The Regional Anesthesiology and Acute Pain Medicine (RAAPM) Division provides intraoperative anesthesia for patients undergoing orthopedic surgery as well as preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative regional procedures for patients undergoing orthopedic, vascular, transplant, general, neurologic, pediatric, urologic, plastic, thoracic and cardiac surgery.
We have a robust acute pain service that manages neuraxial and peripheral nerve catheters and provides consultation for complex pain medication management for perioperative patients. In addition, we provide regional procedures and medication management for the treatment of other acute pain conditions such as rib fractures, hip fractures, burns and ischemic limb pain.
The RAAPM team is comprised of faculty members who are trained in regional anesthesia and acute pain medicine, chronic pain medicine or pediatric anesthesia. In addition to our outstanding physician faculty, our team includes experienced nurse practitioners and two fellows. Our highly competitive ACGME-accredited fellowship in Regional Anesthesiology and Acute Pain Medicine was established in 2009 and enrolls two fellows per year.
Clinical
The RAAPM team provides services at two primary sites: NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and the NewYork-Presbyterian David H. Koch Center. Our team performs over 4,300 peripheral and neuraxial blocks per year for operative anesthesia and acute pain conditions. Regional procedures are performed in our perioperative block rooms and throughout the hospital, including in the ICUs and emergency department. Our acute pain arm manages neuraxial and regional nerve catheters as well as complex medication regimens for inpatients with perioperative and other acute pain conditions.
Our physicians support the use of regional techniques when appropriate, as clinical trials and our own track record demonstrate improved outcomes with the use of these modalities for appropriate patients. We develop our anesthetic care plans with the foresight to provide the continuation of postoperative regional techniques as part of enhanced recovery protocols. We were an early adopter of paravertebral blocks for patients undergoing robotic cardiac surgery and erector spinae plane (ESP) catheters for Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) placement and are the first center to routinely place parasternal chest wall catheters as part of an enhanced recovery protocol for patients undergoing cardiac surgery with sternotomy.
Education
Residency Education
Both junior and senior residents rotate on the RAAPM service. This provides trainees with a robust out-of-the-OR rotation on a busy team engaging in multidisciplinary care of perioperative and acute pain patients. Residents become adept at the development of perioperative and acute pain management plans, as well as neuraxial and peripheral nerve block procedures. With the completion of this rotation, trainees demonstrate proficiency and compassion in the care of complicated pain management patients. The resident clinical experience is supplemented by a daily lecture, monthly journal club, and a rich web-based didactic curriculum and end-of-rotation exam.
Six RAAPM faculty members have formal leadership roles within the Education Division of the Department of Anesthesiology and are frequent recipients of resident and medical student teaching awards.
The Fellowship Program
Our highly competitive, ACGME-accredited Fellowship in Regional Anesthesiology and Acute Pain Medicine incorporates twelve months of extensive clinical experience in both peripheral and neuraxial blocks, as well as the management of acute pain conditions. Each fellow performs approximately 1,500 procedures during the course of training. Our fellows have the unique opportunity to rotate at several world-class institutions, including NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, the NewYork-Presbyterian David H. Koch Center for ambulatory care, NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
Throughout the course of the fellowship, trainees become adept at a wide range of single-shot and continuous techniques while caring for patients undergoing orthopedic, vascular, transplant, general, neurologic, pediatric, urologic, plastic, thoracic and cardiac procedures. The didactic program includes extensive training in point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS), a review course for the ABA APPLIED exam, a fellow-specific faculty lecture series, and an extensive web-based RAAPM curriculum.
Learn more about the Regional Anesthesiology Fellowship
Research
The RAAPM division conducts research and publishes on an array of topics including patient outcomes in regional anesthesia, education in regional anesthesia, anesthesia and analgesia for hip fracture, enhanced recovery protocols for orthopedic and cardiac surgery, point-of-care ultrasound, the use of virtual and augmented reality for education and training, sustainability and the environment, and racial and economic disparities in anesthesia
Publications by the Department of Anesthesiology faculty
Faculty
Tiffany Tedore, MD
Chief, Regional Anesthesiology & Acute Pain Medicine
Program Director, RAAPM Fellowship
Associate Professor of Clinical Anesthesiology
