David W. Dietz, MD

There is no greater satisfaction than restoring a patient’s quality of life. For the past two decades I have focused on helping people overcome the most difficult of surgical problems in order to get their lives back on track. My expertise is in the surgical treatment of complex inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), locally advanced or recurrent colorectal cancer, continent ileostomy procedures, and reversal of complications from prior surgeries. I am tremendously honored that patients travel from across the country for my help, putting their trust in me at such a critical point in their lives.

I am very much a product of my past. As a competitive athlete through college, I learned the importance of hard work, dedication, and determination in mastering a skill, whether it be in the swimming pool or in the operating room. My mentors in surgical training were world-renowned for their clinical ability, humanity, and “buck stops here” approach. I saw many patients who had their faith in medicine restored by that type of confident, tenacious, compassionate care, and I decided to follow in those footsteps.

Reoperative surgery is often a months- or yearslong journey that the patient and surgeon take together, beginning at the very first clinic appointment or telehealth visit. It takes time to gather the medical and surgical history, to listen to how the individual and their family have been affected, and to thoroughly understand their hopes and goals. What is most important to them? Where do they want to be at the end of the journey? What are their hopes and fears? Every patient deserves personalized treatment, informed by both medical science and their unique set of circumstances. It is a great privilege to get to know my patients and their families during the time we spend together and to see them cross the finish line with their health and quality of life restored.

I chose to join the team at NYU Langone because of the institution’s single-minded commitment to this concept of patient-centered care, where we focus not only on people’s clinical problems but also on the emotional, social, and financial factors that are most important to them. We pay great attention to patient values and strive to construct a plan of care within that context. The resulting partnership, where the patient’s perspective is as important as the surgeon’s knowledge and skill, is what drives our success in restoring quality of life.