Hollywood’s Top Doctors Revealed: Exclusive Survey

From the OB/GYN who delivered Kim Kardashian and her baby to the medical guru who treats Morgan Freeman to the man who removed Dr. Oz’s colon polyp, the 484 most beloved M.D.s from stars and executives as vetted by leading medical-database authority Castle Connolly

A version of this story first appeared in the Sept. 19 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.

Hollywood is a town obsessed with its health — and its vanity. So it’s no surprise that everyone has an opinion on who the best doctors in Los Angeles are, from who can keep aging at bay for those all-important close-ups to whom to count on to cure life-threatening illnesses.

To identify the 484 elite physicians who qualified for The Hollywood Reporter’s inaugural list of the top docs in L.A., THR’s editors went two routes. First, THR partnered with the physician-led research team of Castle Connolly, the U.S.’ preeminent medical-database authority, to identify the highest-rated practitioners in their specialties, all of whom are nominated by their peers in an extensive survey process of thousands of U.S. doctors each year. Castle Connolly screens these doctors’ medical educations, training, hospital appointments, disciplinary histories and much more. Doctors do not and cannot pay to be included.

THR then went further and surveyed 800 professionals in the film, television, movie and media fields to find out who among these doctors are the most beloved, trusted and go-to physicians in L.A. These 43 industry favorites include Morgan Freeman‘s holistic internist Dr. Soram Khalsa, Dr. Mehmet Oz‘s gastroenterologist Dr. Jonathan LaPook, Naomi Watts‘ NYC dermatologist David Colbert, KISS’ Paul Stanley’s ear, nose and throat doctor Joe Sugerman, Steve Tisch‘s favorite neurosurgeon and Dr. Neal ElAttrache, the orthopedist who healed Charlize Theron‘s herniated disc and Dr. Robert Kay, the surgeon who fixed Starz CEO Chris Albrecht’s daughter Tess after a car accident.

More From THR‘s Top Doctors Issue:

Hollywood’s Top Doctors Revealed: Exclusive Survey

See The Doctors With Their Famous Patients

Hollywood’s Vaccine Wars: L.A.’s “Entitled” Westsiders Behind City’s Epidemic

Hollywood’s Biggest Anti-Vaccine Proponents

Hollywood Vaccination Fail: Why L.A. Schoolkids Are Getting Sick

How to Live Forever: The (Mad?) Science Hollywood Is Using to “Cure” Death

“I’m Going to Live Forever”: Hollywood Elders’ Best Quotes About Aging

Is Working in Hollywood Bad for Your Health?

L.A.’s Emergency Rooms, Rated

Meet the Real-Life McDreamy: The Doctor Behind ‘Grey’s Anatomy’

Hollywood’s Top Doctors: 4 NYC-Based Physicians Loved by L.A.

NY Giants’ Steve Tisch Reveals His $10M Plan to Further Concussion Research

Meet Morgan Freeman’s Sikh

Chris Albrecht Recounts His Daughter’s Harrowing Car Accident

Voice Doctor Who Treats KISS’ Paul Stanley Shares His Advice to Rock-Star Clients

Allergy & Immunology

Sheldon Laurence Spector

Cancer/Oncology

David B. Agus

M. William Audeh

Linnea I. Chap

Warren A. Chow

Marwan G. Fakih

Robert A. Figlin

Charles A. Forscher

Patricia A. Ganz

John A. Glaspy

Stephen B. Gruber

INDUSTRY FAVORITE

Beth Y. KarlanGynecologic oncology

► When breast cancer claimed the life of Dr. Karlan’s grandmother, it set her on a path that would make her a director of gynecologic oncology. And though she is too discreet to discuss celebrity patients, grateful accolades slip out. During a recent hospital fundraising gala, Anne Hathaway choked back tears while describing how Karlan “helped a beloved friend of mine battle cancer … together you kicked that cancer’s ass.” The physician’s pioneering research into the BRCA gene began when she met Gilda Radner, whose name was lent to the Gilda Radner Hereditary Cancer Program after the actress-comedian died. Karlan also treated Angelina Jolie’s mother, Marcheline Bertrand, and discovered that both of them had BRCA mutations. She tells THR, “Angelina Jolie’s courage has really shown women that they don’t need to be afraid.”

Marianna Koczywas

Lucille Ann Leong

Dean W. Lim

INDUSTRY FAVORITE

Philomena F. McAndrew

► The key to treating Hollywood’s most powerful women is to be honest with them, even when the recommended therapies are uncomfortable. “Physicians are so starstruck sometimes that those patients don’t get the best care,” says the breast cancer specialist. Dr. McAndrew worked with Audrey Hepburn in 1992 after she was diagnosed with late-stage appendiceal cancer, and with Christina Applegate, who (pre-Angelina) survived breast cancer with a double mastectomy in 2008. Her realistic and compassionate approach made a deep impression on Dick Lippin. The chairman and CEO of PR firm The Lippin Group approached her for help when he set up the Ronnie Lippin Cancer Outreach Program, established in honor of his late wife, the famed music publicist. “Philomena is not only a brilliant doctor,” says Lippin. “She also has amazing sensitivity.”

Ronald T. Mitsuyasu

Robert J. Morgan

Joanne Mortimer

Ronald B. Natale

Lawrence D. Piro

David I. Quinn

Karen Reckamp

Steven T. Rosen

Michael H. Rosove

Christy A. Russell

George Somlo

Cy A. Stein

Marilou Terpenning

Przemyslaw W. Twardowski

Robert A. Vescio

Yun Yen

Cardiology

Cathleen N. Bairey-MerzCardiovascular disease

David S. CannomCardiac electrophysiology

INDUSTRY FAVORITE

Jeffrey Caren and Mark Urman

► Dr. Urman and Dr. Caren have practiced together for 20 years (“I’ve been with Dr. Caren almost as long as with my wife,” Urman jokes) and they focus on preventative medicine for heart health, from electrocardiograms and ultrasounds to diet and stress advice. The diet most patients opt for is a fish- and legume-based Mediterranean diet that’s “easy to enjoy” thanks to the city’s farmers’ markets, Urman says. He insists that their Hollywood patients are no higher-strung than average — “You’ve got your high-stress, high-anxiety people, and you’ve got your people who are balanced,” he says — and there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to decompressing. “It could be reading a book or taking a romantic walk with your spouse or partner,” says Urman. “It could be learning to turn your cell phone off.”

Uri ElkayamCardiovascular disease

Gregg C. FonarowCardiovascular disease

Eli S. GangCardiac electrophysiology

Debra R. JudelsonCardiovascular disease

Jon A. KobashigawaCardiovascular disease

Leslie A. SaxonCardiovascular disease

INDUSTRY FAVORITE

Prediman K. ShahCardiovascular disease

► After Saturday Night Live veteran Dana Carvey‘s shocking heart attack at age 42 and his botched bypass surgery (for which he sued for malpractice), Dr. Shah performed Carvey’s fourth angioplasty, which was a success. They’ve “worked together” as doctor-patient and friends ever since. “I don’t like being scolded,” says Carvey. “I found P.K.’s scientific approach very pragmatic, very logical and calming.” Adds Shah: “You want to be a partner in their care, not an adversary.” He does have one stern parting word, though lithe Hollywood actors might not need this advice: “Exercise! Exercise!”

Charles D. SwerdlowCardiac electrophysiology

Jonathan Marvin TobisCardiovascular disease

Colon & Rectal Surgery

Robert W. Beart

Phillip R. Fleshner

Thomas P. Sokol

Dermatology

Richard G. Bennett

Peter Michael Goldman

Pearl E. Grimes

Patrice M. Healey

INDUSTRY FAVORITE

Derek H. Jones

► Dr. Jones faces a daily paradox when he treats his patients: How can he make it look like he didn’t perform any work at all? As one of the leading L.A. doctors for wrinkle smoothing, lip plumping and spot removing, he says his motto is: “Everyone will notice, but no one will know.” Jones, who is commonly referred to as the go-to dermatologist for CAA, says he treats a number of television and film stars who rely on him to keep them looking young year after year. “Patients will often say that I’ve saved them from any sort of surgery,” he says. Jones has become a big name in dermatology thanks to his research on cutting-edge injectable facial fillers such as Juvederm, which softens folds to help reduce signs of aging. But it’s not all scientific work. “Facial aesthetics is an art,” he says. “You really have to have skill and some formal aesthetic training.”

Peter L. Kopelson

Gary P. Lask

Marvin J. Rapaport

Vicki H. Rapaport

Ilya Reyter

Alan Rosenbach

Mark G. Rubin

INDUSTRY FAVORITE

Harry W. Saperstein

► A witty fast-talker who seems more stand-up comedian than USC Medical School graduate when examining patients, Dr. Saperstein admits, “Dermatology is not the most fascinating subject and can be extraordinarily complicated to understand. You want to use humor to communicate.” Another characteristic of a Saperstein visit is a substantial wait in the reception area: “It’s not a factory here,” he acknowledges. “Humans are messy and have complicated problems — both with their skin and interpersonally.” But the wait is perhaps the best indication of Hollywood’s confidence in this top derm. “Harry’s taken care of my face for the last 30 years,” says The Godfather producer Al Ruddy. “But the fact that I’m constantly mistaken for George Clooney has nothing to do with that.”

David T. Woodley

Jessica Phinna Wu

Ear, Nose & Throat

Gerald S. Berke

Keith Edward Blackwell

Derald E. Brackmann

Jason Diamond

Andrew Samuel Frankel

INDUSTRY FAVORITE

Rick A. FriedmanOtology, neurotology, skull base surgery

► He grew up in show business — his brother, Rob, is co-chairman of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group — but decided to become an ear specialist while attending medical school at UC San Diego, where he witnessed an elderly man whose hearing was restored. “I remember the guy sat up in bed and started crying. That you could fix somebody’s hearing so fast got me interested in ear surgery,” says Dr. Friedman, who since has treated more than 1,000 cases of acoustic neuroma — a benign brain tumor that can cause deafness, vertigo and facial paralysis — including on Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins of TLC. “We took a tumor out and saved her hearing and her beautiful face.” Friedman has treated some of his heroes, including a pop legend who suddenly lost hearing in one ear. “This is a lady I’ve adored my whole life. I remember telling her I had to poke a hole in her eardrum and fill it with a steroid, and we were laughing that this was not the way I’d anticipated meeting her for the first time.” Friedman remains in awe of the human ear — “It’s an incredible structure, and it gives you all this joy” — and laments that people expose their hearing to dangerous sound levels, including the vogue for chest-shaking volume in movie theaters. “I’ve talked to my brother about it,” says Friedman, to no avail. “It sells.”

Shawn Nasseri

John K. Niparko

Dale H. Rice

INDUSTRY FAVORITE

Randy Schnitman

► The walls of Dr. Schnitman’s office are crowded with 8x10s — and a platinum album or two. His grateful patients include Sheryl Crow, Jack Black, Ozzy Osbourne, members of Sugar Ray, Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys and others whose ravaged vocal cords he has restored. (He also has ministered to Jane Fonda on the set of Veep and David O. Russell during the fractious I Heart Huckabees shoot. ) “Dr.Schnitman has saved my ass many a time,” recalls Black. “I had lost my voice at the end of a grueling tour with one concert left to perform at the Wiltern Theatre. Rather than cancel the show, I went to Randy’s office, and he had me singing like an angel that very same night.” Black was given injections of antibiotics and steroids to reduce the inflammation due to a chest cold, though Schnitman stresses he administers steroids infrequently and cautiously: “In Jack’s particular case, it was reasonably safe to proceed with the performance.”

Uttam K. Sinha

Joseph H. Sugerman

Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism

David Heber

Vikram V. Kamdar

Fouad Kandeel

Shlomo Melmed

Anne L. Peters

Peter A. Singer

Gastroenterology

Jonathan C. Ellis

Eric Esrailian

Edward Jon Feldman

Charles Joseph Frankel

Steven-Huy Han

Bennett E. Roth

Carey B. Strom

Stephan R. Targan

Hand Surgery

Cathleen A. Godzik

Roy A. Meals

Hematology

INDUSTRY FAVORITE

Stephen J. Forman

► Dr. Forman is impressed with how his A-list star and director patients receive diagnoses of the blood, bone marrow and immune system cancers he treats. “They don’t come in with an attitude that says, ‘I’m different than everyone else,’ ” says the City of Hope hematology chair, a nearly-40-year veteran of the hospital east of Pasadena (he joined in 1978). “They’re frightened, and we try to address that. They’re courageous and we applaud that.” Forman, “on the quieter side” by his own description, rarely goes to the parties his Hollywood patients invite him to and doesn’t watch TV medical dramas, but he does keep an eye on popular medical journalists. His pick? Dr. Drew Pinsky. “He does his homework better than most, he makes the story about someone other than himself — I’d say he’s among the best,” says Forman.

Michael Lill

Auayporn P. Nademanee

Margaret R. O’Donnell

Gary J. Schiller

David S. Snyder

Neurology

Andrew C. Charles

Helena C. Chui

Timothy F. Cloughesy

Christopher M. DeGiorgio

Christianne N. Heck

Mark F. Lew

Richard A. Lewis

Surasak Phuphanich

Jeffrey L. Saver

Nancy L. Sicotte

Neurosurgery

Arun P. Amar

Michael L.J. Apuzzo

Behnam Badie

Keith L. Black

Robert S. Bray

Thomas C. Chen

Moise Danielpour

Steven L. Giannotta

Todd H. Lanman

Linda M. Liau

Charles Y. Liu

Adam N. Mamelak

Neil A. Martin

John S. Yu

OB/GYN

Margaret E. Bates

Oleg Bess

Pamela J. Boyer

Rebecca Sidney Brown

Connie S. Chein

Ruth R. Cousineau

INDUSTRY FAVORITE

Paul H. Crane

► Since 1969, Dr. Crane has delivered more than 5,000 babies in Beverly Hills, including all of Kris Jenner‘s children and the next generation of Kardashian babies — as any reality-show viewer could tell you. But what has earned him loyalty among the rich and famous is his empathy for his patients, especially the nervous ones. If an expectant mother calls on a Sunday morning concerned that her baby has stopped moving, Crane will open his Crescent Drive office to do an ultrasound: “You can’t deny people’s neuroses,” he says. “That’s their prerogative.” He also is unaffected by the celebrity status of his clients. “You have to accept the notion that you’re really just a high-priced servant,” jokes Crane. “In fact, you’re not even that high-priced. You’re in the same ballpark as the person’s hairdresser.” However, Norman Lear has a far loftier view of Crane, who delivered Lear’s son Ben, now 26, and his twin daughters, 19. Says Lear, “He’s the man who delivered these glorious human beings.”

Steven Freedman

Richard Frieder

Michael Frields

Nancy S. Goldman

Glenn Grossman

William Growdon

Michele M. Hakakha

Ronald B. Johnson

Michael Thomas Johnson

Robert F. Katz

Seth Kivnick

Jon S. Matsunaga

Valerie P. Myers

Lisa A. Nicholas

William H. Parker

Albert Phillips

Stephen C. Rabin

Andrea J. Rapkin

Uzzi Reiss

Laurie B. Reynard

Amy E. Rosenman

Sheryl A. Ross

Scott P. Serden

James R. Shields

Meir Jonathon Solnik

INDUSTRY FAVORITE

Mark W. Surrey

► In the 20 years since Dr. Surrey co-founded his practice, he has seen some patients happily go public with their fertility struggles, while others continue to treat reproductive woes as a sensitive and private topic. “There are some celebrities who come into the waiting room and walk around shaking hands,” says Surrey. “There are others who have the elevator shut down for them.” Surrey’s delicacy was displayed on Keeping Up With the Kardashians, where he counseled Khloe Kardashian about her efforts to conceive. But the fertility pioneer is not in this for the screen time. “I looked at medicine in terms of where I could make a difference in our society,” says Surrey. “I chose this because it’s the beginning of life as we know it.”

Jonathan Nei-Kim Tam

Christopher Tarnay

Sherry L. Thomas

Peter D. Weiss

Ophthalmology

Anthony C. Arnold

Mark S. Borchert

Brian S. Boxer Wachler

Cynthia Ann Boxrud

Joseph Caprioli

Andrew I. Caster

Joseph L. Demer

Michael B. Gorin

Michael J. Groth

Mark S. Humayun

John A. Irvine

Sherwin J. Isenberg

Jonathan W. Kim

Howard R. Krauss

Robert K. Maloney

Samuel Masket

Kevin M. Miller

Bartly J. Mondino

A. Linn Murphree

Carmen A. Puliafito

Narsing A. Rao

SriniVas R. Sadda

James J. Salz

Steven D. Schwartz

Barry S. Seibel

Neda Shamie

Kenneth W. Wright

Orthopedic Surgery

Sonu S. Ahluwalia

Robert M. Bernstein

Earl Warren Brien

Susan Bukata

Lawrence D. Dorr

INDUSTRY FAVORITE

Neal S. ElAttrache

► Seeing Ringo Starr throw up a peace sign is something everyone but the drummer himself has always taken for granted. “He couldn’t get his arms over [his] head,” says the orthopedic surgeon. “After I had taken care of him, he was able to perform again and do that magical sign that he does.” Maybe it comes with the territory for a man whose brother-in-law is action star Sylvester Stallone, but Dr.ElAttrache has seen his fair share of torn shoulders, tendons and knees. Some patients, like Charlize Theron, are repeat customers: “When I had a terrible accident on a movie in Germany, herniating a disc in my neck,” the actress tells THR, “I got right on a plane to see him. I have since taken many stumbles, and the time and care he has given my crazy, sporty family always moves me. It is truly special when something is broken in your body in a way that makes you feel like you will never be the same again, and someone comes along who not only fixes you up completely — if not better than before — but does it in a way that takes away all the fear and makes you feel like you are one of his own. That’s when you know how priceless that relationship is.”

Thomas J. Grogan

Eric E. Johnson

Robert M. Kay

Jay R. Lieberman

James V. Luck

Bert R. Mandelbaum

Lawrence R. Menendez

M. Ramin Modabber

Daniel A. Oakes

William L. Oppenheim

INDUSTRY FAVORITE

Scott E. Powell

► It was Caddyshack that spurred the transition from Sha Na Na singer to orthopedic surgeon for Dr. Powell. On set with Bill Murray and Rodney Dangerfield was veteran actor Henry Wilcoxon, who “stood up at lunch and announced, ‘My God, this is the most fun I’ve ever had on a movie set in my life,’ ” recalls Powell. “I thought, ‘Well, I may as well figure out something else to do’ ” since he had apparently already achieved a career apex. Powell eventually ended up with an M.D. from Columbia University, but his background in show business helps, as the Keck clinical professor of orthopedic surgery sees a lot of production crew who work below the line. “I see how hardworking people are in Hollywood when they’ve done 16-hour days and worked on a show that’s for four months, and they hurt their shoulder at the beginning of it. So they wind up working through a lot of pain,” he notes. But the past doesn’t always stay tucked away. After The Office‘s David Koechner had a successful surgery on his shoulder, he mentioned Powell during an appearance on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno. Cued: a Sha Na Na clip.

Thomas P. Schmalzried

INDUSTRY FAVORITE

William B. Stetson

► Olympic athletes spend their lives fearing the moment a knee pops or shoulder cracks. When that happens, they go to Dr. Stetson, who treats the U.S. men’s and women’s volleyball teams as well as musicians and stuntmen. During the women’s gold medal match at the 2012 Olympics, Stetson saw his work in action. “I felt, ‘Wow, this is really something,’ ” he says. “How many millions of people are seeing this? I am so lucky to be here.” His patients feel lucky, too. “What’s great about Stetson is that he’s an ex-volleyball player and athlete,” says Clay Stanley, who competed in his third Olympics in 2012 after a knee surgery performed by Stetson. “I just got married, and he was in my wedding. He brings such positive energy.”

Bert J. Thomas

David B. Thordarson

Jeffrey C. Wang

Robert G. Watkins

Pain Medicine

Laura G. Audell

F. Michael Ferrante

Nicholas S. Fuller

Joshua P. Prager

Howard L. Rosner

Pediatrics

Robert Adler

Clarke AndersonPediatric hematology/oncology

Dean M. AnselmoPediatric surgery

Nasser Aziz-Zadeh

Eyal Ben-Isaac

David W. BlissPediatric surgery

Yvonne J. BrysonPediatric infectious disease

Timothy W. CasarezPediatric cardiology

Joseph A. ChurchPediatric allergy and immunology

Thomas J. Connolly

Roger DefilippoPediatric urology

Hector Nahun De La Rocha

Kimberly Diamond

Larry D. EisenbergPediatric gastroenterology

Robert W. EitchesPediatric allergy and immunology

INDUSTRY FAVORITE

David A. FerryPediatric cardiology

► “I’ve known her since she was born,” says Dr. Ferry of treating Sylvester Stallone‘s daughter’s congenital heart condition through her second open heart surgery at age 16. “It makes you very proud to know someone as strong as that,” Ferry says. And the Stallone family couldn’t be more grateful. “Not only is Dr. David Ferry a compassionate, devoted doctor, he is also a humanitarian who has been a part of our family for 18 years,” says the Stallone family in a statement to THR. When he’s not treating the children of stars, he’s helping those with far fewer resources as part of Mending Kids, an organization that sends doctors to developing countries, including Ecuador and Ethiopia. “These babies are born with heart problems, and it’s just bad luck,” he says. “We’re all one family. We can help.”

Richard H. Feuille

Marianne C. Finerman

Henri R. FordPediatric surgery

Philip K. FrykmanPediatric surgery

Mitchell E. GeffnerPediatric endocrinology

David H. GellerPediatric endocrinology

Christopher C. GizaChild neurology

Sonya Gohill

Brian K. Greenberg

Tracy C. GrikscheitPediatric surgery

Carl Mayer GrushkinPediatric nephrology

William B. Gurfield

Nancy J. HalnonPediatric cardiology

Robert C. Hamilton

Paul S. Horowitz

Frank IngPediatric cardiology

Suparna B. Jain

Stanley C. JordanPediatric nephrology

Neena KapoorPediatric hematology/oncology

Thomas G. KeensPediatric pulmonology

Nanda KerkarPediatric gastroenterology

Sheldon Kishineff

Jeffrey KoempelPediatric ear, nose & throat

Lorna Kong-Thein

INDUSTRY FAVORITE

Mark KriegerPediatric neurosurgery

► Dawn of the Planet of the Apes screenwriters Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver are probably the best equipped to describe Dr. Krieger. When their son was in fifth grade, he was diagnosed with three brain tumors. It was an emergency, and they had “no choice but to trust him,” says Jaffa. But as Silver notes,Krieger shepherded them through “an unbelievably hard time with skill, kindness and graciousness. He was like an angel.” Their son is now 23, has graduated from college and is working. As for the tumors — all were benign: One was removed right away, another a few years later and the third remains monitored.Krieger has even more industry bona fides: The graduate of Harvard and Columbia and the Billy and Audrey Wilder Endowed Chair in Neurosurgery is married to Kristie Macosko, a DreamWorks producer and former Steven Spielberg assistant.

Robert M. Landaw

John E. Legault

Steven LermanPediatric urology

Gary Robert LernerPediatric nephrology

Richard F. Levy

Fataneh MajlessipourPediatric hematology/oncology

Suzanne V. McDiarmidPediatric gastroenterology

Marie T. Medawar

Wendy G. MitchellChild neurology

Ronald A. NagelPediatric endocrinology

Nam Xuan NguyenPediatric surgery

Gregory S. PerensPediatric cardiology

Katherine Wesseling PerryPediatric nephrology

Sheila S. Phillips

Mark Z. Powell

Bess K. Raker

Sankar RamanChild neurology

Andreas ReiffPediatric rheumatology

Howard J. Reinstein

Mayra Rosado

Joseph RosenthalPediatric hematology/oncology

Tena L. RosserChild neurology

Marshall H. Sachs

Pejman Salimpour

Isidro B. SaluskyPediatric nephrology

Judith K. SatoPediatric hematology/oncology

Pamela B. Schaff

Nina L. Shapiro Pediatric ear, nose & throat

Neil J. ShermanPediatric surgery

Stuart E. SiegelPediatric hematology/oncology

Liliana Sloninsky

Wendelin M. Slusser

Kenneth F. Spaulding

James E. SteinPediatric surgery

Dan W. ThomasPediatric gastroenterology

Eileen TsaiPediatric nephrology

Jeffrey UppermanPediatric surgery

Douglas Vanderbilt

James R. Varga

Robert S. VenickPediatric gastroenterology

Jeffrey L. Wasson

Alan S. WaynePediatric hematology/oncology

James A. Weidman

Jana R. Wells

Patricia Liu WengPediatric nephrology

Lillie M. Williams

Dennis B. Woo

Evan M. ZahnPediatric cardiology

Lonnie K. Zeltzer

Nancy R. Zimble

Plastic Surgery

Gary J. Alter

James S. Andersen

INDUSTRY FAVORITE

Kevin A. Brenner

► Excellence and promptness are essential for WME’s unofficial plastic surgeon on call. “They all have a very high standard and are very restricted on their time,” says Dr. Brenner of his Hollywood clientele, which includes partners at CAA and ICM. “If something happens on set, you want to have Dr. Brenner in the ER with you,” adds stuntman Wally Crowder (Dexter). Brenner also performs reconstructive surgery as an attending physician at Cedars-Sinai, where he made a believer of producer Aaron Kaplan upon reattaching his daughter’s toe after a backyard accident: “Now that I have children, I believe everyone should have a great plastic surgeon on speed dial.”

Andrew L. Da Lio

INDUSTRY FAVORITE

Jason Diamond

► It was a Monday night several weeks ago, and Dr. Diamond went to Craig’s for a quiet meal. But it was Emmy night, and the West Hollywood eatery was full of celebrities — “three of the people were patients,” he says. But he couldn’t go near them because of confidentiality agreements. “In the office, it’s hugs. At the restaurant, I have the plague,” he jokes. The face specialist’s patients don’t all want wrinkles removed — he treated a TV actress whose face was (temporarily) paralyzed in a choking scene gone wrong. He reshaped her symmetry with a technique he calls facial sculpting, in which material is injected down to the bone without surgery. Of course, there are still patients who go to him to remain forever young. Says Rebecca Gayheart: “He is loved because of his honesty and conservative recommendations — that’s what sets him apart from the other plastic surgeons in L.A. When the time comes, Jason is who I will have help me age gracefully.”

Garth Fisher

Peter B. Fodor

Warren L. Garner

John E. Gross

INDUSTRY FAVORITE

Peter Grossman

► Dr. Grossman, who joined his father’s practice, the Grossman Medical Group, in 1995, splits his time between cosmetic surgery and burn and reconstructive surgery, making him one of the most in-demand medical experts in his field (the two specialties complement each other). “Whether it’s burn or cosmetic, the bottom line is, can I make the individual who comes to see me feel better about themselves, both physically and emotionally?” says the board-certified plastic surgeon, whose clientele includes on-camera stars plus many producers and executives who live in the area surrounding his San Fernando Valley offices. Among his industry clients is actress Frances Fisher, who came to see Grossman after she badly burned her face and hands in a fire that had started with her Christmas tree. “The results have been miraculous,” says Fisher. “To this day, nobody can tell that I had third-degree burns on my face and hands, and this is because of the top-rate care I had.”

INDUSTRY FAVORITE

Randal D. Haworth

► When industry clients arrive at his busy office, they enter what Dr. Haworth describes as “the bat cave,” a clandestine garage parking entrance through an alleyway, providing the utmost privacy for those who might not want to be photographed pre- or postsurgery. But with so many Hollywood patients, sometimes an in-office run-in can’t be avoided. “Two very famous people were in rooms next to each other, and they both knew each other,” says the plastic surgeon, laughing. “They opened the doors at the same time and were so embarrassed.” Haworth, who appeared on Fox’s The Swan, also is an artist, working in graphite and acrylic, and those skills heighten his work on sculpting skin. “With painting, you have to have a keen eye and the ability to ascertain microscopic detail and understand the power of a shadow versus a light reflection,” says Haworth. “I’m able to imbue that into what I do with plastic surgery.” While he performs a wide variety of cosmetic surgeries, including facial rejuvenation, rhinoplasty and breast enhancement,Haworth also serves actresses and models with nonsurgical treatments such as carbon dioxide laser treatments and Botox. “He’s a rock star,” says former America’s Next Top Model contestant CariDee English.

Lawrence M. Koplin

Norman Leaf

Malcolm A. Lesavoy

Marc E. Mani

Bernard L. Markowitz

Timothy A. Miller

Gary Daniel Motykie

Jay S. Orringer

John F. Reinisch

George H. Sanders

Randolph Sherman

W. Grant Stevens

Mark M. Urata

Prenatal

Ramen H. ChmaitMaternal and fetal medicine

Brian J. KoosMaternal and fetal medicine

Lawrence D. PlattMaternal and fetal medicine

Charles F. SimmonsNeonatal-perinatal medicine

Khalil M.A. TabshMaternal and fetal medicine

Primary Care

Martin M. AndersonAdolescent medicine

Benjamin J. AnsellInternal medicine

Mark G. BambergerInternal medicine

Donald W. BarberInternal medicine

Scott BatemanFamily medicine

Ron H. BenbassatInternal medicine

Michael R. BlockInternal medicine

John L. BrodheadInternal medicine

Stephanie K. BuiInternal medicine

Karen ChengInternal medicine

Jae-Sung ChuInternal medicine

INDUSTRY FAVORITE

Gary CohanInternal medicine

► Dr. Cohan and his partners “take care of the bulk of the front row of the Oscars,” says Fifteen Minutes PR chair Howard Bragman. But, says the internist, “I never courted a celeb practice.” The former anesthesiology student switched specialties in 1984, inspired to fight AIDS by the documentary The Times of Harvey Milk. After seeing actor Anthony Perkins, his patient, outed on the cover of the National Enquirer in the checkout line at Ralph’s, Cohan raced to protect him from the tabloids: “I called Berry [Berenson, Perkins’ wife] and said, ‘It’s out.’ I then treated him at his house.” Now Cohan advises on films like The Normal Heart, and he treats everything from substance abuse to male aging in a one-stop clinic. “A very, very famous star had anaphylaxis [critical allergic reaction] and called from her car, fearing tabloid fallout at an ER. Minutes from calling 911, we got her stabilized.” Noted for a “Jewish mother style,” Cohan is close with patients. At Perkins’ star-studded funeral (Sophia Loren and Sidney Poitier attended, Mike Nichols and Marianne Williamson officiated), Cohan was seated with the family. “In the cobblestone driveway, an elegant woman was wobbling on high heels, so I took her arm. It was Janet Leigh, Tony’s Psycho co-star.”

Paul CohartInternal medicine

David M. CutlerFamily medicine

Chancelor DanielFamily medicine

Lawrence D. DardickFamily medicine

John P. DiFioriFamily medicine

Patrick T. DowlingFamily medicine

Steven A. DrellInternal medicine

Jeffrey M. EglerFamily medicine

Michelle S. EslamiGeriatric medicine

INDUSTRY FAVORITE

Dennis Evangelatos Internal medicine

► “He handles a huge amount of top, and I mean top, celebs,” says one Evangelatos patient. “His wife is Kim Hodgert, a big agent at CAA.” Says Dr. Evangelatos, “Having my wife be in the entertainment business actually improves my practice, especially when patients find out — not from me — whom I am married to. I think patients feel I have more of an understanding of what their lives are like.” He’s seen it all in Hollywood: “The actor who overtreats himself with Valtrex trying to avoid a cold-sore outbreak on camera. The writer with insomnia because he does his best writing at 3 a.m. The OCD director who doesn’t want his lunch chicken touching the vegetables but gets a lot of positive reinforcement for being OCD on set. The very creative types who seem to pick up symptoms from friends and even TV shows. The overall anxiety that comes from not having a steady job.” Besides understanding the biz, the internist says he knows the foundation of a strong doctor-patient relationship: “I have no script ideas.” His role models? “Marcus Welby for a TV doctor, Patch Adams for movies.”

Robert FeherFamily medicine

INDUSTRY FAVORITE

Andrea Tizes FeinbergInternal medicine

► Dr. Feinberg vividly recalls the day when, as a pulmonary disease critical care fellow at Cedars-Sinai, she had to tell a patient he had cancer while a nurse knocked on the door to hurry her along to her next patient. “I remember thinking, ‘Something’s really wrong here,’ ” says Feinberg. Shortly afterward, she changed her practice to a model “that people know as concierge medicine but I call good old-fashioned medicine, where you know your patients, their history, how they approach their health care,” she says. Under the concierge model, patients pay a monthly or yearly retainer and receive unlimited, personalized care, including house calls — an attractive option for her heavyweight Hollywood patients, which have included entertainment moguls and one of L.A.’s biggest billionaires. (Feinberg wouldn’t discuss her fees, but VIP concierge care can start at $25,000 annually.) Feinberg, who is married to UCLA hospitals CEO Dr. David Feinberg, says that when treating performers, she is “always struck by the indignity of being afflicted with a condition that affects the core being of who they are. I was taking care of a great singer, internationally known, with respiratory failure — he ultimately had to have a tracheotomy and lost his voice. It was sad, but getting that person back toward health and being able to speak was really a beautiful thing, too.”

Betsy FelserInternal medicine

Joan K. FeltmanInternal medicine

INDUSTRY FAVORITE

Jeremy FineInternal medicine

► “Nothing ever surprises me,” says Dr. Fine — not giving a flu shot in the middle of a crowded restaurant, not flying on patients’ private planes, not sitting with a patient while her dog is at the vet, not treating stars for exhaustion after long shoots. The former Cedars-Sinai chief resident’s concierge service charges an annual retainer for services from surgeries to diet planning and even pets’ veterinary care. His patients include Relativity president Tucker Tooley, who says he’s “attentive, available 24/7” and “a great doctor,” and insiders say he treats many at UTA, CAA and WME. “These are really busy people who have better things to do than go to the doctor,” says Fine. “You never know who’s going to call or what they’re going to want.”

Jodi L. FriedmanInternal medicine

Peter C. GalierInternal medicine

Lillian GelbergFamily medicine

Mark Alexander GerardInternal medicine

Elie Moe GindiInternal medicine

Neil J. GoldbergInternal medicine

Jeffrey Nathan GrantInternal medicine

Richard H. GreenspunInternal medicine

Mark S. GrossmanInternal medicine

Martin HauptscheinInternal medicine

Michele Ka-Lam HohFamily medicine

Thomas L. HorowitzFamily medicine

Robert HuizengaInternal medicine

Bruce A. JacobsonInternal medicine

Richard Anthony JohnsonFamily medicine

Herman Lee KaganInternal medicine

Richard J. KennedyFamily medicine

Soram S. KhalsaInternal medicine

Russell A. KleinInternal medicine

Mohamed A. LatifInternal medicine

Frederick Ock-Horn LeeInternal medicine

Harley R. LikerInternal medicine

Thomas J. MattimoreInternal medicine

Farhad Joseph MelamedInternal medicine

Janice K. MiyakawaFamily medicine

John G. MoeInternal medicine

Brian S. MorrisInternal medicine

Laura A. MosquedaGeriatric medicine

James P. MurrayFamily medicine

Ronald P. OlahInternal medicine

Alec Randolph PearlsteinInternal medicine

Martin Alan QuanFamily medicine

Damon B. RaskinInternal medicine

David B. ReubenGeriatric medicine

Terri Lee RockFamily medicine

Stephen C. RossFamily medicine

Joshua SapkinInternal medicine

Steven P. SeizerFamily medicine

Irving R. SobelInternal medicine

Jane S. SpiegelInternal medicine

Michael R. StefanInternal medicine

Arthur L. SteinFamily medicine

Ronald SueInternal medicine

Denise K. SurFamily medicine

Joshua TrabulusInternal medicine

Neil S. WengerInternal medicine

Jack Nin YuGeriatric medicine

Psychiatry

Michael Blumenfield

Vivien K. Burt

Michael J. Gitlin

Barry A. KramerGeriatric psychiatry

Andrew F. Leuchter

Stephen R. Marder

James T. McCrackenChild and adolescent psychiatry

Edmond H. Pi

Thomas B. Strouse

Robert Weinstock

Pulmonary Disease

Joseph P. Lynch

Zab Mosenifar

Robert N. Wolfe

Reproductive Endocrinology

Daniel A. Dumesic

John Kuo

Richard P. Marrs

Richard J. Paulson

Sharon A. Winer

Rheumatology

Philip J. Clements

Glenn R. Ehresmann

Daniel J. Wallace

Sports Medicine

Ralph A. Gambardella

Raffy Mirzayan

David L. Schechter

Surgery

Deanna J. Attai

Anton J. Bilchik

F. Charles Brunicardi

Ronald W. Busuttil

Steven D. Colquhoun

Joshua D. Ellenhorn

Richard Essner

Yuman Fong

Kristi M. Funk

Armando E. Giuliano

Scott R. Karlan

Namir Katkhouda

Andrew S. Klein

Nicholas N. Nissen

Isaac Benjamin Paz

Edward H. Phillips

William R. Rassman

Howard A. Reber

Robert R. Selby

Stephen F. Sener

Vijay Trisal

Thoracic & Cardiac Surgery

Michael E. Bowdish

Robert B. Cameron

Robbin G. Cohen

Frederic W. Grannis

Cynthia Herrington

Hillel Laks

Jay M. Lee

Richard J. Shemin

Vaughn A. Starnes

Alfredo Trento

Winfield J. Wells

Urology

Arie S. Belldegrun

Stuart D. Boyd

Sia Daneshmand

Dudley S. Danoff

Andrew L. Freedman

Inderbir Singh Gill

David A. Ginsberg

Mark H. Kawachi

Gary Lieskovsky

Jacob Rajfer

Shlomo Raz

Stephen A. Sacks

Phillip E. Werthman

Timothy G. Wilson

Vascular Surgery

Sam S. Ahn

INDUSTRY FAVORITE

Bruce Gewertz

► Dr. Gewertz wears a lot of hats at Cedars-Sinai — from surgeon-in-chief to vp interventional services to vice dean of academic affairs — but it’s in the operating room that he feels most comfortable. Besides educating Harrison Ford in the OR as a technical adviser for 1993’s The Fugitive, he ended up writing most of the medical dialogue for the film. That doesn’t mean he has always felt so at home in the hospital’s star-studded halls. “My first patient here was a very well-known comedian — it’s a very different experience when you know more about the person you’re seeing than the disease they might have,” he says. “When everyone heard I was moving from Chicago University to Cedars-Sinai, they said, ‘Oh, that’s where all the movie stars die.’ I had to quickly correct them — ‘No, they don’t all die!’

Castle Connolly Medical Ltd. is a healthcare research and information company founded in 1991 by a former medical college board chairman and president to help guide consumers to America’s top doctors and top hospitals. Castle Connolly’s established survey and research process, under the direction of an MD, involves many tens of thousands of physicians as well as academic medical centers, specialty hospitals and regional and community hospitals all across the nation. leadership of leading hospitals.

Castle Connolly’s physician-led team of researchers follows a rigorous screening process to select top doctors on both the national and regional levels. Its online nominations process — located at www.castleconnolly.com/nominations — is open to all licensed physicians in America who are able to nominate physicians in any medical specialty and in any part of the country, as well as indicate whether the nominated physicians is, in their opinion, among the best in their region in their medical specialty or among the best in the nation in their medical specialty. Careful screening of doctors’ educational and professional experience is essential before final selection is made among those physicians most highly regarded by their peers. The result – we identify the top doctors in America and provide you, the consumer, with detailed information about their education, training and special expertise in our paperback guides, national and regional magazine “Top Doctors” features and online directories.

Doctors do not and cannot pay to be selected and profiled as Castle Connolly Top Doctors

Physicians selected for inclusion in this magazine’s “Top Doctors” feature may also appear as Regional Top Doctors online at www.castleconnolly.com, or in one of Castle Connolly’s Top Doctors™ guides, such as America’s Top Doctors® or America’s Top Doctors® for Cancer.