Rifat Latifi, MD FACS FICS

Dr. Rifat Latifi is a general surgeon with expertise in acute care surgery, trauma, surgical critical care and re-operative surgery. In addition he is internationally renowned expert on telemedicine and e-health. He is board certified by the American Board of Surgery in general surgery. He is currently an Adjunct Professor of Surgery at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. A 1982 graduate of the Medical Faculty of the University of Prishtina [in Prishtina, Kosova], Dr. Latifi finished the Internship in General Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland, Ohio. Subsequently, he completed a Residency in General Surgery at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut and the Surgical Critical Care Fellowship at Lincoln Hospital, New York Medical College in the Bronx, New York City. In July of 1999, he became an Assistant Professor of Surgery at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia, in its Department of Trauma, Critical Care, and Emergency Surgery. In January 2003, Dr. Latifi moved to the University of Arizona in Tucson, as an Associate Professor of Surgery and Director of Surgical Critical Care. In May 2005, he was promoted to Professor of Clinical Surgery. In 2007, served as Interim Director of Trauma and Critical Section at the Department of Surgery at the UA where served as the Vice-Chairman of Department of Surgery for International Affairs. From January 2011 to January 2014, he was the Director of Trauma Center at Hamad General Hospital in Doha, Qatar, the only Level I trauma center in Qatar. From January 2016, till December 2021 he was Professor and Chairman of Surgery and NYMC and Director of Department of Surgery at Westchester Medical Center, Valhalla, NY, a position that he left to become a Minister of Health of the Republic of Kosova from November 2021 till October 2022. Currently practices trauma and general surgery in Abrazo West Campus, Phoenix, Arizona.

Abdomen and Digestion Disorder/Procedure

• abdominal pain
• abdominoplasty
• adhesion removal
• appendectomy
• esophagus perforation
• feeding tubes
• fundoplication
• malrotation
• peptic ulcer disease
• peritonitis
• splenectomy

Liver, Gallbladder, Pancreas Disor/Proc

• bile duct surgery
• biliary tract disease
• cholecystectomy
• gallbladder cancer
• gallstone disease
• hepatobiliary surgery
• laparoscopic cholecystectomy
• liver surgery
• liver/hepatic disease
• pancreatic cysts
• pancreatitis

Hernia Procedures

• abdominal hernia
• component separation
• epigastric hernia
• femoral hernia
• inguinal hernia
• laparoscopic hernia repair
• paraesophageal hernia
• umbilical hernia
• ventral hernia

Skin & Soft Tissue Disorders/Procedures

• cellulitis
• component separation
• decubitus ulcer
• epidermal cyst
• skin and soft tissue infections
• skin biopsy
• skin gland tumors
• skin grafting
• wound infections

Trauma/Injury Procedures

• abdominal injuries
• abdominal wall reconstruction
• amputation
• burns
• cardiac injury
• chest injuries
• cricothyroidotomy
• extremity injury
• female reproductive tract injury
• intestine injuries
• kidney injury
• liver injury
• liver resection
• lung resections
• neck injuries
• skin grafting
• stomach injuries
• thyroidectomy
• tracheotomy
• vascular injuries
• wound debridement

Univ Ariz Hosp.

Attending

University of Arizona College of Medicine

Tucson, AZ

Professor

05/2005—Present