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Memorial Sloan Kettering thoracic surgeon Smita Sihag

Smita Sihag, MD, MPH, FACS

Thoracic Surgeon

My Role at MSK

Areas of Expertise

My Specialties

  • Lung Cancer
  • Esophageal Cancer
  • Thymic Malignancies
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Dr. Sihag's Office Information
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About Me

What I Do at MSK
  • Assistant Attending Surgeon
Get To Know Me

I am a board-certified thoracic surgeon who specializes in caring for people with cancers of the chest. These include primary tumors in the esophagus, lung, mediastinum, airway, pleura, and chest wall, as well as those that have metastasized (spread) to those areas from other parts of the body.

I have special expertise in treating esophageal and tracheal diseases, as well as a variety of benign (non-cancerous) conditions related to these areas such as gastroesophageal reflux, high-grade Barrett’s dysplasia, hiatal hernia, achalasia, esophageal diverticula, and tracheal stenosis.

I perform more than 200 operations per year at Memorial Sloan Kettering’s inpatient hospital in Manhattan. Patients have the option to see me in the clinic at the Rockefeller Outpatient Pavilion in Manhattan or at MSK Nassau on Long Island.

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I work closely with my colleagues in medical, interventional, and radiation oncology to provide each individual patient with a personalized treatment plan that is specifically tailored to their needs. Patients, as well as their family members, caregivers, and primary care providers, are included in the decision-making process to ensure that they feel well supported. After meeting with me, I want patients to feel a sense of hope and comfort that they will be extremely well cared for.

I also strive to offer patients access to the latest innovations and treatment options. Whenever possible, I use minimally invasive techniques to perform lung and esophageal surgery, including robotics and video-assisted thoracoscopy (VATs). These allow for the use of very small incisions and have been shown to lead to a smoother and faster recovery.

I became a thoracic surgical oncologist because surgery remains the best tool available to treat and cure cancers of the lung and esophagus. I also derive tremendous joy and fulfillment from performing challenging operations and helping patients have excellent outcomes.

In addition to my clinical work, I lead a research effort in collaboration with the Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Center for Molecular Oncology that is focused on discovering new therapeutic strategies to treat people with esophageal cancer. Our goal is to develop more precise tools for diagnosing and staging esophageal cancer, as well as predicting which patients will respond to certain treatments.

I am also involved with clinical trials investigating targeted treatments and immunotherapy for esophageal cancer, which represent promising areas of advancement in the field.

In my free time, I enjoy long-distance running, traveling to new destinations, and exploring good food and wine in New York City.

My Role at MSK

A thoracic (thor-A-sik) surgeon is a doctor with special training in surgery on the chest, lungs, trachea (windpipe), and thymus.

Areas of Expertise

My Specialties

  • Lung Cancer
  • Esophageal Cancer
  • Thymic Malignancies
  • Tracheal Diseases
  • Minimally Invasive Esophageal Surgery
  • Endoscopic Mucosal Resection
  • Complex Airway Surgery
  • Robotic Surgery
Education & Honors

Education

  • MD, Washington University
  • MPH, Harvard University

Residencies

  • General Surgery – Massachusetts General Hospital-Harvard University

Awards and Honors

  • Castle Connolly: Top AAPI Doctor (2024)
  • Top Doctors New York Metro Area, Castle Connolly (2023)
  • Castle Connolly: America's Top Doctors (2023)

Fellowships

  • Thoracic Surgery – Massachusetts General Hospital-Harvard University

Board Certifications

  • Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery

Insurance Information

Understanding your insurance options is an important part of managing your cancer care. We have relationships with many common healthcare providers and plans.

Aetna

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO PPO, POS, Transplant

Aetna Medicare Advantage (MTA and NYC retirees only)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

Anthem BCBS and other BCBS licensee plans

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

See updates

Anthem BCBS Health Plus

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

See updates

Anthem Blue Cross Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO, DSN

See updates

Blue Cross Blue Shield Federal Employee Program

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, PPO

See updates

Blue Cross Blue Shield states outside of NY/NJ

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO PPO, POS

See updates

Carrum Health

In Network Coverage Type
Supplemental

Cigna

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO

Connecticare

In Network Coverage Type
POS, EPO, HMO

Emblem

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Emblem to learn more.

Emblem Essential

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Emblem Medicare Advantage (Medicare Choice PPO Network and VIP Prime Network Only)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO

Empire Essential

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Empire Plan / NYSHIP (Blue Cross/UnitedHealthcare split plan)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

See updates

Fidelis

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO

Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Fidelis to learn more.

Fidelis Managed Medicaid & HARP

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Fidelis Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

First Health

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

Healthfirst

In Network Coverage Type
EPO, HMO, PPO, POS

Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Healthfirst to learn more.

Healthfirst Managed Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Healthfirst Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, PPO

Healthsmart

In Network Coverage Type
PPO EPO

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey (HMO)

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

See updates

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey (PPO)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

See updates

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey Omnia Tier I (EPO)

In Network Coverage Type
EPO

See updates

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey Omnia Tier II (EPO)

In Network Coverage Type
EPO

See updates

Horizon Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO

Husky CT Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Magnacare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO

Straight NJ Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Straight NY Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Medicare Part A&B (traditional Medicare)

In Network Coverage Type
Federal Government

Multiplan/Beech Street/PHCS

In Network Coverage Type
Supplemental

MVP

In Network Coverage Type
PPO/OAP

Non-Participating Plans with Out of Network Benefits

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

NYC Medicare Advantage Plus for City Employees

In Network Coverage Type
TBD

Oscar

In Network Coverage Type
HMO/EPO

Oxford

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, EPO

World Trade Center Health Program (WTC)

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Qualcare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO

Tricare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO

UMR

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS

United Healthcare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO

Don't see your carrier or plan? We can help you understand your coverage.

If you don't have health insurance or are worried that your care may not be fully covered, our financial assistance programs may be able to help.

If you have questions about insurance, call us at 646-497-9176.

Make an Appointment

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Current Patients
Request an appointment by logging on to MyMSK or calling your doctor’s office. If you aren’t registered for MyMSK, call 646-227-2593 for your Enrollment ID.

Contact and Location

Dr. Sihag sees patients at two locations.

Office Phone
Location
New York, NY
Uniondale, NY
David H. Koch Center for Cancer Care at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
530 East 74th Street New York NY 10021
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Memorial Sloan Kettering Nassau
1101 Hempstead Turnpike Uniondale NY 11553
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Looking to see a doctor at a different location? See all MSK locations.

Colleagues

Doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering work as teams, with specialists from all different areas. This allows us to consider all your needs together, and to give you the best possible care.

See all Thoracic Service doctors

Clinical Trials

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Find a Clinical Trial for You

Memorial Sloan Kettering's doctors and scientists are constantly developing new treatments for cancer. MSK is typically running hundreds of clinical trials at a given time.

You may be able to participate in a clinical trial even if you are new to MSK. Search our online directory to find trial information and see more about who can participate.

Search clinical trials

Research and Publications

Publications on PubMed

Visit PubMed for a full listing of Dr. Sihag’s journal articles. Pubmed is an online index of research papers and other articles from the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.

See all on PubMed

Disclosures

Doctors and faculty members often work with pharmaceutical, device, biotechnology, and life sciences companies, and other organizations outside of MSK, to find safe and effective cancer treatments, to improve patient care, and to educate the health care community.

MSK requires doctors and faculty members to report (“disclose”) the relationships and financial interests they have with external entities. As a commitment to transparency with our community, we make that information available to the public.

Smita Sihag discloses the following relationships and financial interests:

  • AstraZeneca
    Professional Services and Activities
  • Intuitive Surgical Inc.
    Professional Services and Activities

If you’re a patient at MSK and would like more information about your doctor’s external relationships, please talk with your doctor.

The information published here is a complement to other publicly reported data and is for a specific annual disclosure period. There may be differences between information on this and other public sites as a result of different reporting periods and/or the various ways relationships and financial interests are categorized by organizations that publish such data.

This page and data include information for a specific MSK annual disclosure period (January 1, 2023 through disclosure submission in spring 2024). This data reflects interests that may or may not still exist. This data is updated annually.

Learn more about MSK’s COI policies here. For questions regarding MSK’s COI-related policies and procedures, email MSK’s Compliance Office at [email protected].


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