Panchali Dhar, MD, is an anesthesiologist—a doctor who helps people undergo medical procedures free from pain. Today she is an active part of the faculty in the Department of Anesthesiology at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University. Each day she works with patients who entrust their lives to her skilled hands.
Panchali (known to her friends and colleagues as “Panch”) was born in the city of Kolkata, India. Her Bengali family immigrated to the United States before she began school. She started her career in medicine as a graduate of New York University School of Medicine, with a residency in internal medicine followed by a residency in anesthesiology at New York University.
During her career, Dr. Dhar has seen every imaginable human condition and has treated people from all walks of life. She recognizes that illness does not discriminate among economic class, gender, or religion.
Her professional tenet is, “Anything less than the best care for each person is a disservice.” Dr. Dhar is an avid and frequent traveler, and she enjoys sampling great cuisine from all over the world. She always finds time to spend with friends and family, to practice her favorite pastimes (biking, running, Pilates, swimming, reading, and attending theater and live music performances), and to do charity work.
Dr. Dhar’s main focus is to explain the ever-increasing complexities of medicine in a down-to-earth, consumer-friendly manner. “People need to understand what is happening to them when they are in a doctor’s hands,” she says. “This knowledge is power. Learning how to ‘partner’ with their health-care providers gives people more control over their own destiny.”
Here's a Self-Advocacy Book that Can Change Your Life! Before the Scalpel: What Everyone Should Know about Anesthesia, a new book from Tell me Press.
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“Dr. Dhar’s book is so readable, concise, and
informative that it should be assigned reading by surgeons and physicians to their patients who are preparing for surgery or procedures requiring sedation. Before the Scalpel reaches a difficult balance by being substantive enough to provide a review for the medical professional while being easily comprehensible to the layperson. Very timely publication; it fills that . . . gap in every patient’s operative preparation.”
—Robert M. Rey, MD, MPP, featured on E! Entertainment’s hit series Dr. 90210
“The book is beautifully written in a simple yet
elegant style, presenting extremely difficult concepts in an easy-to-understand format. . . . Every sentence, every concept is crisp and concise and valuable to anyone who plans an operating room experience. . . . All surgeons should make this book available to their patients to read.”
—Ira H. Kirschenbaum, MD, founding executive director of Medscape Orthopaedics, now part of the WebMD family
“In an age of information overload, anesthesia—
the ‘art of comfort’—remains the dark continent of medicine for most patients. We put ourselves in the presiding doctor’s hands blindly, trusting that our pain and awareness will be dulled in exchange for giving ourselves over to the needle, the gas mask, the IV full of narcotics and sedatives. Before the Scalpel does an admirable job of closing this gap, presenting the whys and wherefores of anesthesia in a crisp and lucid style. Panchali Dhar has thought of all the possible questions and fears that patients might have concerning this crucial but mostly unexplained procedure and addresses them one by one. This is a must-read for anyone who wants to be better informed about his or her medical care.”
—Daphne Merkin, novelist, critic, and contributing writer to The New York Times Magazine
“A must-read for all of us who fear undergoing
anesthesia. Dr. Dhar provides reassurance with her detailed but easily understandable explanations of the anesthesia process before, during, and after surgery. By imparting her knowledge and sage advice, she helps patients become enlightened and empowered to help themselves in a situation that often requires relinquishing control of consciousness. . . . Kudos to Dr. Dhar for making the complicated world of anesthesia so comprehensible!”
—Lisa G. Newman, MD, assistant professor of medicine, NYU School of Medicine
“Dr. Panchali Dhar sends a clear message essential
to the most important tenet we all seek: patient safety through education, which leads to knowledge, which leads to empowerment.”
—Carol Weihrer, The Anesthesia Awareness Campaign
“In Before the Scalpel, [Panchali Dhar] has given
us the right information, at the right time, and presented the right way. Perfect! All my patients, family, and friends having surgeries will be getting a copy!”
—Rodney Dunetz, MS, AP, DOM, acupuncture physician and doctor of oriental medicine, Boca Raton, FL
“Before the Scalpel is an impressively thorough,
informative, educational, concise, and demystifying reference guide for the emotionally unprepared surgical patient, in addition to any and all health care professionals involved with the surgical process.”
—Thomas Bolte, MD, medical director of Bolte Medical, New York City
