OUR PHYSICIANS

		RUSSELL STAHL, MD CARDIOTHORACIC SURGEON Dr. Stahl, born in Staten Island, New York, graduated from Cornell University and New York University School of Medicine. He completed nine years of training in general surgery and Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania in 1992. He was on staff at the University of Massachusetts for nearly five years, where he was the Director of the Cardiothoracic Research Laboratory. Dr. Stahl moved to Northeastern Pennsylvania in 1997 and became Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Community Medical Center in 2000. Dr. Stahl has performed over 2,000 operations at Community Medical Center. He and his wife, Roz, have five children between them and three grandchildren. Russ and Roz enjoy golf in which Roz is clearly superior; she is the reigning Northeast Pennsylvania Women's Golf Champion.
		BRIAN MOTT, MD CARDIOTHORACIC SURGEON Dr. Mott received his Bachelors degree from McGill University in 1987. He also attended medical school at McGill and then did a residency and research fellowship at that prestigious university located in Montreal, Canada, which is Dr. Mott's hometown. Dr. Mott went on to complete a residency in Cardiothoracic Surgery at Albany Medical College in 1999 and then received two additional years of fellowship training in adult cardiac surgery at The University of Toronto, under Dr. Tirone David and others. Dr. Mott joined Premiere Surgical (formerly Cardiothoracic Surgery) in 2001 and has performed over 500 open heart operations since joining our Scranton based practice. Dr. Mott has extensive training in thoracic oncology as well. Outside of work, his interests include skiing and scuba diving. He and his wife, Carole, have two children.
		CHARLES STIVALA, DO CARDIOVASCULAR SURGEON Dr. Stivala is a graduate of Temple University and the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. He did his general surgery residency at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, where he received several academic awards. Dr. Stivala did a Cardiovascular residency at the State University of New York in Brooklyn and then spent a year as a vascular and thoracic surgeon in Luzerne County, before joining Premiere Surgical in September 2004. Dr. Stivala's interests include cardiac, vascular and thoracic surgery, including the latest minimally invasive and endovascular techniques. He and his wife, Jessica, have a daughter, Olivia.
		ALESSANDRO SMERALDI, MD ENDOVASCULAR SURGEON Dr. Smeraldi was born in New York City in 1972 and attended Swarthmore College and Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He completed his residency in general surgery at St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, NJ in 2003 and completed a two year fellowship in vascular & endovascular surgery at Staten Island University Hospital in 2005. During his fellowship, Dr. Smeraldi received extensive training in peripheral vascular interventions including carotid artery stenting. He is an author of a number of publications regarding the latest techniques in vascular surgery. He is certified by The American Board of Surgery and is eligible for Board certification in vascular surgery. His wife, Gail, is a podiatrist and they have one child.