A surgeon’s life is defined by long hours, exacting focus, and countless critical decisions that impact the lives of others. They go through years of training to develop a stamina that can sustain the deepest, complex pressures. But just like the rest of us, they rely on small rituals and routines to keep their days steady, mind sharp, and energy plugging along.
In Routine Procedures, we’re taking a closer look at the daily habits—from breakfast choices to favorite shoes—that shape our surgeons’ work and life.
5:30 am alarm. Iced coffee, Hokas, surgical superstitions, and the underrated joy of getting hugs from kids.
Thomas A. Imahiyerobo, MD
Director, Cleft and Craniofacial Surgery
Section Chief, Pediatric Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
What time does your alarm go off in the morning?
5:30.
Snooze or no snooze?
Snooze every once in a while.
Breakfast of choice (especially before a big day)?
Mm, an iced coffee.
First thing you do when you get to work:
Change into scrubs.
Do you have any pre-op rituals or routines?
Yes. I have a couple. I wash my hands a certain way and I put my mask on a certain way. When I was a resident, I used to feel like when I washed my right hand before my left hand, my cases went better, and now it's become a thing.
Surgeons are superstitious; people should know that.
Is there music in your OR?
It depends on the resident. If the resident puts music on, there's music on.
Favorite shoes for long days standing in the OR:
Hokas.
Favorite part of your day:
Surgery.
What’s always in your lab coat pocket or bag?
A clamp, Dermabond, and suture material.
Any non-medical habit that helps you stay focused?
Exercise.
Most underrated part of your job:
Getting hugs from kids.
When you finally get home, what’s the first thing you do?
Change out of scrubs.
If one of your patients saw you outside the hospital, they’d be surprised to see you…
With my five kids!
More routines:
James Lee, MD
Chief of Endocrine Surgery
Abe Krikhely, MD
Chief of Minimally Invasive Surgery and Bariatric Surgery
Roshni Rao, MD
Chief of Breast Surgery
John Chabot, MD
Chief of GI/Endocrine Surgery
Executive Director of the Pancreas Center
Jason Hawksworth, MD
Surgical Director, Adult Liver Transplantation
Chief of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Division of Abdominal Organ Transplant and Hepatobiliary Surgery
Emile A. Bacha, MD
Chair, Department of Surgery
Surgeon-in-Chief, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital / Columbia University Medical Center
Virendra I. Patel, MD, MPH
Chief of Vascular Surgery
Co-Director of Aortic Center
Christine H. Rohde, MD, MPH
Chief, Division of Plastic Surgery
Chief of Microvascular Services
Vincent Pierre Duron, MD
Pediatric Surgeon