years ago.

Dr. Pigazzi’s clinical expertise focuses on the treatment of complex colon, rectal and anal conditions and cancers, including laparoscopic, robot-assisted and open surgical techniques. He performed the world’s firstrobot-assisted tumor removal for rectal cancer in 2004, a procedure that has revolutionized the treatment of this condition. He is also leading clinical research programs combining surgery with immediate postoperative chemotherapy to improve cancer survival. 

Dr. Pigazzi is among a small cadre of surgeons skilled in the use of an innovative procedure called cytoreductive surgery with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), which involves heated chemotherapy applied directly within the abdominal cavity following removal of cancerous tumors. He is also skilled in robot-assisted surgery for pelvic injuries caused by medical complications, specifically abnormal connections between body parts, or fistulas.

His research is focused on minimally invasive techniques to improve recovery after cancer surgery, postoperative chemotherapy, and the relationship between diet and colorectal cancer development.

Dr. Pigazzi is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons; a member of the Society of Surgical Oncology; and a founding member of the Clinical Robotic Surgery Association.

He earned his joint medical degree and doctorate at Boston University School of Medicine, and completed his internship and residency in general surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. He completed a fellowship in minimally invasive surgery at Hackensack Medical Center in Hackensack, N.J., and a fellowship in colorectal surgery at UCI Medical Center.