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Barkha Chhabra

Dr. Chhabra is a fellowship trained Orthopaedic surgeon with expertise in Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgery. Her clinical interests include the treatment of a broad range of pediatric orthopaedic conditions including pediatric fractures, clubfeet, congenital hip and foot problems, sports injuries, the treatment of scoliosis and spinal deformities, as well as the orthopedic treatment of Cerebral Palsy and Neuromuscular conditions.

After earning her medical degree from UCLA School of Medicine and a Master’s in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University, Dr. Chhabra completed her Orthopaedic surgery residency at UTMB. She has completed surgical mission trips around the world, including Honduras, Mexico, India, Guatemala, Ecuador and Haiti. She has authored several peer reviewed journal articles and chapters and has won regional and national awards for her presentations.

Dr. Chhabra completed her Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgery fellowship at the prestigious Baylor College of medicine, training with leaders within the field at Texas Children’s Hospital and Shriners Hospitals for Children Houston.

Dr. Chhabra strives to provide excellent, advanced care to her patients, and believes a family centered care model is paramount to a fulfilling the patient-doctor relationship.

Deepali Tukaye

Dr. Deepali Tukaye MD Ph.D. FSCAI FACC is board certified in general and interventional cardiology. She completed her general cardiology fellowship at The Ohio State University and interventional cardiology fellowship at Emory University. Her Ph.D. is in Cellular and Molecular Physiology from Johns Hopkins University. Fluent in Hindi, Kannada, and Marathi.

Jeffrey Jones

Jeffrey Jones is an anesthesiologist and fellowship-trained interventional pain medicine physician. He offers compassion and understanding to patients with complex pain conditions in hopes of helping them achieve a more active and pain-free lifestyle.

Dr. Jones attained his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch in 2017, before completing his anesthesiology residency in 2021, also from UT Medical Branch. During his fellowship in interventional pain management, he was trained in various minimally invasive procedures, including spinal cord stimulation, Vertiflex, MILD, and intrathecal drug delivery. He is also a member of the Texas Pain Society, American Medical Association, American Society of Anesthesiologists, and Texas Society of Anesthesiologists.

In his spare time, Jeffrey enjoys spending time with his wife and two young children, golfing, fishing, and boating.

Nikhil Iyer

Dr. Nikhil Iyer is an interventional pain management physician who is committed to a holistic approach to provide the best long-term restoration of function for his patients. He is double board certified by the American Board of Anesthesiology in both anesthesiology and pain medicine and is an active member of the Texas Medical Association.

Dr. Iyer graduated early from the University of Michigan with the highest distinction and bachelor’s degrees in both Neuroscience and Statistics. He continued his education at the University of Michigan Medical School where he was awarded the Robert B. Sweet Medical Student Award for displaying the highest potential among his peers for contributions in the field of anesthesiology. Dr. Iyer stayed at the University of Michigan to complete his internship and residency in anesthesiology. At the completion of his residency, he was awarded the resident award for academic excellence which recognizes exceptional performance with academic benchmarks during training. Throughout his training, Dr. Iyer stayed actively involved with research in both anesthesiology and pain medicine. He has published his research and presented his work at a number of conferences including the annual meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists.

Following the completion of his residency training, Dr. Iyer moved to Saint Louis to complete a fellowship in pain medicine at the Washington University School of Medicine. Here, he became well-versed in a broad array of interventional and non-interventional techniques to manage pain, including injections, spinal cord stimulation, and intrathecal drug delivery. Following his fellowship training and prior to joining the team at Principle Spine and Pain, Dr. Iyer established and rapidly developed a comprehensive interventional pain management program at the Veteran Affairs Medical Center in Saint Louis.

Dr. Iyer’s patient care philosophy centers around restoring function for his patients. His primary goal is to develop a comprehensive care plan in concert with his colleagues that allows his patients to get back to pursuing the hobbies they are most passionate about. He is excited to be a part of the Principle Spine and Pain team and remains committed to working with his patients to provide the best possible care to manage pain, restore function, and enable his patients to return to their hobbies and passions.

In his free time, Dr. Iyer enjoys hiking, traveling, and exploring greater Houston with his wife and dog. Dr. Iyer sees patients at our Pasadena location.

Jeanna Mascorro

Dr. Jeanna Mascorro is a native Houstonian and graduate of Clear Lake High School. She received a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a Bachelor of Arts in Communications at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas.  Dr. Mascorro is married to her college sweetheart and they have three children. She enjoys spending time with family, fishing, boating, kayaking and enjoying the great outdoors and all that Galveston has to offer.

Dr. Mascorro received her Doctorate in Podiatric Medicine at Barry University in Miami, Florida where she also earned a Master of Business Administration as well as a Master of Biomedical Sciences. Dr. Mascorro completed her three year surgical residency at Kingwood Medical Center: Greater Texas Education Foundation and was thrilled to be back in Texas.

During residency, she was extensively trained for three years in forefoot and rearfoot/ankle surgery. Dr. Mascorro specializes in sports medicine, wound care, pediatrics, trauma, limb salvage and diabetic foot care.  Dr. Mascorro is a Diplomate of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons and a member of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons. She is Board Certified by the American Board of Foot and Ankle Surgeons and the American Board of Podiatric Medicine.

Island Foot and Ankle specializes in surgical and non-surgical alternatives and options for all ages and we are here to address and solve any problems you may be facing. We are excited to meet you!

Darwin Smith

Dr. Smith is a fellowship-trained Interventional Pain Physician and earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Houston and a Doctor of Medicine degree from the Ohio State University College of Medicine. He completed his residency training in anesthesiology at the University of Texas McGovern Medical School in Houston and a fellowship in interventional pain management at Emory University in Atlanta, GA.

Dr. Smith uses multimodal pain management techniques to help patients improve the quality of their lives. He believes that finding the correct treatment options, in balance with the patient’s day-to-day activities,  will allow his patients to recover faster. When pain is treated properly it no longer becomes the focus that limits life’s potential.

Dr. Smith comes to us from Houston, Texas. He has interests in playing tennis,  dabbling in piano, listening to classical music, and enjoying the arts overall.

Z. Faisal Cheema

Experience:

  • Assistant Professor, Division of Vascular and Endovascular Therapy, Department of Surgery University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, 2011-Present
  • Assistant Program Director, Division of Vascular and Endovascular Therapy, Department of Surgery University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, 2018-present

Awards:

2015, 2017-2018 Top Doctors, Houstonia Magazine

2007 Frederick A. Coller Surgical Society Resident Research Award

2006 William Beaumont Hospital Research Institute Award: Patency and Endothelialization of NO generating polymer infused ePTFE small caliber bypass grafts of the IVC and supraceliac aorta in the Rabbit model

2005 William Beaumont Hospital Research Institute Award: Mechanism of NO-induced attenuation of aberrant cell proliferation and migration in endothelial cells and pancreatic cancer

1998 2nd place, Texas A&M University Faculty of Neuroscience Research Symposium and Poster Competition

1998 2nd place, Texas A&M University Research Symposium

1997 2nd place, Texas A&M Health Science Center Graduate Research Symposium and Poster Competition

1996 Friend Award from the Class of 1999, Texas A&M Medical School

1996-1998 Graduate Student Representative on the Faculty of Neuroscience

1996 1st place, Texas A&M Health Science Center Graduate Research Symposium and Poster Competition

1996 John P. McGovern Award, Texas Research Society on Alcoholism

1995-1997 Travel Award, Texas A&M Faculty of Neuroscience

1995-1996 Reagents Award (Scholarship)

Robert Darling

Dr. Robert Darling attended the University of Wisconsin at Madison and graduated with a BS in chemistry. He attended the Chicago Medical School where he was invited to join the Alpha Omega Alpha and Gold Humanism in Medicine Honor Societies before receiving his MD in 2012. He completed his Residency at the University of Texas Medical Branch in 2017.

Hadi Akhtar

Dr. Hadi Akhtar is a board-certified urologist with offices in Houston Heights and Clear Lake, TX. Dr. Akhtar is a Texas native and earned his undergraduate degrees from The University of Texas at Austin and his medical degree from UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

Dr. Akhtar served as chief resident during his urologic surgical residency at UT Southwestern Medical Center, consistently ranked by US News & World Report as one of the nation’s top urology programs. During his residency at UT Southwestern, Dr. Akhtar was trained by world-renowned experts in minimally invasive surgical technologies, including Urolift, Bulkamid, GreenLight XPS laser therapy, Aquablation, no scalpel vasectomy, and robotic surgery using the Da Vinci Xi system.

Prior to his medical career, Dr. Akhtar was a management consultant for several years and worked with several major energy corporations in the Houston area. He was also awarded a Fulbright Fellowship from the US Department of State.

After two years in Southern California working as the only robotic surgeon in a busy Los Angeles practice, Dr. Akhtar is excited to return to Texas and bring his expertise in minimally invasive surgery to the Houston area.

Treatments & Procedures

  • TURP
  • Urolift
  • GreenLight (KTP) Laser
  • Aquablation
  • Bulkamid
  • Retropubic Mid-Urethral Sling
  • Bladder Tox Injections
  • Ureteroscopy
  • Laser lithotripsy
  • Extracorporeal Shockwave Lithotripsy (ESWL)
  • Robotic Simple Prostatectomy
  • Robotic Radical Prostatectomy
  • Robotic Partial Nephrectomy
  • Robotic Radical Nephrectomy
  • No Scalpel Procedures

Experience:

  • Urology Group of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA – Urologist
  • Fulbright Program, US Department of State, Amman, Jordan – Fellow
  • Katzenbach Partners (now PwC), Houston, TX – Senior Consultant
  • Deloitte Consulting, Dallas, TX – Analyst

Medical Licenses:

  • TX State Medical License, 2023 to Present
  • CA State Medical License, 2021 to Present

Languages:

  • English
  • Spanish
  • Urdu/Hindi

Awards:

  • UT Southwestern Medical Foundation Scholarship
  • Fulbright U.S. Department of State Program Grant
  • Theodore H. Strauss Civic Internship Award
  • Liberal Arts Honors and Junior Fellows Research Grants
  • UT Austin College of Liberal Arts Honors List