Dr. David E. Burns Jr., MD

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Get to know General Surgeon Dr. David E. Burns Jr., who serves patients in Rochester, New York.

Dr. Burns Jr. is a board-certified general surgeon seeing patients within the Department of Surgery at Highland Hospital. Prior to joining Highland, he was an attending general surgeon at Genesee Surgical Associates since 2007.

Highland Hospital is located in Rochester, New York, and is an affiliate of the University of Rochester Medical Center, which is part of the University of Rochester. Founded in 1889, the hospital is involved in specialties such as bariatric surgery, joint replacement, geriatric care, women’s services and maternity. Its mission is to achieve the highest standard of clinical quality excellence and safety in a trusting, compassionate, and inspirational environment.

Prior to his career in medicine and surgery, Dr. Burns Jr. was an elementary school teacher and taught in the United States, as well as in Chuuk, an island in Micronesia in the Western Pacific. He now serves as an Assistant Professor of Surgery at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

Among his affiliation with professional organizations, he is an Associate Member of the American College of Surgeons and a member of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons.

Originally from central New York, Dr. Burns earned his bachelor’s degree in English from Haverford College and completed pre-med, post-baccalaureate training at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. He earned his medical degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry and performed his internship in internal medicine at the California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco. He then completed internship and residency training in general surgery at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. As a resident, he won several awards, including the Chief Resident Teaching Award and election to Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Society.

Holding a special interest in gastrointestinal surgery with a focus on minimally invasive techniques, he is board-certified by the American Board of Surgery (ABS). The ABS is an independent, non-profit organization located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded for the purpose of certifying surgeons who have met a defined standard of education, training, and knowledge. 

General surgery is a surgical specialty that focuses on abdominal contents including the esophagus, stomach, small bowel, colon, liver, pancreas, gallbladder, appendix and bile ducts, and often the thyroid gland. A general surgeon performs a wide range of abdominal surgeries for many forms of intestinal and abdominal wall neoplasms, gallbladder disease, gastric and pancreatic disease. They follow the patient through critical care and surgical recovery all the way to outpatient care. 

Among Dr. Burns Jr.’s various awards and honors include: Special Teaching Commendation; Sponsor: Awarded by class of 2020 for excellence in third year teaching (2019); Seymour I Schwartz Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award (2019; 2017); and Elthea Caldwell Plastic Surgery Residents Teaching Award (2017).

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