Memorial Healthcare System Salutes Its Top Physicians

Dr. Mark Block joined the Memorial Healthcare System in 2005 as the Directory of Thoracic Surgery. His expertise includes lung and esophageal cancer, and pulmonary and esophageal surgery as well as the full range of thoracic disorders including pleural disease, non-cancerous lung and esophageal diseases, mediastinal tumors, chest wall diseases, tracheo-bronchial disease, and sympathectomy for hyperhidrosis.

As a surgeon whose practice is devoted entirely to thoracic surgery, Dr. Block stays abreast of developments in thoracic oncology care and is continuously working to bring the latest technology and treatment to his patients. He is an expert in minimally invasive thoracic surgery, also known as “VATS,” and is one of a handful of surgeons nationwide who routinely perform VATS lobectomy, a minimally invasive operation for lung cancer that shortens hospital stay and enables patients to return to normal activity sooner.

In 2006, Dr. Block introduced the new minimally invasive endoscopic ultrasound techniques for evaluation of patients with thoracic disease to the region. These techniques are available in few other centers around the country.

Dr. Block received his bachelor’s and medical degrees from Yale University in New Haven, CT. Following medical school, he did his general surgery residency at the University of Chicago and was trained in surgical oncology at the National Cancer Institute. Dr. Block entered the thoracic track of the Cardiothoracic Residency program at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, MO, a highly selective and prestigious appointment that chooses only one physician each year. He then joined the faculty at the University of California, San Francisco, for four years before moving to the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. In addition to performing surgery, he conducted laboratory research in cancer treatment and detection.

Dr. Block is the author or more than 20 peer-reviewed publications and several textbook chapters in his specialty, and routinely presents at national meetings. Although he no longer runs a research laboratory, he continues to participate in research activities.

Cardiothoracic surgeon Michael Cortelli, M.D., FACS, has joined the Memorial Cardiac and Vascular Institute at Memorial Regional Hospital and Memorial Hospital West, two of the six hospitals operating under Memorial Healthcare System.

Dr. Cortelli becomes the third cardiac surgeon in the Institute’s surgical program. Dr. Richard Perryman is chief of cardiac surgical services for Memorial Cardiac and Vascular Institute and Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital. Dr. Gary Allen is chief of adult cardiac surgery at the Institute.

Before coming to South Florida, Dr. Cortelli was chairman of the Department of Cardiology and Cardiovascular Surgery at Brandon Regional Hospital in Brandon, FL. He also had been in private practice in the community and held additional surgical privileges at Tampa General Hospital and the Regional Medical Center in Bayonet Point.

Dr. Cortelli’s specialties include minimally-invasive surgical ablation of atrial fibrillation, heart transplant, mitral valve surgery, mechanical circulatory support and community outreach/education. He is a member of the Florida Society of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeons, The Society of Thoracic Surgery and Cooley Hand’s Society.

Dr. Cortelli holds bachelor’s of science degrees in chemistry and biology and a medical degree from The University of South Florida in Tampa. He completed his general surgery internship and residency at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in Houston and did his residency in cardiothoracic surgery at The Texas Heart Institute. During his residency, he was named Outstanding Surgical Teaching Resident by The University of Texas at Houston Medical School class for three consecutive years.

Ian Heger, M.D., F.A.C.S., director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, recently earned Fellowship in the American College of Surgeons (ACS). Dr. Heger also holds board certification from the American Board of Neurological Surgery and from the American Board of Pediatric Neurosurgery.

Dr. Heger, who has a strong professional interest in pediatrics and sports medicine, educates coaches and athletic personnel in South Florida on the evaluation and treatment of head and spine injuries that occur on the playing field. Much of his clinical practice is devoted to treating children with sports related neurological injuries. An avid hockey player, he is currently working on a prototype helmet to help players avoid having concussion during the game.

The American College of Surgeons is a scientific and educational organization of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to raise the standards of surgical practice and to improve the care of the surgical patient. The College has more than 72,000 members, and is the largest organization of surgeons in the world.

In 1990, Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood opened its Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology. Today, it has grown to include five fellowship-trained, board-certified staff physicians committed to providing excellence in medical care for children from South Florida, the southeastern United States and neighboring countries.

The highly skilled team takes pride in maintaining a high standard of excellence in the treatment of pediatric malignancies and blood disorders. The division is an active member of Florida Pediatric Community Clinical Oncology Program (CCOP), which enables pediatric oncology patients to have access to latest advances in treatment and cancer control protocols through clinical trials of the Children’s Oncology Group (COG).

In addition, the Pediatric Hematology and Oncology team compliments its medical expertise with a family-centered care philosophy. Since family members are the patient’s primary source of emotional support, doctors and nurses provide extensive information and education so they may have a greater understanding of their loved one’s condition, and how they can help during treatment. Also, the family is provided both local and national support resources to help with coping skills and financial assistance as well as to maintain quality of life.

Iftikhar Hanif, M.D.
Medical Director, Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology

Dr. Hanif is a board-certified pediatrician and pediatric hematologist/oncologist who graduated from Dow Medical College in Karachi, Pakistan. Dr. Hanif’s postdoctoral training includes an internship in general surgery and internal medicine at Civil Hospital in Karachi; an internship in pediatrics at Children’s Hospital of Michigan; and a fellowship in pediatric hematology/oncology at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis. Prior to joining Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in 1994, he worked at a private practice at North Hills Medical Center in Greenville, South Carolina.

Dr. Hanif is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Society of Pediatric Hematology /Oncology, and the American Society of Hematology.

Joe DiMaggio’s Children’s Hospital Pediatric Hematology Oncology team (from l. to r.) Dr. Brian Cauff, Dr. Lynn Meister, Dr. Anne Schaefer, Dr. Deborah Kramer, and Dr. Iftikhar Hanif.

Dr. Cauff is a board-certified pediatrician and pediatric hematologist/oncologist who graduated from the University of Miami School of Medicine. Following his residency in pediatrics at the University of Miami School of Medicine/Jackson Memorial Hospital, he completed a fellowship in pediatric hematology/oncology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center/Children’s Medical Center of Dallas, where he was appointed chief fellow.

Professional memberships include the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the American Society of Hematology.

Dr. Kramer is a board-certified pediatrician and pediatric hematologist/oncologist. After graduating from the University of South Florida College of Medicine, she completed an internship and residency in pediatrics at Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia. She then completed a fellowship in pediatric hematology/oncology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia before returning to Florida to become Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at the University of Miami School of Medicine, a position that she held for three years before joining Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital.

Dr. Kramer is the chair of the Childhood Cancer Subcommittee of the Florida chapter of the American Cancer Society. She is also a fellow with the American Academy of Pediatrics and an associate member of the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, the Children’s Oncology Group and the American Society of Hematology.

A board-certified pediatrician and pediatric hematologist/oncologist, Dr. Meister is an alumna of The Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. Her postgraduate training includes a pediatric internship and residency at University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center; an American Cancer Society clinical oncology fellowship; and a fellowship in pediatric hematology/oncology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She is the author of Coping with Cancer: A Guide for Teens and one of the co-authors of Getting to Know Your Hospital.

Dr. Meister is a former instructor in pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. In addition to her present position at Memorial Cancer Institute, she is a pediatric team physician for Vitas Innovative Hospice Care of Broward County, Florida, and a member of the advisory council for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Southern Florida. Her other professional memberships include the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/ Oncology and the Children’s Oncology Group.

Dr. Schaefer first entered the medical field as a physician’s assistant with a degree from the University of Osteopathic Medicine & Health Sciences in Des Moines, Iowa. She later earned her medical degree from Ross University School of Medicine in the Commonwealth of Dominica.

After completing a pediatric residency at the University of Florida Health Science Center in Jacksonville, she went to St. Louis Children’s Hospital in Missouri for a fellowship in pediatric hematology/oncology through Washington University School of Medicine. She has been on the staff of Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital since 2002. She is board-certified in pediatrics and pediatric hematology/oncology.