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Seth A. Waldman, MD

Anesthesiology, Pain Management, Spine
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About Dr. Waldman

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Dr. Seth Waldman is an anesthesiologist in the Pain Management Division at Hospital for Special Surgery, and is ACGME board certified both in anesthesiology and pain management. Dr. Waldman’s practice is devoted to the evaluation and non-operative treatment of orthopedic and neurologic pain. He has expertise in the management of low back pain, sciatica, sports injuries, arthritis, and post-laminectomy syndrome, and specializes in therapeutic and diagnostic spinal injections and the management of neurologic pain. Dr. Waldman has been listed in New York Magazine’s "Best Doctors in New York" issue every year since 2001.

A native of New York, Dr. Waldman is a graduate of the six-year accelerated biomedical education program at Union College and the Albany Medical College. Following graduate school, he was a resident in general surgery and internal medicine at Mount Sinai Medical School - Beth Israel Medical Center in New York. His specialty training in anesthesiology was completed at the Harvard Medical School - Beth Israel Hospital, where he was chosen as Chief Resident in Anesthesiology and Critical Care during his senior year. Dr. Waldman then remained at Harvard for additional fellowship training in pain management, completed at Massachusetts General Hospital and Beth Israel Hospital.

Dr. Waldman was one of the founders of the Tri-Institutional Pain Management Fellowship at Weill Cornell Medical College, the largest post-graduate pain fellowship training program in the northeast. For fifteen years, he was Hospital for Special Surgery's site director of the faculty, and established the Pain Management fellows training curriculum for the HSS Bioskills Education Laboratory. He has an academic appointment as Assistant Clinical Professor of Anesthesiology at Weill Cornell Medical College. Dr. Waldman previously served as Director of the Pain Management Division at HSS and Director-at-Large for the New York Society of Interventional Pain Physicians.

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Departments

Specialized Centers

HSS Center for Regenerative Medicine

Special Expertise

Neuropathic pain syndromes
Non-surgical treatment of spinal pain
Diagnostic and therapeutic spinal injection procedures
Radiofrequency ablation of osteoid osteomas

Patient Stories

Videos

Patient ratings for Dr. Waldman

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Insurance

If your insurance is not listed, please call our office if you have questions regarding your insurance coverage. If you have out-of-network benefits, then your insurance may reimburse you for a portion of your office visit. We will work with you and your insurance to minimize your out-of-pocket costs. Financial assistance may be available for patients in need.

Credentials

Appointments

Assistant Attending Anesthesiologist, Hospital for Special Surgery
Co-chairman Special Procedures Committee, Hospital for Special Surgery
Clinical Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology, Weill Cornell Medical College
Faculty, Tri-institutional Pain Medicine Fellowship Program, New York Hospital, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Hospital for Special Surgery
Advisor, Opioid Prescribing Practices, Hospital for Special Surgery

Affiliations

Expert Consultant, New York State Department of Health, Office of Professional Misconduct 
Expert Consultant, United States Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration
American Medical Association
International Association of the Study of Pain
American Society of Anesthesiologists
American Society for Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
European Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Therapy
New York State Society of Anesthesiologists
American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians
World Institute of Pain

Certification

Diplomate, National Board of Medical Examiners, 1988
Diplomate, American Board of Anesthesiology, 1993
Certificate of Added Qualifications in Pain Management, 1994-2024
Fellow in Interventional Pain Practice (FIPP), World Institute of Pain, 2010
European Diploma of Pain Medicine, 2022

Awards

Castle Connolly Top Doctors in New York Metro Area, 2001-2024
New York Magazine Top Doctors, 2001-2024
HealthCare Chaplaincy Network Wholeness of Life Award, 2022 
Teacher of the Year, Cornell Tri-institutional Pain Fellowship Faculty, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2020, 2021
Donald P. Todd Golden Needle Award, Outstanding Fellow in Pain Management, Massachusetts General Hospital, 1993

Education

Medical: Albany Medical College of Union University
Internship: General Surgery - Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Beth Israel Medical Center, New York
Internship: Internal Medicine - Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Beth Israel Medical Center, New York
Residency: Anesthesiology and Critical Care - Chief Resident, Harvard Medical School - Beth Israel Hospital, Boston, MA
Fellowship: Pain Medicine - Harvard Medical School - Massachusetts General Hospital and Beth Israel Hospital
Postgraduate: Master of Science in Biomedical Ethics, Columbia University

State Licensure

Languages

English

For My Patients

Publications by Dr. Waldman

Patient Education

Editorial Appointments

Reviewer, The Medical Letter, "Drugs for Pain" issue

Selected Journal Articles

Research

Hospital for Special Surgery Pain Management Bio-skills Education Program, developed 2006 (ongoing)

Clinical Trials / Research Studies

Industry Relationships

Industry Relationships

HSS has a long history of supporting appropriate relationships with industry because they advance HSS's mission to provide the highest quality patient care, improve patient mobility, and enhance the quality of life for all, and to advance the science of orthopedic surgery, rheumatology, and their related disciplines through research and education.

Below are the healthcare industry relationships reported by Dr. Waldman as of February 14, 2023.

  • Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Agency - Government
  • Lieff, Cabrasser, Heimann, & Bernstein - Consultant
  • New York Giants - Consultant
  • Relief Labs, LLC - Advisory Board; Ownership Interest
  • The Starr Foundation - Research Support

HSS and its physicians make this information available to patients and the public, thus creating a transparent environment for those who are interested in this information. Further, the HSS Conflicts of Interest and Commitment Policy prohibits physicians from collecting royalties on products they develop that are used on patients at HSS.

Patients should feel free to ask their HSS physicians questions about these relationships.

Dr. Waldman in the News