Debbie Bakes M.D. joins the Division of Colorectal Surgery

Debbie Bakes, M.D. has joined the Division of Colorectal Surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center as of September 1, 2018 as Assistant Professor of Surgery. Dr. Bakes will be responsible for expanding the division’s expertise to Hudson Valley Hospital and Northern Westchester.

Dr. Bakes received her B.A. and M.A. in Biochemistry from Brandeis University. After earning her M.D. from Tufts University School of Medicine, she continued her training as a General Surgery resident at Stamford Hospital/Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. She has also completed a fellowship in colon and rectal surgery at the University of Miami/ Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami.

Dr. Bakes is experienced in minimally-invasive surgical approaches including laparoscopic and robotic surgery as well as transanal excision techniques. She has a special interest in colorectal cancer, diverticulitis and the management of anorectal conditions, as well as pelvic floor disorders. 

As a researcher, Dr. Bakes is studying Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) pathways in colorectal surgery and their effects on length of hospital stay, pain control, overall narcotic usage, and return to bowel function. She is also assessing hospital quality improvement data in colon surgery wound infection rates, while designing bowel resection protocols to help reduce surgical site infections. 

Dr. Bakes is devoted to providing highly empathetic and individualized care, and will have an outpatient and inpatient practice at the division’s Hudson Valley Hospital. Her primary office will be at Hudson Valley Hospital’s medical office building, 1985 Crompond Road, Building A, Cortlandt Manor, NY 10567. She will also see patients at the Herbert Irving Pavilion, NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia, 161 Fort Washington Avenue, 8th floor, in Manhattan, and in Westchester at NewYork-Presbyterian/Lawrence Hospital, 55 Palmer Avenue in Bronxville.