Our Doctors

Dr. Garber is the founder of New York Bariatric Group. He has performed thousands of bariatric surgeries including sleeve gastrectomies, over 3500 Lap Bands, and 3500 gastric bypasses. A leader in his field, Dr. Garber also helped develop the single incision Lap-Band and sleeve gastrectomy techniques. He is asked to teach other surgeons around the country this virtually scarless technique. His surgical skills, combined with his bedside manner, earn substantial praise from patients.

Prior to joining New York Bariatric Group. Dr. Holover was the Clinical Professor of Surgery at The University of Pittsburgh. During this time he performed cutting edge research, gave presentations at major national meetings, and helped train surgeons around the country. Dr. Holover was one of the first surgeons to perform a gastric sleeve, and also one of the first surgeons to publish a clinical gastric sleeve article. He has done thousands of weight loss surgeries, and has won multiple awards including placement on the “Top Doctors” list and “Most Compassionate” list.

Dr. Sekhar is a New York native who is a Board Certified Bariatric and General Surgeon. After graduating from medical school, he received his general surgery and trauma training at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, NY. He then completed a fellowship in Advanced Laparoscopic and Bariatric Surgery at Vanderbilt. In addition to performing extensive weight loss surgeries, Dr. Sekhar is an expert in treating reflux and hernias.

Dr. Sommer is a native of New York. Although he went to California for college, and Boston for surgical training, he is proud to return to NYC to perform bariatric surgery. To advance his knowledge and surgical expertise, Dr. Sommer completed a fellowship in Advanced Laparoscopic, Bariatric, and Robotic Surgery. He brings his skill to New York Bariatric Group, where he performs a variety of weight loss surgeries for patients.

A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Dr. Chiao is a Board Certified Bariatric and General Surgeon. He developed an interest in minimally invasive techniques in all aspects of surgery, especially bariatrics, and decided to pursue advanced training. Following general surgery training, Dr. Chiao completed a fellowship in Bariatric and Minimally Invasive Surgery, and has now joined New York Bariatric Group to treat patients locally.

A graduate of the University of Alabama School of Medicine. Dr. Chiu completed a fellowship in Minimally Invasive Bariatric Surgery from the University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine. Dr. Chiu is certified with the daVinci System for robotic surgery and is American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Fellowship Certified.

Dr. Kevin Small is a well-known innovator and an educator in the fields of plastic and reconstructive surgery. He has received many honors and awards citing his excellence in academics, teaching, and research from prestigious organizations such as the American Society of Plastic Surgery, the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, and the Plastic Surgery Educational Foundation.

Dr. Patel is American Board of Surgery certified as well with the daVinci System for Robotic Surgery. Additionally, she is an active member of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery and the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons.

Dr. Desai spent his childhood in the southern United States growing up in Columbus, Georgia, a city known for its charm on the border of Alabama. He left the south to study in Chicago at Northwestern University where he completed his undergraduate education.

Dr. Godshall is a New York native, born and raised in Westchester County, New York. Dr. Godshall completed her undergraduate degree in Neuroscience at Smith College in Northampton, MA. She earned her medical degree from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA where she was honored by induction into the AOA Honor Medical Society.

Dr. Chin is a native of Louisiana. He has trained extensively in bariatric and minimally invasive surgery and has practiced on both east and west coasts.

Dr. Cussatti is a board certified general and bariatric surgeon who completed his general surgery training at The Stamford Hospital, Stamford, CT. He then went on to complete his specialty training in minimally invasive surgery at the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Weber is a graduate of a combined B.S/ M.D. program at Kent State University and Northeastern Ohio Universities’ College of Medicine. She is also Board Certified by the American Board of Surgery.

Dr. Nishimura was born and raised in San Jose, California. He graduated from Hahnemann University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1994 and completed his surgical residency at Nassau County Medical Center.

Dr. Felte completed his Bachelor of Science with honors at Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut. Dr. Felte completed his post-baccalaureate pre-medicine education at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA.

Dr. Harvey Rainville is a board certified General and Bariatric surgeon. Originally from Dallas Texas, he completed his undergraduate education at Baylor University.

Dr. Kartik Gohil was raised in Baroda, India. After completing his high school in the top 1 percentile of his class, he proceeded to complete his medical training at esteemed Baroda Medical College at The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda. He graduated top of his class. He completed his General Surgery Residency at Michigan State University, Lansing. From there he pursued specialty training in Minimally Invasive and Bariatric Surgery at Stony Brook University Medical Center, NY.

Dr. Kartik Gohil was raised in Baroda, India. After completing his high school in the top 1 percentile of his class, he proceeded to complete his medical training at esteemed Baroda Medical College at The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda. He graduated top of his class. He completed his General Surgery Residency at Michigan State University, Lansing. From there he pursued specialty training in Minimally Invasive and Bariatric Surgery at Stony Brook University Medical Center, NY.

Dr. Cudworth is originally from Santiago, Chile. He graduated from the Pontificia Universidad Catolica De Chile Facultad De Medicina, in 2011. He completed his general surgery residency at the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System at Chicago in 2014.

Dr. Naveen Ballem and his family are excited to be back and established in the town where he was raised. He attended the Montclair Kimberley Academy, where he was awarded a Garden State Scholarship. He then moved to Boston for further education at Boston College. Dr. Ballem completed his General Surgery residency in New York City, and then pursued specialty training at The Cleveland Clinic in both Endocrine & Advanced Laparoscopic Surgery.

Paayal Mehta is a board certified, fellowship trained advanced laparoscopic surgeon, specializing in bariatric surgery. She has a passion for, and commitment to weight loss surgery and performs a wide spectrum of bariatric procedures including gastric banding, gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy, and revisional procedures.

Dr. Shah started his education in 2006 at Columbia University in New York City. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biochemistry and Economics. He then went on to pursue his medical school training at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and completed his general surgery residency at Stony Brook Medicine, where he developed a profound interest in minimally invasive and bariatric surgery.

Dr. Kaitlyn Paine is passionate about obtaining beautiful and natural results for every individual, while balancing meticulous attention to detail with safe compassionate care. She is a board-eligible plastic surgeon and recent graduate of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Residency, where she served as Chief Resident. As one of the top 20 residency programs in the country, she developed a wide breadth of plastic surgery skills including cosmetic and reconstructive breast procedures, body contouring, trunk and leg reconstruction, facial aesthetic surgery, craniofacial surgery, and minimally invasive cosmetic procedures.

Dr. Kulvir Nandra was originally born in England and grew up in Florida. He attended medical school at Florida State University and graduated top of his class. He then completed his general surgery training in Philadelphia and colorectal surgery training at Rutgers University. He has won several teaching awards and has presented research on Telehealth at national meetings. He offers a wide range of colorectal surgery options with the latest robotic and minimally invasive techniques and also specializes in the treatment of common rectal problems such as hemorrhoids with office-based procedures.

Dr. M. Shuja Shafqat is a board-certified plastic surgeon with NYBG Plastic Surgery, a subsidiary of New York Bariatric Group. He has extensive training in all aspects of plastic surgery including body contouring, post-bariatric procedures, facial cosmetic surgery, cosmetic breast surgery, and reconstruction from head to toe. In addition, he as additional training and expertise in reconstruction, complex cosmetic and reconstructive breast surgery, revisional breast surgery, skin cancer reconstruction and hernia repairs.

Dr. Glenn Forrester is a graduate of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, with a bachelor’s degree in biology and earned his medical degree from St. George’s University in Grenada. He completed a six-year surgical residency at the combined program of Our Lady of Mercy and Lincoln Medical Centers in the Bronx. His fourth year of residency was devoted to clinical research in bariatric surgery where he focused on weight loss outcomes in various populations.

Dr. Emmanuel was born and raised in India. He completed medical school at St. John’s Medical College in Bangalore, India. He completed his internship in general surgery at Yale-New Haven Hospital of St. Raphael in New Haven, CT and general surgery residency at the University of Connecticut in Farmington, CT.

Dr. Jeena Easow is known for her compassionate care, attention to detail, and natural results. Dr. Easow completed residencies in both General Surgery and Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, trained with leaders in the field, and developed a proficiency in all aspects of reconstructive and aesthetic surgery. Her interests are in body contouring and breast surgery.

Dr. Enochs has been in the practice of bariatric surgery for over 20 years and has performed over 10,000 procedures. He remains on the forefront of cutting-edge technology and specializes in revisional bariatric surgery and robotic surgery. He is a leading expert nationwide in Single Incision Laparoscopic Surgery (SILS) as well as the Sleeve Gastrectomy with Single Anastamosis Duodenoilial Bypass (SIPS/SADS/SADI-S).