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Donna-Ann Thomas, MD

Associate Professor of Anesthesiology
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Additional Titles

Vice Chair of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Anesthesiology

Division Chief Pain Medicine and Regional Anesthesiology, Anesthesiology

Associate Professor Anesthesiology, Anesthesiology

About

Titles

Associate Professor of Anesthesiology

Vice Chair of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Anesthesiology; Division Chief Pain Medicine and Regional Anesthesiology, Anesthesiology; Associate Professor Anesthesiology, Anesthesiology

Biography

Dr. Donna-Ann Thomas is the Division Chief of Pain Medicine in the Department of Anesthesiology. Dr. Thomas received her medical degree from SUNY Upstate Medical Center in 1999. Following her General Surgery residency at Graduate Hospital in Philadelphia, she completed a residency in Anesthesia at SUNY Syracuse. She is co-chair of the New York State Society of Anesthesiologists and co-chair of the Pain Curriculum Committee at the Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Thomas is actively involved in public service, including her steady volunteer work for Abundant Life Christian Center and her contributions to medical missions in Zimbabwe and Kenya.

Appointments

Other Departments & Organizations

Education & Training

Residency
State University of New York - Syracuse (2005)
Residency
Graduate Hospital (2001)
MD
SUNY Upstate Med Center (1999)

Research

Research at a Glance

Yale Co-Authors

Frequent collaborators of Donna-Ann Thomas's published research.

Publications

2023

2020

2018

Clinical Care

Overview

Donna-Ann Thomas, MD, is an anesthesiologist and pain medicine specialist for Yale Medicine. She is division chief of both pain medicine and regional anesthesiology. She cares for patients at the Yale Spine Center and at Yale New Haven Hospital. Her specialty is managing acute pain, including acute pain in the addicted patient, and pain associated with spine, musculoskeletal problems, cancer, headaches and sickle cell crisis, as well as complex regional pain syndrome.

According to Dr. Thomas, the goal at Yale Medicine is to offer a variety of approaches to treat pain, and to emphasize the newest and most innovative approaches. Two advanced procedures available at Yale include paravertebral blocks and TAP blocks. Both are techniques for injecting local anesthetics to help reduce pain in patients receiving surgeries in the chest or abdominal areas. These procedures may not be available at smaller hospitals.

A priority for Dr. Thomas is finding ways to manage pain while reducing the use of opioids and eliminating opioid-related side effects and dependence, which is a growing public health and national concern. While acknowledging that “opioid medications help with surgical pain,” Dr. Thomas says they can be especially useful in the short term for patients who have had recently had surgery and for those with painful broken bones. However, she says, these medications pose a serious risk of addiction and misuse, especially if pain pills are used after surgery for reasons other than managing pain. Dr. Thomas does acknowledge that patients living with cancer pain are a special subset of the population that may require long- term opioids.

“Our goal is to reduce the use of opioid medications by using other types of medications and regional anesthesiology,” Dr. Thomas says. Options include using local anesthetics to block pain signals to nerves, medications that help with nerve pain and other non-opioid medications. "Sometimes we try to manage the pain with over-the counter medications, such as ibuprofen," she says.

Every patient reacts differently to pain, according to Dr. Thomas, an assistant professor of anesthesiology at Yale School of Medicine. “What works for one patient may not work for another. My philosophy is to treat every patient as I would a family member. If I tell a patient I think this is the best approach, I hope they understand that I would make the same recommendation for a family member or for myself.”

Clinical Specialties

Anesthesiology; Acute Pain; Pain Medicine

Fact Sheets

Board Certifications

  • Pain Medicine (Anesthesiology)

    Certification Organization
    AB of Anesthesiology
    Original Certification Date
    2008
  • Anesthesiology

    Certification Organization
    AB of Anesthesiology
    Latest Certification Date
    2018
    Original Certification Date
    2007

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