Ashok R. Shaha, MD, FACS
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Areas of Expertise
Conditions I Treat
- Head and neck cancers
- Thyroid cancer and conditions
Get to Know Me
Dr. Shaha specializes in head and neck surgery, with a particular interest in thyroid and parathyroid surgery. He uses an algorithm of selective thyroid tumor criteria (the size, location, stage and type of cancer, along with the patient’s age), to tailor therapy to each individual’s circumstances. This can help thyroid cancer patients avoid unnecessary and potentially damaging over-treatment, while still providing the best option for control of their cancer and better quality of life after treatment.
Dr. Shaha works very closely with Memorial Sloan Ketterings’ endocrinologists to monitor the careful post-treatment hormone balancing necessary for thyroid cancer patients. Many academic hospitals and medical societies worldwide have invited Dr. Shaha to speak on the principles of targeted thyroid surgery and to share his expertise in the treatment of head and neck cancers.
His well-established authority in head and neck oncologic surgery has resulted in honors from the American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery and the Society of Head and Neck Surgeons. He has been elected to top leadership positions in the American Head and Neck Society, the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons, the New York Head and Neck Society, the New York Cancer Society, the New York Surgical Society, the Brooklyn Surgical Society, and the American Society for Surgeons of Indian Origin.
Dr. Shaha serves on the boards of the Journal of Surgical Oncology, Head and Neck, the Annals of Surgical Oncology, the Brazilian Journal of Surgery, and the Gulf Journal of Medicine. He has published more than 275 peer-reviewed scientific articles and more than 125 invited articles.
Noted for his commitment and skill in educating physicians, he has chaired several international conferences, and currently serves as the Chairman of the American Head and Neck Society’s Advanced Training Council, the society granting academic approval to head and neck surgical programs and trainees. He relishes his involvement in training the next generation of head and neck surgeons, and is the recipient of outstanding teaching awards from Memorial Sloan Kettering and SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn.
I'm a head and neck surgeon, which is a doctor with special training in surgery on the head and neck. This includes the larynx, lips, mouth, nose, salivary glands, and throat.
- Allan H. Selig Chair
Conditions I Treat
- Head and neck cancers
- Thyroid cancer and conditions
Education
- MBBS, Maharaja Sayajirao University
Residencies
- Surgery - Shri Sayaji General Hospital
- Surgical Oncology - Tata Cancer Hospital
- Surgery - St. Vincent's Medical Center
- Surgery - SUNY Downstate Medical Center
Fellowships
- General Surgery - Shri Sayaji General Hospital
- Surgical Oncology - Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
- Head and Neck Surgery - Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Board Certifications
- Surgery
Insurance Information
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HMO, PPO
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HMO
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HMO, PPO
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HMO, EPO PPO, POS
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Supplemental
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PPO, POS, HMO
In Network Coverage Type
POS, EPO, HMO
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PPO, POS, EPO, HMO
Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Emblem to learn more.
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HMO
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PPO, HMO
In Network Coverage Type
HMO
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PPO
In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO
Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Fidelis to learn more.
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HMO
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PPO
In Network Coverage Type
State Government
In Network Coverage Type
EPO, HMO, PPO, POS
Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Healthfirst to learn more.
In Network Coverage Type
HMO
In Network Coverage Type
PPO EPO
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HMO
In Network Coverage Type
PPO
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EPO
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TBD
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Federal Government
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HMO
City Employee Health Plans (Gold and Gold Care)
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Supplemental
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In Network Coverage Type
State Government
In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO
In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO
In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS
In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO
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Contact and Location
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Colleagues
Doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering work as teams, with specialists from all different areas. This allows us to consider all your needs together, and to give you the best possible care.
Clinical Trials
Memorial Sloan Kettering's doctors and scientists are constantly developing new treatments for cancer. MSK is typically running hundreds of clinical trials at a given time.
You may be able to participate in a clinical trial even if you are new to MSK. Search our online directory to find trial information and see more about who can participate.
Search clinical trialsResearch and Publications
Books
Proceedings of the Fifth International Head and Neck Oncology Meeting. Johnson J, Shaha AR. Los Angeles: American Head and Neck Society; 2000.
Operative Techniques in Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery. Shaha AR. Philadelphia: WB Saunders; 2003.
Operative Techniques in General Surgery. Shaha AR, van Heerden J, Farley DR, eds. Philadelphia: WB Saunders; 2004.
Proceedings of the Sixth International Head and Neck Meeting. Shaha AR, Weymueller E. Washington, DC: American Head and Neck Society; 2004.
Selected Book Chapters
“Differentiated thyroid carcinoma.” Shaha AR, Lim D. In: Prognosis and outcomes in surgical disease. McKellar DP, Reiling RB, Eiseman B, eds. St Louis: Quality Medical Publishing; 1999: 18-19.
“Medullary thyroid cancer.” Shaha AR, Lim D. In: Prognosis and Outcomes in Surgical Disease. McKellar DP, Reiling RB, Eiseman B, eds. St Louis: Quality Medical Publishing; 1999:20-21.
“Anaplastic thyroid cancer.” Shaha AR. In: Endocrine Surgery. Prinz RA and Staren E, eds. Georgetown, TX: Landes Bioscience; 2000: 80-86.
“Prognostic factors and risk groups in well-differentiated thyroid cancer.” Shaha AR. In: Endocrine Surgery of the Head and Neck. Pelliteri PK, McCaffrey TV, eds. Clifton Park, NY: Thomson Delmar Learning; 2002.
“Follicular carcinoma of the thyroid.” Shaha AR, Shah JP. In: Surgery of the Thyroid and Parathyroid. Randolph G, ed. Philadelphia; WB Saunders; 2003.
“How to preserve the parathyroid glands during thyroid surgery.” Shaha AR, de Araujo Filho VF. In: Pearls and Pitfalls in Head and Neck Surgery. Cerneo CR, ed. New York, NY: Karger; 2008: 8-9.
Visit PubMed for a full listing of Dr. Shaha’s journal articles. Pubmed is an online index of research papers and other articles from the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.
See all on PubMedPatient Reviews
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Disclosures
Members of the MSK Community often work with pharmaceutical, device, biotechnology, and life sciences companies, and other organizations outside of MSK, to find safe and effective cancer treatments, to improve patient care, and to educate the health care community. These activities outside of MSK further our mission, provide productive collaborations, and promote the practical application of scientific discoveries.
MSK requires doctors, faculty members, and leaders to report (“disclose”) the relationships and financial interests they have with external entities. As a commitment to transparency with our community, we make that information available to the public. Not all disclosed interests and relationships present conflicts of interest. MSK reviews all disclosed interests and relationships to assess whether a conflict of interest exists and whether formal COI management is needed.
Ashok R. Shaha discloses the following relationships and financial interests:
No disclosures meeting criteria for time period
If you’re a patient at MSK and would like more information about your doctor’s external relationships, please talk with your doctor.
The information published here is a complement to other publicly reported data and is for a specific annual disclosure period. There may be differences between information on this and other public sites as a result of different reporting periods and/or the various ways relationships and financial interests are categorized by organizations that publish such data.
This page and data include information for a specific MSK annual disclosure period (January 1, 2024 through disclosure submission in spring 2025). This data reflects interests that may or may not still exist. This data is updated annually.
Learn more about MSK’s COI policies here. For questions regarding MSK’s COI-related policies and procedures, email MSK’s Compliance Office at ecoi@mskcc.org.
