Vascular Birthmark Institute of New York

Teresa O, MD, MArch FACS, specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of hemangiomas and vascular lesions in all ages. She is a facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon who works closely with Dr. Waner in the medical and surgical management of vascular lesions. Dr. O is also an expert in treating patients with Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia (HHT). She has dual training in facial nerve paralysis and reanimation and is also Director of the Facial Nerve Center at Lenox Hill Hospital and the New York Facial paralysis Center. Dr. O is dual board certified in Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

Dr. O matriculated at Cornell University as an architecture student (B.Arch, M.Arch). She later graduated from Boston University Medical School. She completed a residency in Head and Neck Surgery at the New York Eye, and Ear Infirmary and received fellowship training with Dr. Waner in vascular anomalies. After seeing many patients with the devastating sequelae of facial paralysis, Dr. O pursued further training in facial nerve reanimation with Drs. Hadlock and Cheney at the Massachusetts Eye, and Ear Infirmary in Boston.

Currently, she has restricted her practice to patients with vascular anomalies or facial paralysis. She is Director of the Facial Nerve Center at Lenox Hill and Manhattan Eye, Ear, and Throat Hospitals and the New York Facial Paralysis Center in New York. Interestingly, Dr. O’s past as a licensed architect informs her approach to 3-D reconstruction.

She is involved in clinical and basic science research and collaborates with labs at Stonybrook University and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Dr. O has lectured internationally, and authored or co-authored more than 40 peer-reviewed journal articles and 17 textbook chapters. She has also edited a textbook on Vascular Anomalies of the Head and Neck and one on facial palsy. Dr. O is a member of several major national and international medical associations including The American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS), The American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) and The International Society for the Study of Vascular Anomalies (ISSVA). She serves on several education committes at the AAO-HNS.

Milton Waner, MD, M.B.,B.Ch.(Wits.), FCS(SA), is a pediatric facial plastic surgeon and is Director of the Vascular Birthmark Institute of New York.

Dr. Waner earned his M.B., B.Ch.(Wits) degree at the University of Witwatersrand Medical School in Johannesburg, South Africa. After graduating, he completed his internship and general surgical training at the University of the Witwatersrand affiliated hospitals and his residency in the Division of Otolaryngology/Department of Surgery at the University of Witwatersrand. He also completed a research fellowship in head and neck cancer at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. He accepted a faculty position in the Department of Surgery at the University of Sydney in Australia. In 1988, he left Australia to join the faculty of the Department of Otolaryngology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. In 2001, he was promoted to the rank of Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Science in Little Rock. He also held the Benjamin and Milton Waner Endowed Chair in Pediatric Facial Plastic Surgery at Arkansas Children’s Hospital.

Dr. Waner has authored and co-authored well over 100 peer reviewed articles, 37 book chapters, and 3 textbooks concerning hemangiomas, vascular malformations of the head and neck, and related topics. His work has been cited about 6,000 times in the world literature. He is considered a world authority in hemangiomas and vascular malformations. Dr. Waner has been at the forefront of many breakthoughs in our understanding of hemangiomas and vascular malformations. He promoted early intervention for children with hemangiomas and has developed many surgical approaches to the treatment of hemangiomas and vascular malformations. He was the first to recognize the difference between focal and segmental hemangiomas and was a co-author on the paper that described the first immunohistochemical marker for hemangiomas, GLUT1. He was a pioneer in the development of the medical application for copper vapor lasers and has remained at the forefront in both clinical and basic science research in the field of lasers in medicine. Dr. Waner holds numerous US and international patents on medical devices and one of his most recent inventions is a pair of infrared glasses that can visualize veins through intact skin. This instrument and others similar to it are now being used in hospitals throughout the world. He has served as the surgical representative on the Board of Directors of the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery and was nominated to run for president of that society. He is a member of several societies including the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery, and the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. Dr. Waner is the recipient of numerous awards. These include an Honor Award presented by the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and the Children’s Miracle Network Achievement Award. He has been made an honorary member of the British Academy of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons. Recently, a tugboat operating in New York harbor was named after him (Dr. Milton Waner, USA). Dr. Waner is consistently included in several lists of top physicians including, America’s Top Doctors, The Best Doctors in America and The Best Doctors in New York and was featured on the front cover as one of the “Best Doctors: in the 1999 US News and World Report.

Alejandro Berenstein, MD, is a pioneer in the field of Interventional Neuroradiology and the newly developed field of the use of embolization and direct puncture sclerotherapy for the treatment of vascular lesions of the head and neck. He started his career at New York University (NYU) where he soon emerged as a world authority and pioneer in the field of vascular lesions of the head and neck. He subsequently moved to Beth Israel hospital and together with Dr. Fred Epstein, founded The Hyman Newman Institute for Neurology and Neurosurgery (INN). He pioneered minimally invasive procedures to treat conditions related to the vascular system in the brain, head, face, spine, and spinal cord. Dr. Berenstein created and developed the first division of interventional neuroradiology (surgical neuroangiography) in the United States, recognizing complex vascular problems of the brain and spinal cord. He holds numerous patents in this field. He also developed the first multidisciplinary center for congenital vascular anomalies and hemangiomas where a team of specialists review and design treatment strategies for patients with vascular problems of the head and neck. Dr. Berenstein uses the same concepts, techniques and multidisciplinary expertise at the INN in cases of aneurysm, vascular tumors, vascular malformations, birthmarks and other vascular abnormalities. Dr. Berenstein and Dr. Pierre Lasjuanias co-wrote the five-volume definitive work in the field of surgical neuroangiography.

A native of Mexico City, Mexico, Dr. Berenstein received his Bachelor of Science Degree from the Escuela Secundaria y Preparatory de la Ciudad de Mexico. He specialized in Neurointerventional Radiology at NYU and subsequently joined the faculty, where he remained for 20 years before joining Beth Israel Medical Center. Dr. Berenstein is among New York Magazine’s “Best Doctors”. The New York Magazine list is excerpted from Castle Connolly’s annual guidebook, “Top Doctors: New York Metro Area.”

Dr. Rosen is internationally recognized as a leader in the field of interventional radiology and endovascular surgery. He pioneered several techniques and medical devices now in common use. He attended college and medical school in Philadelphia, receiving his medical degree from Hahnemann University and post graduate training in Interventional Radiology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. After completing fellowship in 1980, he was recruited to establish the Division of Interventional Radiology at New York University Medical Center, where he remained for 25 years, performing over 70,000 interventional and endovascular procedures. He trained 45 Fellows, several of whom have become leaders in the field in their own right. In April 2005, Dr. Rosen joined the newly formed multidisciplinary cardiovascular group at Lenox Hill Heart and Vascular Institute in New York, where he continues to treat patients, train fellows, and conduct clinical research.

Dr. Rosen is best known for his original work in the management of children and adults with congenital vascular malformations. Patients travel from around the world with these disorders. He has also developed techniques and instrumentation for the treatment of patients with aortic aneurysms, atherosclerosis, hepatic tumors and uterine fibroids. He holds several patents for medical devices and has published nearly 100 original scientific papers and two textbooks, as well as book chapters in several standard medical texts. He also lectures extensively and has been a Visiting Professor in institutions throughout the United States and abroad. He was the youngest individual ever elected to fellowship in the Society for Interventional Radiology and is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, the Radiological Society of North America and the Cardiovascular Council of the American Heart Association.

Dr. Fay is a world expert in the treatment of orbital vascular lesions. He attended Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons before completing his residency in ophthalmology at the Edward S. Harkness Eye Institute. He went on to a 2-year combined fellowship in ophthalmic pathology and oculoplastic surgery at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (MEEI) and Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Fay has attended on the Oculoplastics and Orbital Surgery service since 1999, and was promoted to Department Director in December 2006. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School. He also has a joint appointment as the Director of Occuloplastic Surgery at the Vascular Birthmark Institute of NY.

Dr. Fay became interested in the field of vascular lesions of the orbit, and working closely with Dr. Waner, solved many of the orbital problems that these children faced. He has become an international authority in this field and has accumulated a wide range of experience. Dr. Fay’s research interest and clinical expertise lie in the study and treatment of periocular vascular anomalies. Dr. Fay is widely published and has authored over 100 scientific papers. He has written numerous textbook chapters on orbital vascular malformations and has edited the definitive text on Orbital surgery. He is a founding member of the Massachusetts General Hospital Hemangioma and Vascular Malformations Clinic. He was awarded 2007 Physician of the Year by the Vascular Birthmark Foundation. Current research is focused on the immunohistopathology of orbital vascular lesions, and early interventions for lymphatic malformations and hemangiomas.