MEDVAMC Physicians Honored as Best Doctors in America for 2013

HOUSTON, Nov. 20 -- The Department of Veterans Affairs' Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center issued the following news release:

More than 50 physicians affiliated with Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston appear on the Best Doctors in America(TM) List for 2013. Only five percent of doctors in America earn this prestigious honor, which is decided by impartial peer review.

Physicians included on the Best Doctors List excel in their specialties and are selected by peer reviews from other doctors in the profession. In a confidential review, physicians answer the question, "If you or a loved one needed a doctor in your specialty, to whom would you refer?" Best Doctors, Inc. evaluates the review results, and verifies all additional information to meet detailed inclusion criteria.

"It is no surprise to me that so many of our Houston VA physicians were named to this prestigious list," said Dr. Jagadeesh Kalavar, MEDVAMC Chief of Staff. "At the VA, we offer Veterans top quality healthcare and our doctors truly are second to none. The professionalism, caring and dedication of our physicians is a point of great pride for our Medical Center."

Doctors cannot pay to be included in the Best Doctors database, nor are they paid to provide their input. Best Doctors has earned a sterling, worldwide reputation for reliable, impartial results by remaining totally independent. The highly regarded Best Doctors in America List, assembled by Best Doctors, Inc. and audited and certified by Gallup(TM), results from exhaustive polling of over 45,000 physicians in the United States. Doctors in over 40 specialties and 400 subspecialties of medicine appear on this year's List.

The experts who are part of the Best Doctors in America(TM) database provide the most advanced medical expertise and knowledge to patients with serious conditions - often saving lives in the process by finding the right diagnosis and right treatment. MEDVAMC's group of experts listed in the database includes world-class specialists in Surgery.

Congratulations to the following doctors in the following specialties.

* Daniel Anaya, Surgical Oncology * Samir S. Awad, Critical Care Medicine

* Elizabeth F. Baze, Ophthalmology

* David Berger, Surgical Oncology

* Carol Bodenheimer, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

* Timothy Boone, Urology

* Biykem Bozkurt, Cardiovascular Disease

* Anthony Edwin Brissett, Otolaryngology

* Blase Anthony Carabello, Cardiovascular Disease

* Petros E. Carvounis, Ophthalmology

* Peter T. Chang, Ophthalmology

* Michael Coburn, Urology

* Joseph Stapleton Coselli, Vascular Surgery

* Joseph Stapleton Coselli, Thoracic Surgery

* Glenn Ross Cunningham, Endocrinology and Metabolism

* Clifford Clark Dacso, Internal Medicine

* Clifford Clark Dacso, Infectious Disease

* Maria Dajoyag-Mejia, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

* Rabih Darouiche, Infectious Disease

* Donald Thomas Donovan, Otolaryngology

* Jane Edmond, Pediatric Specialist

* Bruce L. Ehni, Neurological Surgery

* Hashem B. El-Serag, Gastroenterology

* John A. Goss, Surgery

* Martin Grabois, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

* David Y. Graham, Gastroenterology

* Richard J. Hamill, Infectious Disease

* Jennifer Harrison, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

* Helene K. Henson, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

* Sally Ann Holmes, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

* Sylvia Hsu, Dermatology

* Dan B. Jones, Ophthalmology

* Jeffrey A. Jones, Urology

* Biswajit Kar, Cardiovascular Disease

* Douglas D. Koch, Ophthalmology

* Thomas R. Kosten, Psychiatry

* Mark Edwin Kunik, Psychiatry

* Glenn C. Landon, Orthopaedic Surgery

* Laura Marsh, Psychiatry

* Sanjay J. Mathew, Psychiatry

* Brian J. Miles, Urology

* Eli M. Mizrahi, Pediatric Specialist

* Daniel M. Musher, Infectious Disease

* Vijay Nambi, Cardiovascular Disease

* David T. Netscher, Plastic Surgery

* Thomas F. Newton, Psychiatry

* Ida Orengo, Dermatology

* Silvia D. Orengo-Nania, Ophthalmology

* Robert B. Parke, Jr. , Otolaryngology

* James L. Pool, Internal Medicine

Charles Reitman, Orthopaedic Surgery

* Theodore Rosen, Dermatology

* Yasser Shaib, Gastroenterology

* Andrea Stolar, Psychiatry

* George E. Taffet, Geriatric Medicine

* Mas Takashima, Otolaryngology

* Robert S. Tan, Geriatric Medicine

* Marcelo Vela, Gastroenterology

* Matthew J. Wall, Jr., Thoracic Surgery

* Mitchell Weikert, Ophthalmology

* John E. Wolf, Jr., Dermatology

* David H. Yawn, Pathology

* Michael Tze-Chien Yen, Ophthalmology

About Best Doctors, Inc.:

Founded in 1989 by Harvard Medical School physicians, Best Doctors works with the best five percent of doctors, ranked by impartial peer review, to help people get the right diagnosis and right treatment. Gallup(TM) has audited and certified Best Doctors, Inc.'s database of physicians, and its companion Best Doctors in America(TM) List, as using the highest industry standards survey methodology and processes. The global health solutions company, which has grown to over 30 million members worldwide, uses state-of-the-art technology capabilities to deliver improved health outcomes while reducing costs. Best Doctors seamlessly integrates its trusted health services with large self-insured employers, insurers and other groups in every major region of the world. The company also designs and implements international insurance programs that help people be sure they get the right health solutions.

For further information, visit Best Doctors at http://www.bestdoctors.com, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, or call (800) 223-5003.

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