Who we Are

Dr. Lazzaro is a board certified Cardiothoracic as well as General Surgeon specializing in minimally invasive surgery since 1997. He has over 25 years of experience in surgery and is now performing the majority of procedures utilizing the daVinci robotic system and was awarded the Northeast Epicenter for robotic thoracic surgery.  Presently, Dr. Lazzaro is Section Chief, General Thoracic Surgery at Robert Wood Johnson Barnabas Health Southern Region.  Throughout his many years in practice, Dr. Lazzaro has been identified as a Top Doctor by New York magazine and as America s Top Doctor by Castle Connolly. When asked why he chose to become a thoracic surgeon, Dr. Lazzaro will tell you it runs in his blood. I have five generations of doctors in my family. Being a surgeon is not just my job; it’s my life’s passion. It brings me great joy to help other people.  

Dr Lazzaro is an Editorial Board Member for the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery Open, and the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery Techniques. A brief bio follows.

Dr. Lazzaro graduated from a biomedical education program at Union University and from Albany Medical College. Dr. Lazzaro completed his general surgical residency at the North Shore University Hospital/Cornell University in 1994, including a surgical research fellowship in heart transplantation. Dr. Lazzaro then went on to study cardiac surgery under the direction of renowned surgeon, Dr. Joseph Cunningham, at the State University of New York. Following this, Dr. Lazzaro attended the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center for an advanced minimally invasive fellowship in thoracic surgery, under the direction of Dr. James Luketich. 

Dr. Lazzaro returned to his home, New York City, where he has been in practice from 1998 through today, performing minimally invasive robotic surgery for the benefit of his patients and his community.  He is board certified in general and thoracic surgery, and has been identified as a Top Doctor by New York magazine and as America s Top Doctor by Castle Connelly. When asked why he chose to become a thoracic surgeon, Dr. Lazzaro will tell you it runs in his blood. I have five generations of doctors in my family. Being a surgeon is not just my job; it’s my life’s passion. It brings me great joy to help other people.

Accomplishments include performing the first complete robotic pneumonectomy in the NYC area as well as pulmonary lobectomy for pulmonary sequestration, which has been rarely accomplished in adults, less than a handful of cases reported in the United States. He brings advanced robotic techniques to not only serve the residents of the tristate region, but also to train surgeons from across the country.

Being a surgeon is not just my job; it’s my life’s passion. Dr. Richard Lazzaro is the system director of robotic thoracic surgery at Northwell Health, and the chief of thoracic surgery and director of robotic thoracic surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital. A renowned national leader, Dr. Lazzaro has pioneered many groundbreaking firsts, bringing more than 20 years of specialized expertise in minimally invasive and robotic thoracic surgery. What sets us apart is that about 90 percent of my patients are treated using minimally invasive techniques, Dr. Lazzaro says. We deliver precise care with less scarring to get patients back to doing what they love. It’s this experience that has helped him and his team earn recognition from the Surgical Review Corporation as America’s first Robotic Surgery Network of Excellence. Under Dr. Lazzaro’s leadership, Lenox Hill’s award-winning thoracic surgery program was established as one of the top 10 hospitals in the country for lung cancer surgery outcomes since 2012 with from publicly reported data from the General Thoracic Surgery Database of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Renowned surgeons travel from across the country to learn about robotics from Dr. Lazzaro and his team. In 2013, Dr. Lazzaro made medical history by being the first surgeon in the world to perform minimally invasive robotic surgery on a patient with tracheobronchomalacia (TBM), a debilitating condition that is treated historically through open surgery. Today, Dr. Lazzaro leads one of the world’s largest TBM programs, helping patients breathe easy and recover faster. His accomplishments also include performing the first complete robotic pneumonectomy in the NYC area, as well as one of the first pulmonary lobectomies for intra-lobar pulmonary sequestration in the U.S., a procedure that has been rarely accomplished in adults. These groundbreaking evolutions completely change the way we help people, 

Throughout his many years in practice, Dr. Lazzaro has been identified as a Top Doctor by New York magazine and as America s Top Doctor by Castle Connelly. When asked why he chose to become a thoracic surgeon, Dr. Lazzaro will tell you it runs in his blood. I have five generations of doctors in my family. Being a surgeon is not just my job; it’s my life’s passion. It brings me great joy to help other people.