The Departments of Anesthesiology at Weill Cornell Medicine, Hospital for Special Surgery and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center proudly present the inaugural Tri-Institutional Anesthesiology Review Symposium, a full-day event designed to advance clinical knowledge in anesthesiology.
Hosted on the Cornell Tech campus, this in-person symposium will feature panel discussions, PBLDs, and workshops offering hands-on training in regional anesthesiology, airway management, POCUS and acupuncture. Sessions will be led by expert faculty from the three host institutions, and featured speakers include Dr. Hugh Hemmings delivering a timely keynote address.
Don’t miss this opportunity to participate in a day of dynamic clinical learning and networking with colleagues and leaders in the field.
Symposium Details
When: Saturday, November 1, 2025 from 8:00 am - 6:00 pm
Where: In-person at the Verizon Executive Education Center at Cornell Tech on Roosevelt Island.
Get directions
Audience: Open to attending anesthesiologists, residents, fellows and CRNAs.
Registration:
- Registration is required for all participants.
- Participants from WCMC, HSS and MSKCC attend free of charge.
- All other participants may purchase tickets at our registration link below.
- Lunch will be provided for all participants.
CME: Weill Cornell Medical College is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
Weill Cornell Medical College designates this live activity for a maximum of 7.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Registration for Tri-Institutional Faculty, Residents and Fellows
Participants from WCMC, HSS and MSKCC attend free of charge.
Registration is closed.
Registration for Tri-Institutional CRNAs
CRNA participants from WCMC, HSS and MSKCC attend free of charge.
Registration is closed.
Registration for External (Not Tri-Institutional) Participants
We welcome participants from all institutions.
Registration is closed.
Learning Objectives
At the conclusion of this symposium, participants will able to:
- Formulate a strategy to take care of the patient on GLP1 and SGLT2 before surgery.
- Manage bleeding in the setting of oral anticoagulants by using the appropriate reversal agent.
- Perform POCUS as part of a pre-op evaluation.
- Manage difficult airway with different airway devices.
- Formulate the indications and contraindications of nerve blocks for post-operative pain management.
Program
08:00-08:15 OPENING REMARKS | Dr. Maria Bustillo (WCMC); Dr. David Lee (HSS); Dr. Alessia Pedoto (MSKCC)
08:15-09:15 PANEL 1: An Update on the Newest Guidelines | Moderator: Dr. Oliver Panzer (HSS)
GLP1 and SGLT2 | Dr. Diana Anca (WCMC)
When in doubt - the role of POCUS for delayed gastric emptying | Dr. Poonam Sawant (MSKCC)
Cardiac evaluation for the non-cardiac patient | Dr. Christopher Tanaka (HSS)
09:15-10:15 PANEL 2: Perioperative Anemia and Blood Management | Moderator: Dr. Maria Bustillo (WCMC)
A 25 yo G1P0 Jehovah’s Witness with placenta percreta | Dr. Jaime Aaronson (WCMC)
A 70 yo on DOACS was in a car accident and needs an emergent craniotomy | Dr. Patrick J. McCormick (MSKCC)
Management of the patient with hemophilia undergoing total knee replacement | Dr. David Lee (HSS)
10:15-10:30 BREAK
10:30-11:30 KEYNOTE: The Best Papers in 2025 in BJA | Dr. Hugh Hemmings, Jr
11:30-12:30 LUNCH
12:30-02:30 WORKSHOPS
WORKSHOP 1: Regional: Upper Extremity, Lower Extremity, Neuraxial, Truncal, Abdomen
Dr. Poonam Sawant, Dr. Camille Fontaine, Dr. Aron Legler, Dr. Emily Lin (MSKCC); Dr. John Rubin, Dr. Rohan Jotwani, Dr. Shelby Badani (WCMC); Dr. Max Zhukovsky, Dr. Prashant Rao, Dr. Michael Singleton, Dr. Stephen McCracken, Dr. Enrique Goytizolo (HSS)
Peds Regional: Dr. Shona Lee (WCMC); Dr. Michelle Carley, Dr. Jordan Ruby (HSS); Dr. Howard Teng, Dr. Saima Rashid (MSKCC)
Acupuncture: Dr. Deirdre Kelleher (WCMC); Dr. Melanie Winters (HSS)
WORKSHOP 2: Airway: Airway management and lung isolation
Dr. Shefali Rikhi, Dr. Alexandra Lewis, Dr. Alessia Pedoto (MSKCC); Dr. James Beckman (HSS); Dr. Julien Fessler (WCMC)
WORKSHOP 3: POCUS: Pre-operative Cardiac Function. Gastric Ultrasound
Dr. John Hagen (MSKCC); Dr. Christopher Tanaka, Dr. Oliver Panzer (HSS); Dr. Julia Sobol (WCMC)
Problem-Based Learning Discussions (PBLDs)
Management of obstetric emergencies | Dr. Sharon Abramovitz (WCMC)
Management of pacemakers and AICDs | Dr. Diana Anca (WCMC)
Management of the patient with congenital heart disease for non-cardiac surgery | Dr. Nicholas Davis (HSS)
Management of perioperative buprenorphine for major surgery: should it stay or should it go? | Dr. Vinay Puttanniah (MSKCC)
02:30-02:45 BREAK
02:45-04:45 WORKSHOPS and PBLDs (REPEAT)
04:45-05:00 BREAK
05:00-05:45 PRO-CON DEBATE | Moderator: Dr. Julien Fessler (WCMC)
Do we need a pre-op pregnancy test in every fertile age woman coming to the OR for an elective procedure?
PRO: Dr. Alessandro De Camilli (MSKCC); CON: Dr. Michelle Carley (HSS)
05:45-06:00 CLOSING REMARKS | Dr. Maria Bustillo (WCMC); Dr. David Lee (HSS); Dr. Alessia Pedoto (MSKCC)
Featured Speakers
KEYNOTE: Hugh Hemmings, Jr., MD, PhD, FRCA
Senior Associate Dean for Research
The Joseph F. Artusio, Jr. Professor and Chair, Department of Anesthesiology
Professor of Pharmacology
Weill Cornell Medicine
Anesthesiologist-in-Chief, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital
An internationally recognized neuropharmacologist, Dr. Hemmings is an expert in the synaptic effects of general anesthetics and mechanisms of neuronal signal transduction, and his research is supported by the US National Institutes of Health. He is active in several national and international societies for anesthesiology and neuroscience and serves as editor-in-chief of the British Journal of Anesthesia, the top journal in the field of anesthesiology. He has been elected as a Fellow of the Royal College of Anesthetists, a member of the Association of University Anesthesiologists, and a member of the US National Academy of Medicine. Dr. Hemmings has published over 200 articles in anesthesiology and neuroscience and has edited four books, including Pharmacology & Physiology for Anesthesia: Foundations and Clinical Application. His clinical practice is in thoracic anesthesiology.
Jaime Aaronson, MD
Associate Professor of Clinical Anesthesiology, WCMC
Diana Anca, MD
Associate Professor of Clinical Anesthesiology, WCMC
Alessandro R. De Camilli, MD
Attending Physician, Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, MSKCC
Michelle C. Carley, MD
Attending Anesthesiologist, HSS
Julien Fessler, MD
Assistant Professor of Clinical Anesthesiology, WCMC
Patrick J. McCormick, MD, MEng
Vice Chair for Informatics in Anesthesiology & Critical Care Medicine, MSKCC
Oliver PF Panzer, MD
Clinical Associate Professor, HSS
Poonam Sawant, MD, MS
Associate Attending Physician
Christopher Tanaka, MD, FASE
Attending Anesthesiologist, HSS
Clinical Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology, WCMC
Course Directors
Maria Bustillo, MD
Dr. Bustillo is a professor of clinical anesthesiology and a professor of anesthesiology in clinical neurological surgery at Weill Cornell Medicine. She serves as the chief of the division of neuroanesthesiology. Dr. Bustillo is a Diplomate of the American Board of Anesthesiology. She is a member of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), Vice-Chair for the scientific program for PGA/NYSSA, Director at large of the Society of Neuroscience in Anesthesiology and Critical Care (SNACC) and Councilor at large of the Association of University Anesthesiologists (AUA).
David L. Lee, MD
Dr. David L. Lee is a board-certified anesthesiologist, who subspecialized in Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology. Dr. Lee has published numerous manuscripts on topics ranging from heart failure to intraoperative echocardiographic interpretation. In addition, he has authored book chapters and abstracts. He has been at Hospital for Special Surgery since 1998, and is a member of the department's dedicated spine team.
Alessia Pedoto, MD
Dr Pedoto is a board-certified anesthesiologist specialized in thoracic anesthesia. She is a member of the CME committee for the New York State Society of Anesthesia, of the ASA educational track subcommittee in cardiac anesthesia, and in AKI and abstract committees of the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists. She has authored many manuscripts and book chapters on thoracic anesthesia. She has been at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center since 2005, where she is the Director of Thoracic Anesthesia as well as the director of the Thoracic Anesthesia Fellowship. She is a clinical member and a professor of clinical anesthesiology at Weill Cornell Medicine.
