Treating the Patient, Not the Disease
The answer, of course, is that a good doctor combines extensive knowledge with genuine concern. He or she treats the patient, not the disease – and has the intellect to do it well. It’s no surprise that such doctors are hard to come by.
Fortunately, New York is famous for its great doctors.
Dr. Emmanuil Rakhmanchik
Family Physician
105 Oriental Boulevard
Brooklyn, NY 11235
(718) 332-8899
Emmanuil Rakhmanchik is famous across New York. In fact, he is so famous, he has FANS. No, Emmanuil Rakhmanchik is no movie star: he is the best family physician in town. Three generations of my family owe their well-being to Dr. Rakhmanchik’s care.
It’s not just his all-encompassing medical knowledge, his quick thinking, and his spot-on diagnosis: Dr. Rakhmanchik’s erudition is matched with his amazing personality. Warm, thoughtful – yet firm when necessary – he can make any patient feel at ease, less fearful, and determined to beat his or her condition.
Dr. Paul Russo
Oncology Surgeon
1275 York Avenue
New York, NY 10021
(212) 639-5944
Dr. Russo is quite simply the best in his field. A world-renowned surgeon, he has saved countless lives – among them, the life of my mother.
Putting a cancer patient at ease is no cake walk, but Dr. Russo manages to do it with grace and humor. He patiently explains the long, unpronounceable medical terms, goes through x-rays with his patients, and generally works to educate, as well as treat, the patients. He understands that removing the mystery that surrounds the disease goes a long way to removing the fear of that disease. He inspires hope, then backs up that hope in the operating room with amazing skill.
Dr. Russo is one of the few doctors in the world who don’t simply chop off the infected organ: he always looks for ways to save it, removing it only if there is no other choice.
Dr. Tatyana Pevzner
Obstetrics & Gynecology
2320 Avenue U
Brooklyn, NY 11229
(718) 368-3333
When I was a child, I could hardly imagine a person more frightening than my dentist. But as I grew up, I realized that there was one doctor more dreaded than the white-coated boogieman (or boogiewoman, as the case may be) with the drill: the gynecologist.
Any woman will tell you that a visit to the gynecologist is one of the most awkward, uncomfortable experiences. Tatyana Pevzner knows this well and tries her best to make the visit as painless as possible. Her full-service office is equipped for simple surgical procedures and staffed with warm, caring people who work hard to alleviate the tension that’s always present in a gynecologist’s office.
Dr. David Feldman
Plastic Surgeon
925 49th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11219
(718) 283-7022
My 95-year-old grandfather spent the last 10 years of his life fighting skin cancer. Unsightly and painful, the cancer finally claimed part of his ear and most of his nose. That’s when Dr. Feldman came into our lives.
Dr. Feldman treats all his patients with great respect and care, regardless of their age and condition. My 95-year-old grandfather received as much consideration as a 25-year-old with his whole life ahead of him. Dr. Feldman painstakingly reconstructed my grandfather’s face, explaining the procedure patiently, without a trace of condescension or annoyance. My grandfather might not have had his whole life ahead of him – but Dr. Feldman made sure that he spent the few years he had with dignity, surrounded by friends, instead of being shunned for an unsightly deformity.
Dr. Feldman remained my grandfather’s favorite doctor until the end.
Dr. Howard Bruckner
Oncologist
150 55th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11220
(718) 630-6595
Dr. Bruckner picks up where the surgeon leaves off: he offers follow-up oncology treatments such as chemo and radiation. But he does more than that: knowing full well that his patients are going through what is easily the hardest period in their lives, he takes a personal interest in each and every patient, working to alleviate the fear along with the pain.
Dr. Bruckner starts out by drawing a personalized lifestyle chart for each patient, explaining what he or she can and can’t eat and why, which activities can help or hurt the recovery process, what kind of behavior has to be avoided and what kind of behavior must be encouraged. He studies the entire medical history of each patient and brings this wholistic knowledge to his cancer treatments. A true healer, he treats the person, not the disease.
Dr. Mark Galperin
Pain Management
2829 Ocean Parkway
Brooklyn, NY 11235
(718) 743-0900
New York is filled with doctors who offer pain management, such as epidural cortisone injections. But few doctors can match the precision and sheer entertainment factor of Dr. Galperin.
Dr. Galperin’s office is more fun than your average Summer blockbuster. Equipped with the latest gadgets, its centerpiece is an X-ray machine which helps Dr. Galperin pinpoint the injection site. This means faster pain relief with virtually no possibility of mistake.
This is especially important when Dr. Galperin has to work with the patient’s spine. Spinal injections are highly dangerous and, in the wrong hands, can leave the patient paralyzed. Dr. Galperin eliminates this grim possibility with the click of a button.
