Meet Thoracic Surgeon Smita Sihag

Smita Sihag, MD, MPH, FACS

Thoracic Surgeon

Titles

Assistant Attending Surgeon

Clinical Expertise

Lung Cancer; Esophageal Cancer; Thymic Malignancies; Tracheal Diseases; Minimally Invasive Esophageal Surgery; Endoscopic Mucosal Resection; Complex Airway Surgery; Robotic Surgery

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646-497-9163
Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., (Eastern time)
Accepted Insurance Providers

Dr. Sihag accepts the following list of insurance providers. Select your insurance provider to see more details.

Aetna

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): HMO, EPO PPO, POS, Transplant

Aetna Medicare Advantage (City of NY retirees only, starting 9/1/23)

Payor Type: Medicare/Medicare Advantage
In Network Coverage Type(s): PPO

Blue Cross Blue Shield Federal Employee Program

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): HMO, PPO

Blue Cross Blue Shield New York

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

Blue Cross Blue Shield states outside of NY/NJ

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): HMO, EPO PPO, POS

Blue Cross Health Plus

Payor Type: Medicaid/Managed Medicaid
In Network Coverage Type(s): HMO

Carrum Health

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): Supplemental

Cigna

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): PPO, POS, HMO

Connecticare

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): POS, EPO, HMO

Emblem

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

Emblem Essential

Payor Type: Medicaid/Managed Medicaid
In Network Coverage Type(s): HMO

Emblem Medicare Advantage

Payor Type: Medicare/Medicare Advantage
In Network Coverage Type(s): PPO, HMO

Empire Blue Cross Medicare Advantage

Payor Type: Medicare/Medicare Advantage
In Network Coverage Type(s): PPO, HMO, DSN

Empire Essential

Payor Type: Medicaid/Managed Medicaid
In Network Coverage Type(s): HMO

Empire Plan / NYSHIP (Blue Cross/UnitedHealthcare split plan)

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): PPO

Fidelis

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): HMO, EPO

Fidelis Managed Medicaid & HARP

Payor Type: Medicaid/Managed Medicaid
In Network Coverage Type(s): HMO

Fidelis Medicare Advantage

Payor Type: Medicare/Medicare Advantage
In Network Coverage Type(s): HMO

First Health

Payor Type: Medicare/Medicare Advantage
In Network Coverage Type(s): PPO

Healthfirst

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): EPO, HMO, PPO, POS

Healthfirst Managed Medicaid

Payor Type: Medicaid/Managed Medicaid
In Network Coverage Type(s): HMO

Healthfirst Medicare Advantage

Payor Type: Medicare/Medicare Advantage
In Network Coverage Type(s): HMO, PPO

Healthsmart

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): PPO EPO

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey (HMO)

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): HMO

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey (PPO)

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): PPO

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey Omnia Tier I (EPO)

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): EPO

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey Omnia Tier II (EPO)

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): EPO

Horizon Medicare Advantage

Payor Type: Medicare/Medicare Advantage
In Network Coverage Type(s): PPO, HMO

Husky CT Medicaid

Payor Type: Medicaid/Managed Medicaid
In Network Coverage Type(s): State Government

Magnacare

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): PPO, POS, EPO

Straight NJ Medicaid

Payor Type: Medicaid/Managed Medicaid
In Network Coverage Type(s): State Government

Straight NY Medicaid

Payor Type: Medicaid/Managed Medicaid
In Network Coverage Type(s): State Government

Medicare Part A&B (traditional Medicare)

Payor Type: Medicare/Medicare Advantage
In Network Coverage Type(s): Federal Government

Multiplan/Beech Street/PHCS

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): Supplemental

MVP

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): PPO/OAP

Non-Participating Plans with Out of Network Benefits

Payor Type: Other
In Network Coverage Type(s): PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

NYC Medicare Advantage Plus for City Employees

Payor Type: Medicare/Medicare Advantage
In Network Coverage Type(s): TBD

Oscar

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): HMO/EPO

Oxford

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): PPO, EPO

World Trade Center Health Program (WTC)

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): State Government

Qualcare

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): PPO, POS, HMO

Tricare

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): PPO, HMO

UMR

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): PPO, POS

United Healthcare

Payor Type: Commercial
In Network Coverage Type(s): PPO, POS, HMO

Contact and Location

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Find a Convenient Location

Memorial Sloan Kettering has locations throughout New York City, Long Island, New Jersey, and Westchester. These locations offer many services, including screening, chemotherapy, and medical testing.

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About Me

Education

MD, Washington University; MPH, Harvard University

Residencies

General Surgery – Massachusetts General Hospital-Harvard University

Fellowships

Thoracic Surgery – Massachusetts General Hospital-Harvard University

Board Certifications

Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery

I am a board-certified thoracic surgeon who specializes in caring for people with cancers of the chest. These include primary tumors in the esophagus, lung, mediastinum, airway, pleura, and chest wall, as well as those that have metastasized (spread) to those areas from other parts of the body.

I have special expertise in treating esophageal and tracheal diseases, as well as a variety of benign (non-cancerous) conditions related to these areas such as gastroesophageal reflux, high-grade Barrett’s dysplasia, hiatal hernia, achalasia, esophageal diverticula, and tracheal stenosis.

I perform more than 200 operations per year at Memorial Sloan Kettering’s inpatient hospital in Manhattan. Patients have the option to see me in the clinic at the Rockefeller Outpatient Pavilion in Manhattan or at MSK Nassau on Long Island.

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I work closely with my colleagues in medical, interventional, and radiation oncology to provide each individual patient with a personalized treatment plan that is specifically tailored to their needs. Patients, as well as their family members, caregivers, and primary care providers, are included in the decision-making process to ensure that they feel well supported. After meeting with me, I want patients to feel a sense of hope and comfort that they will be extremely well cared for.

I also strive to offer patients access to the latest innovations and treatment options. Whenever possible, I use minimally invasive techniques to perform lung and esophageal surgery, including robotics and video-assisted thoracoscopy (VATs). These allow for the use of very small incisions and have been shown to lead to a smoother and faster recovery.

I became a thoracic surgical oncologist because surgery remains the best tool available to treat and cure cancers of the lung and esophagus. I also derive tremendous joy and fulfillment from performing challenging operations and helping patients have excellent outcomes.

In addition to my clinical work, I lead a research effort in collaboration with the Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Center for Molecular Oncology that is focused on discovering new therapeutic strategies to treat people with esophageal cancer. Our goal is to develop more precise tools for diagnosing and staging esophageal cancer, as well as predicting which patients will respond to certain treatments.

I am also involved with clinical trials investigating targeted treatments and immunotherapy for esophageal cancer, which represent promising areas of advancement in the field.

In my free time, I enjoy long-distance running, traveling to new destinations, and exploring good food and wine in New York City.

Awards and Honors

  • Castle Connolly: America's Top Doctors (2023)

Colleagues

Doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering work as teams, with specialists from all different areas. This allows us to consider all your needs together, and to give you the best possible care.

See all Thoracic Service doctors

Clinical Trials

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Find a Clinical Trial for You

Memorial Sloan Kettering's doctors and scientists are constantly developing new treatments for cancer. MSK is typically running hundreds of clinical trials at a given time.

You may be able to participate in a clinical trial even if you are new to MSK. Search our online directory to find trial information and see more about who can participate.

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Research and Publications

Publications on PubMed

Visit PubMed for a full listing of Dr. Sihag’s journal articles. Pubmed is an online index of research papers and other articles from the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.

See all on PubMed

Disclosures

Doctors and faculty members often work with pharmaceutical, device, biotechnology, and life sciences companies, and other organizations outside of MSK, to find safe and effective cancer treatments, to improve patient care, and to educate the health care community.

MSK requires doctors and faculty members to report (“disclose”) the relationships and financial interests they have with external entities. As a commitment to transparency with our community, we make that information available to the public.

Smita Sihag discloses the following relationships and financial interests:

No disclosures meeting criteria for time period


If you’re a patient at MSK and would like more information about your doctor’s external relationships, please talk with your doctor.

The information published here is for a specific annual disclosure period. There may be differences between information on this and other public sites as a result of different reporting periods and/or the various ways relationships and financial interests are categorized by organizations that publish such data.

This page and data include information for a specific MSK annual disclosure period (January 1, 2021 through disclosure submission in spring 2022). This data reflects interests that may or may not still exist. This data is updated annually.

Learn more about MSK’s COI policies here. For questions regarding MSK’s COI-related policies and procedures, email MSK’s Compliance Office at [email protected].


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