Alexander Abkin, M.D., FACS
Co-Medical Director, Bariatric & General Surgeon
Office Phone: 973-410-9700
Dr. Alexander Abkin is a board-certified general surgeon and experienced bariatric surgeon, having performed over 1,600 procedures over the past six years. He performs several types of bariatric surgery procedures, including the Roux-en-Y, vertical banded gastroplasty (VBG), and laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB). Dr. Abkin performs most bariatric procedures laparoscopically, averaging eight to 10 procedures per week.
Dr. Abkin received his medical training at First Leningrad Medical University in St. Petersburg, Russia, where he received his M.D. in 1986. He completed his residency at Morristown Memorial Hospital. Dr. Abkin also has specialized training in laparoscopic and bariatric surgical techniques, completed under the guidance of Dr. Philip Schauer in Pittsburgh. He is a member of the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS), the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons, and the American Medical Association. He is also a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS).
Nicholas Bertha, DO, FACS
Co-Medical Director, Bariatric & General Surgeon
Office Phone: 973-410-9700
Dr. Nicholas Bertha is a board-certified general surgeon specializing in bariatric surgery. In six years, he has completed over 1,600 procedures. He performs several forms of bariatric surgery including the Roux-en-Y, vertical banded gastroplasty (VBG), and laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB). Dr. Bertha specializes in performing bariatric procedures laparoscopically, averaging eight to 10 procedures per week.
Dr. Bertha received his medical training from the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey - School of Osteopathic Medicine, where he received his DO in 1990. He completed his residency at Morristown Memorial Hospital. Dr. Bertha also has specialized training in laparoscopic and bariatric surgical techniques from Mount Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan. He is a member of the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS), the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons, and the American Medical Association. He is also a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS).
Jordan Garrison, M.D., FACS
Bariatric & General Surgeon
Office Phone: 973-437-8021
Dr. Jordan Garrison is a board-certified general surgeon specializing in bariatric surgery. In four years, he has completed close to 200 procedures. He performs the minimally invasive, Roux-en-Y approach to bariatric surgery, averaging two to three procedures per week.
Dr. Garrison received his medical training from the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ), where he received his M.D. in 1983 and completed his residency in 1989. He has specialized training in bariatric surgery from New England Medical Center and Jersey Shore Medical Center. He is a member of the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS), the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons, the American Medical Association, and the American College of Surgeons.
Anthony E. Pucci, DO
Bariatric & General Surgeon
Office Phone: 973-627-3410
Dr. Anthony Pucci is a board-certified general surgeon who is fellowship trained in advanced laparoscopic and bariatric surgery at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Medical College of Virginia Hospitals. Dr. Pucci received his medical degree from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) School of Osteopathic
Medicine. He completed his general surgery residency at Morristown Memorial Hospital, where he served as chief surgical resident.
Dr. Pucci specializes in advanced topics of bariatric surgery, laparoscopic ventral hernias and flexible endoscopic surgery. He is a member of the American College of Surgeons (ACS), Society of American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) and the American Medical Association (AMA). Dr. Pucci’s medical writings have been published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons and other major medical journals and he has presented on bariatric surgery topics to various physician audiences across the country.
Edward A. Pucci, DO
Bariatric & General Surgeon
Office Phone: 973-627-3410
Dr. Edward Pucci is a board-certified general surgeon who is fellowship trained in minimally invasive and bariatric surgery. He relocated back to the area from The George Washington University Medical Center in Washington, D.C., where he was a Clinical Instructor in Surgery and specialized in Advanced Laparoscopic and Bariatric Surgery. Dr. Pucci received his medical degree from The University of Health Sciences in Kansas City, and completed his general surgery residency at Morristown Memorial Hospital where he served as a chief resident.
Dr. Pucci specializes in the laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding, and laparoscopic surgery for reflux and other gastrointestinal diseases. While at the George Washington University Medical Center, he performed over 200 surgeries and participated in several research trials including Laparoscopic Electrical Stimulation for Weight Loss. He is also a published author on the topic of obesity and laparoscopic surgery having had publications in Surgical Endoscopy, Annals of Vascular Surgery, and The Journal of Trauma. A publication of his titled "Alterations of Gastrointestinal Physiology After The Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass" appeared in the July 2005 Journal of The American College of Surgeons.
He was the recipient of the Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons Resident Achievement Award in 2002 and the Hughes D. Dougan, M.D. Outstanding Surgical Resident Award when he was a chief resident at Morristown Memorial Hospital.
Richard A. Pucci, D.O.
Bariatric & General Surgeon
Office Phone: 973-627-3410
Dr. Richard Pucci is a fellowship-trained advanced laparoscopic surgeon and bariatric surgery specialist from The Medical College of Virginia in Richmond Virginia. He was a Clinical Instructor in General Surgery and a fellow in Minimally Invasive Surgery/Bariatric Surgery in 2004.
He received his medical degree from Des Moines University in 1996. He completed his surgical internship at Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown, PA and Chief Residency at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia. He went on to specialize in advanced laparoscopic surgery at the Medical College of Virginia, a part of Virginia Commonwealth University.
Dr. Pucci's bariatric training is from a program with over 15 years of history and more than 7,500 minimally invasive and bariatric surgery procedures. His mentors, Dr. Eric DeMaria and Dr. John Kellum, are both world renowned experts in bariatric surgery. Dr. Pucci has performed over 250 cases in the last year.
His research experience was presented nationally at the American Society for Bariatric Surgery in June 2004, as well as the Society of American Gastrointestestinal Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) in March 2004. Some of his research includes long-term resolution of co-morbidities following gastric bypass, and the short and long-term weight loss comparisons between the laparoscopic gastric bypass and the lap band.
Ramon E. Rivera, M.D.
Bariatric & General Surgeon
Office Phone: 973-627-3410
Dr. Rivera is a fellowship-trained minimally invasive surgeon that specializes in bariatric surgery. He received his medical degree from Upstate Medical University at Syracuse in 1996. He completed a surgical internship at Saint Vincent Hospital in New York City and surgical residency at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, PA in 2003. He went on to specialize in advanced laparoscopic surgery and bariatric surgery at Washington University School of Medicine at St. Louis. His primary research interest lies in the study of weight loss outcomes and their prediction after gastric bypass. He has presented his results for the Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS).
He specializes in the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases primarily of the foregut including esophagus, stomach, biliary tract, colon and laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. He is a member of the American College of Surgeons (ACS), the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS), the American Medical Association (AMA), and the Society of American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES).
Dr. Rivera is a published author on the topic of laparascopic surgery and bariatrics and has had multiple abstracts accepted by the Society of American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES), the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) and the American College of Surgeons (ACS).
