B. Todd Schaeffer, MD, FACS

Learn about the Center for Facial Reconstruction and Restorative Surgery at Cohen Children’s, part of Northwell Health.

Sanford Dubner, MD, a specialist in head and neck endocrine surgery, began his career at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, and has been there ever since. He began practicing surgery in 1990, after receiving his medical degree from SUNY Stony Brook School of Medicine and residencies and fellowships at NYU Langone Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He’s been chosen as a Top Doctor numerous times by Castle Connolly, Newsday, and New York Magazine. Dr. Dubner was always interested in medicine as he grew up. In medical school, he was on track to specialize in ear, nose and throat conditions, until he learned about the pathophysiology of head and neck tumors, particularly those related to the thyroid and parathyroid, and he was hooked. Meeting and training with some of the foremost head and neck surgeons in the country deepened his interest and expertise and led him to bring innovative procedures to Northwell. Most notably, over the past three decades, Dr. Dubner has helped increase the use of minimally invasive head and neck surgeries, as well as more active surveillance, which means less surgery overall. At this point, about 75 percent of these surgeries at Northwell are ambulatory, he says, which means patients can often go home the same day. “This leads to quicker recovery, the ability to go back to work sooner, less pain, and the ability to do additional treatments sooner if those are needed,” he says. “Northwell is a leader in innovative procedures. We have one of the premiere pathology departments in the country, which means better patient outcomes.” Dr. Dubner appreciates the ability to offer his patients lifelong care. Rather than operating on patients and then sending them to another doctor for follow-up, he gets to know them and their families, and sees them over years of care, building a strong and meaningful patient-doctor relationship. Another advantage, he says, is the collaborative nature of Northwell. “Medicine is continually evolving, and a doctor can’t operate in a silo, because that limits his or her ability,” he says. “Here, we value interaction with a range of specialists. We are an internationally recognized leader in the treatment of thyroid, parathyroid, and salivary gland disease, and we’re right here, where you live.”