Dr. Shafik Sidani

Dr. Shafik Sidani, MD, is a Staff Physician in the Digestive Disease Institute at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. He is the Section Head of Colorectal Surgery and the Director of the Robotic Surgery Program. Dr. Sidani is also a Clinical Assistant Professor at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, US.

Prior to joining Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, Dr. Sidani served as Chief of Colon and Rectal Surgery at the Virginia Hospital Center in the US. He moved to Abu Dhabi with his wife and 3 children to join Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi and serve patients in the middle east.

After completing a 2-year postdoctoral research fellowship in Gastrointestinal Physiology at Yale University, in the US, he completed his training in General Surgery at Yale New Haven Hospital and Georgetown University Hospital. Subsequently, he completed a Colon and Rectal Surgery Fellowship at the University of Minnesota prior to several years of practice at Virginia Hospital Center.

Dr. Sidani specializes in the minimally invasive surgical treatment of colorectal cancer using laparoscopic and robotic techniques. He established the colorectal surgery Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) program at Virginia Hospital Center and at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. He has particular expertise in robotic surgery for colorectal cancer, and sphincter sparing surgery for low rectal cancer. He is an active member of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons as well as having authored numerous publications and book chapters.

In his spare time, he enjoys time with the family and staying active by playing soccer and tennis.