Following graduation from Wayne State University of Medicine in 1977, Dr. Steinhagen completed his residency in General Surgery at The Mount Sinai Medical Center and a Fellowship in Colon and Rectal Surgery at The Cleveland Clinic. On completion of his fellowship, Dr. Steinhagen returned to The Mount Sinai Medical Center and has been a member of the full-time faculty in the Department of Surgery since 1983.

Dr. Steinhagen is one of the most seasoned and respected attendings on faculty. In 1986, he received the Robert Paradny Award given by the graduating surgery chief residents to the outstanding surgical attending. In 1998, he was awarded the Excellence in Teaching Award by the graduating medical students as the outstanding teacher in the clinical years. For five consecutive years (2003 to 2007), Dr. Steinhagen was honored with the Medical Student Teaching Award in Surgery.

His current research interests concern sphincter-preserving surgery for rectal cancer and clinical studies of nonsurgical treatment of anal fissures. At Mount Sinai, Dr. Steinhagen was the first surgeon to use a "colon J-pouch" to reestablish intestinal continuity after radical surgery for distal rectal cancer. He continues to actively evaluate the role for "local excision" in the surgical treatment of selected cases of rectal carcinoma, and has presented his data on that subject in Korea and in India.

Dr. Steinhagen was appointed the Chief of the Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery in 2001, a position he held for 21 years. He was also the Program Director of the Colon and Rectal Surgery Fellowship Program.

Within Mount Sinai, Dr. Steinhagen is a member of the Surgery Education Committee, the Medical School Admissions Committee, and the Executive Curriculum Committee. He also serves on the Endoscopy Steering Committee. He is an adjunct member of the Department of Anatomy and Functional Morphology, and assists in teaching first-year students in Gross Anatomy lab.

Dr. Steinhagen has published significantly in the field of colon and rectal surgery. He is highly regarded by his peers outside the institution as well. He is a former President of the New York Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons and is a member of several committees to the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgery.

In the News

Dr. Steinhagen discusses colorectal cancer in The Daily News feature The Daily Check Up.
View the PDF.

Invited Lectures

1. Local excision of rectal cancer.  Presented at the 28th Catholic Cancer Center Symposium. Catholic Medical Center. Seoul, Korea.  June 2002.

2. Acute diverticulitis: evaluation and management.  Presented at the 22nd Annual Conference of the Karnataka State Chapter of Association of Surgeons of India and Association of Surgeons of India South Zone, Bangalore India, February 2004

3. Treatment of rectal cancer.  Presented at Department of Surgery Grand Rounds, Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York.  February 2005.

4. Acute diverticulitis: do the old rules still apply?  Presented at Department of Surgery Grand Rounds, University of Miami – Jackson Memorial Medical Center, Miami Florida.  November 2005.

Named Lectureships

1.    Current surgical treatment of rectal cancer.  T.S. Jairam Memorial Lecture. Presented at the 22nd Annual Conference of the Karnataka State Chapter of Association of Surgeons of India and Association of Surgeons of India South Zone, Bangalore India, February 2004.

2.    Current management of diverticulitis.  Dr. Chang Yul Oh Memorial Lecture.  Presented at the 25th Annual Scientific Convention of the Korean American Medical Association, Scottsdale, Arizona, December 2007.