Locations
Peconic Surgical Group
Southampton, NY
Peconic Surgical Group
Riverhead, NY
About
Bio
Dr. Kovatch is originally from Moldova. She immigrated to the United States in 1995. She attended Brooklyn College and received a Bachelor Degree in Chemistry. She attended medical school and surgical residency program at SUNY Downstate Medical Center. Presently she is working as a general surgeon in a private practice - Peconic Surgical Group - on the east end of Long Island.
SpecialtiesDoctors may have more than one area of specialty interest. Board certification in a specialty area means the doctor has completed formal training and has practice experience in that specialty, and has passed the certification examination from the corresponding accredited medical specialty board.
Doctors may have more than one area of specialty interest. Board certification in a specialty area means the doctor has completed formal training and has practice experience in that specialty, and has passed the certification examination from the corresponding accredited medical specialty board.
Surgery
General Surgery
Languages spoken
Russian
Doctor Q&A
75 Answers
41 Agrees
The number of answers this doctor has agreed with.
A 30-year-old member asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
Has risks: Regional anesthesia (RA) has a better safety profile for the mother and is preferred over general anesthesia (ga). Ga has a 17-fold higher complicati... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 43-year-old female asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
See below: Pain due to gallbladder disease (e.g.Stones), is located in the right upper quadrant/epigastric area and the onset usually follows a fatty/greasy meal... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 48-year-old female asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
Maybe: Some gene mutations (brca1 and brca2) that run in the family increase risk of breast and ovarian cancer significantly (lifetime risk of breast cancer ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 22-year-old female asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
Urachal cyst?: You may have an infected urachal cyst. The diagnosis can be confirmed by ultrasound (sometimes ct scan is necessary). If there is an abscess, it will ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 46-year-old member asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
Yes: I am not sure if you are asking about implants or reduction, but both have small risk of complication (e.g. Implants might get infected, after reducti... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 28-year-old female asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
Very rare: Complications from cholecystectomy include wound infection, bleeding/hematoma, bile duct injury with bile leak and intra-abdominal abscess. Late compl... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 38-year-old female asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
Info in consent: Unless there are contraindications, mesh is usually used for defects >4 cm. The repair can be performed laparoscopically or open. Complications inc... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 40-year-old member asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
See below: Have a GI doctor who follows you regularly. Chronic disease as well as acute attacks are usually managed with medications. Avoid foods that make your ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 55-year-old female asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
See below: Muscle tear is just what it sounds like - a tear in a muscle. A hernia, by definition, is a defect in fascia (a layer of connective tissue above and b... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 33-year-old female asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
Cardiology clearance: It sounds like you have biliary dyskinesia. Surgery will relieve symptoms in about 70% of patients with this diagnosis. You should see a cardiologist ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 41-year-old member asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
Surgically : Lipoma is a benign fat-containing mass located under the skin (sometimes may be intra-musclular). It is surgically removed through a cut in the skin o... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 22-year-old female asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
Maybe: Having intercourse during the most fertile time of your menstrual cycle increases chances of conception, but does not guarantee it. The only was to fi... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 60-year-old male asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
Somatostatin: Patients with carcinoid syndrome from a tumor are at an increased risk of having carcinoid crisis during induction of anesthesia or manipulation of th... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 18-year-old female asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
See below: In a sexually active female these symptoms may be a sign of an std.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 41-year-old female asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
Not if symptoms gone: Classic symptoms of appendicitis include peri-umbilical pain which then migrates to right lower quadrant, anorexia, nausea, fever. The pain does not r... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 56-year-old male asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
See below: Bipolar, infrared and laser coagulation are generally effective for treatment of grade 1 and grade 2 hemorrhoids. It may be associated with higher rec... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 46-year-old female asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
Depends: Depends on the "abnormal" results. If there is a concern for a malignant process in the area, lumpectomy (excision of an area of a breast, not the who... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 19-year-old female asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
Yes: Yes, even though classical presentation starts with anorexia and periumbilical pain, diarrhea may be the first symptom, especially in children.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 47-year-old member asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
See below: Most common causes of right upper quadrant abdominal pain is biliary disease or liver disease. The differential of liver disease is broad ranging from... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 45-year-old member asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
Physical exam: Hernia is diagnosed on physical exam. A physician should perform the physical exam since a lay person might not be able to differentiate a hernia from... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 31-year-old member asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
Mild: Yes, especially if it was an open surgery (you have a wound under your ribs on the right) because that makes breathing painful. Take pain meds and use... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 37-year-old male asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
Ignore: If you have symptoms from gallstones, the best treatment is to remove the gallbladder surgically.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 37-year-old male asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
Ignore: Hernias do not resolve spontaneously. Best treatment is surgical repair.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 37-year-old male asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
Ignore: Arterial disease: walking
venous disease: compression stockings, venous ablation.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.1k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 36-year-old female asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
Colonoscopy: Relatives of patients with crohns disease are 15 times more at risk of developing the disease compared to general population. Presentation varies and ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 36-year-old male asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
This: This too shall pass (all material conditions, positive or negative, are temporary).
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 64-year-old female asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
Maybe muscle trauma: One of the ports during appendectomy is usually placed in the left lower quadrant. During urination the abdominal muscles are tightening and the injur... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 46-year-old member asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
2 weeks: Usually urine pregnancy test should be negative 2 weeks after any 1st trimester pregnancy termination. It depends on the starting beta-hcg level (at t... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 44-year-old member asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
See below: Classic symptoms of appendicitis include nausea, anorexia, peri-umbilical pain which later migrates to right lower quadrant and fever. Depending on ex... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsAnswered >2 years agoMerged
A 47-year-old member asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
See below: Incarcerated hernia means it is not reducible (unable to push it back). Strangulation happens when blood supply to herniated organs is cut off. It is ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A female asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
See below: Do not open the blister for 3 days if it is still closed (the fluid is sterile inside and prevents a wound infection while a new layer of skin is form... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 39-year-old member asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
Maybe: Stomach cancer has poor prognosis unless it is diagnosed and treated at an early stage. Usually weight gain after curative resection is a good sign, b... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 36-year-old member asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
See below: The first step in managing this disease is to stop nsaids (e.g. Ibuprofen) and all other offending agents (e.g. Omeprazole, sertraline). The drug of c... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 27-year-old female asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
Talk to your GI doc: The prevalence of cancer in these lesions may be as high as 5-16%. If the GI doctor removed the polyp with negative margins you will need surveillance... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 32-year-old member asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
Soaks: In mild cases soaks several times a day and use of dental floss to separate toe nail from nail fold may be sufficient. In severe cases surgical interv... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 28-year-old female asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
Cafe-au-lait spots: (cals) appear during the 1st year after birth and usually increase in number during early childhood. Up to 25% of the normal population will have 1-3 ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 30-year-old male asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
Unknown, surgery: Lipoma is a benign mass of subcutaneous fatty tissue. It's cause is not well understood. It can be surgically excised.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 18-year-old male asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
No: It is possible to have isolated proteinuria in which case there is protein in the urine (no greater than 3g/24h) but no other abnormalities in urine o... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 31-year-old male asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
See OB/GYN for eval: It is recommended to see a professional if a couple was not able to conceive a child after a year of unprotected sex (6 months if a woman is >35 ye... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 19-year-old female asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
No: Appendicitis is caused by a blockage of the appendiceal lumen (usually with a fecolith). This, in turn, causes bacterial stasis and overgrowth (bacter... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 17-year-old female asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
No: Use exactly as directed on the label (if it doesn't specify that you should take it with food, then you don't have to). Miralax (polyethylene glycol) ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 20-year-old female asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
See a GI doctor: The symptoms are not likely caused by an appendectomy. However, these symptoms are serious and need to be evaluated by a GI doctor.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 42-year-old member asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
Get evaluated: Hepatitis c is a risk factor for development of cirrhosis and liver cancer (both may cause right upper quadrant abdominal pain). Evaluation with blood... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 28-year-old male asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
See below: Hemorrhoids can be internal or external. Internal are higher in the rectum, they are painless and you cannot see/feel them (they might bleed). Externa... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 21-year-old male asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
18-50: Optimal age for a living kidney donor is considered to be between age 18 and 50, however older individuals may be donors if they are in good physical ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 36-year-old male asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
Drink: Drink a lot of fluids, as stones tend to precipitate in concentrated urine.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 36-year-old male asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
How: How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours. Wayne w. Dyer.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 33-year-old female asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
Sounds like biliary: Dyskinesia, given that there are no stones and low gallbladder ef. Cholecystectomy will alleviate symptoms in 70% of patients with this diagnosis. How... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 27-year-old female asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
See below: It doesn't matter whether there is 1 stone or multiple stones in the gallbladder. If gallstones are causing symptoms, surgery is recommended, and it ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 36-year-old male asked:
Dr. Irina Kovatchanswered
Surgery 16 years experience
Fiber: Increase fiber in diet or take fiber supplement (e.g. Metamucil). Increased fiber intake has been shown to decrease hemorrhoidal bleeding after 2 week... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
TestimonialsRecommendations and Thank you notes are endorsements given from patients or other doctors.
Recommendations and Thank you notes are endorsements given from patients or other doctors.
3
Recommendations
132
Thank you notes
Aug 2, 2013
great answers. Very helpful!
HealthTap member
Mar 30, 2015
Dr. Kovatch is an amazing doctor! #nationaldoctorsday2015 #virtualflower1
HealthTap member
Mar 31, 2015
Dr. Kovatch is an amazing doctor! #nationaldoctorsday2015 #virtualflower1
HealthTap member
Thanks for your quick reply! Thank u very much. How do I know if I need to try a Nissen?
HealthTap member
Thank you so much. It was discovered in routine upper GI for sleeve.
HealthTap member
Thank you, your answer was very helpful! Seeing the doctor Tuesday.
Education & Training
Medical/Graduate school
State University of New York Downstate Medical Center College of Medicine, NY
Graduated 2007MD
Residency
SUNY Downstate Medical Center
Awards
Top General Surgeon , Third Place, New York - Summer
2013
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