Richard Zhu, MD

Fellowship
Pain Medicine, NY Presbyterian/Weill Cornell, New York, NY

Residency
Anesthesiology, Yale-New Haven Hospital, New Haven, CT

Internship
Yale-New Haven Hospital, New Haven, CT

Medical School
University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD

Undergraduate
Duke University, Durham, NC

Certifications
Pain Medicine – American Board of Anesthesiology Subspecialty Certification

Professional Organizations
American Society of Anesthesiologists
CT State Society of Anesthesiologists
American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Management
North American Neuromodulation Society
American Society of Interventional Pain
Physicians CT Pain Society

Publications
“Perioperative Hypertensive Urgency After Methylene Blue in a Patient with Undiagnosed Pheochromocytoma: A Case Report” A & A practice. May 2019
“CT Angiography Depicted Lumbar Spinal Artery Anatomic Course: Defining a Safer Zone for Lumbar Sympathetic and Splanchnic Blocks” Regional Anes and Pain Medicine. April 2019
“Pain Management of Patients with Substance Abuse in the Ambulatory Setting” Curr Pain Headache Reports. February 2017
“Concept of the Ambulatory Pain Physician” Curr Pain Headache Reports. January 2017
“Modeling, Production, and Testing of an Echogenic Needle for Ultrasound-Guided Nerve Blocks” Ultrasound Med. June 2016
“Pain Control in the Presence of Drug Addiction” Curr Pain Headache Reports. May 2016
“Perioperative Safety of Warfarin Therapy and Reversal” Curr Drug Safety. March 2016
“TRPV Channel-Mediated Calcium Transients in Nociceptor Neurons Are Dispensable for Avoidance Behaviour” Nature Communications. September 2014
“Analysis of Plethysmographic Waveform Changes Induced by Beach Chair Positioning Under General Anesthesia” J Clin Monit Comput. December 2014

Leadership Role(s)
Dr. Zhu is an anesthesiologist with subspecialty training in Pain Management. He works in the operating rooms at St. Francis Hospital and Trinity Health facilities, as well as in the Pain Clinic at St. Francis Hospital. There, he diagnoses and treats people with acute and chronic pain conditions including herniated discs, migraine, facet joint arthritis, sciatica, CRPS, neuropathic pain, and cancer-related pain. He previously was an attending anesthesiologist at Greenwich Hospital, where he directed the Pain Management service. He was named among Fairfield County’s Top Doctors for 2022 by Greenwich Magazine in the Pain Management category.

Professional Interests
Dr. Zhu has a special interest in treating chronic pain using non-opioid, interventional-based techniques. He aims to apply this to different pain syndromes including cancer-related pain, CRPS, and degenerative spine pain.

Personal Interests
In his spare time, he enjoys traveling, reading, trying new restaurants, and hiking.

Why did you decide to become a physician?
I chose anesthesiology because it gave me the capability to care for people at pivotal points of their lives, whether a major surgery, a diagnostic procedure, or childbirth. I liked the fast-paced nature of the operating room environment, and my role in getting patients through these experiences safely and calmly is very rewarding. I chose to subspecialize in chronic pain after seeing the devastating impact that pain conditions can have on a person’s life, even though it can be an “invisible” illness. At Woodland, I also look forward to teaching the next generation of anesthesiologists and anesthetists.