The Gulfshore's Top Doctors 2009

Cardiovascular Disease

William Cook, M.D.
Lee Memorial Health System
Associates in Cardiac Care
5216 Clayton Court, Fort Myers, FL 33907 (239) 343-9700 
Special expertise: Noninvasive cardiology

Michael Danzig, M.D.
Lee Memorial Health System
The Heart Group
9800 S. HealthPark Drive, Suite 320, Fort Myers, FL 33908
(239) 433-8800
Special expertise: Cholesterol/lipid disorders

Victor Howard, M.D.
Charlotte Regional Medical Center
Peace River Regional
Medical Center
2484 Caring Way, Suite B,
Port Charlotte, FL 33952
(941) 625-6223
Special expertise: Interventional cardiology, clinical trials

Steven West, M.D.
Southwest Florida Regional
Medical Center 
HealthPark Medical Center
Cardiology Consultants SW Florida
13411 Parker Commons Blvd., Suite 101, Fort Myers, FL 33912
(239) 415-4900
Special expertise: Coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure

Cardiothoracic Surgery
Dennis Stapleton, M.D.
Lee Memorial Health System
Naples Community Hospital Healthcare System
311 Ninth St. N., Suite 301, Naples, FL 34102
(239) 649-0440
Special expertise: Cardiac surgery.

Colon & Rectal Surgery 

Anthony Vernava III, M.D. 
Physicians Regional Medical Center Medical Surgical Specialists 
6101 Pine Ridge Road, Naples, FL 34119
(239) 348-4400
Special expertise: Colon and rectal cancer, incontinence-fecal, inflammatory bowel disease

Dermatology

Charles Camisa, M.D.
Physicians Regional Medical Center
Riverchase Dermatology
1015 Crosspointe Drive, Naples, FL 34110 (239) 596-9075
Special expertise: Psoriasis, oral dermatology, lichen planus

Craig Eichler, M.D.
Physicians Regional Medical Center
6101 Pine Ridge Road, Naples, FL 34119 (239) 348-4335
Special expertise: Skin cancer, dermatologic surgery

Brian Harris, M.D.  Lee Memorial Health System 
Harris Dermatology 
9090 Park Royal Drive, Fort Myers, FL 33908 (239) 936-3344 Special expertise: Skin cancer, Mohs surgery

Rebecca Lambert, M.D.
Naples Community Hospital Healthcare System
2235 Venetian Court, Suite 1, Naples, FL 34109 (239) 596-9337
Special expertise: Skin cancer, Mohs surgery
 
Stephen Spencer, M.D.
Peace River Regional Medical Center
3161 Harbor Blvd., Suite A, Port Charlotte, FL 33952
(941) 613-2400
Special expertise: Mohs surgery

Cynthia Strohmeyer, M.D.
Naples Community Hospital Healthcare System
702 Goodlette Road N., Suite 200, Naples, FL 34102-5644
(239) 261-2255
Special expertise: Cosmetic dermatology

Michael Tucker, M.D.
Naples Community Hospital Healthcare System
9125 Corsea Del Fontana Way, Suite 100, Naples, FL 34109
(239) 598-4004
Special expertise: Skin cancer, cosmetic dermatology, Botox and collagen therapy

Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism

Todd Brodie, M.D.
730 Goodlette Road N., Suite 205, Naples, FL 34102
(239) 436-3666
Special expertise: Thyroid disorders, osteoporosis

John Janick, M.D.
Charlotte Regional Medical Center 4369 Tamiami Trail, Port Charlotte, FL 33980 (941) 629-3366 Special expertise: Adrenal disorders, diabetes, thyroid disorders, hypertension

Family Medicine

John Diaz, M.D.
Naples Community Hospital Healthcare System
2450 Goodlette Road N., Suite 202, Naples, FL 34103
(239) 213-9790 
Special expertise: Preventive medicine, cholesterol/lipid disorders

Mark Droffner, D.O.
Charlotte Regional Medical Center
260 Milus St., Punta Gorda, FL 33950 (941) 637-0911 
Special expertise: Geriatric medicine

Daniel Kaplan, D.O. 
Naples Community Hospital Healthcare System
South Florida Medical Group
7935 Airport-Pulling Road, Suite 2, Naples, FL 34109 (239) 596-3300 Special expertise: Geriatric medicine, nutrition

Gregory Krill, M.D.
Lee Memorial Health System
16271 Bass Road, Fort Myers, FL 33908 (239) 432-3322
Special expertise: Geriatric medicine, hypertension, cholesterol/lipid disorders, diabetes

Robert Poling, M.D.
Physicians Regional Medical Center
1850 San Marco Road, Suite C, Marco Island, FL 34145
(239) 394-8252
Special expertise: Sports medicine, heart disease, diabetes, preventive medicine

Meet the Doctor
“Let the Patients Tell Their Stories”
Boston native nanci breeze got to know many doctors at the former Cleveland Clinic in Naples (now Physicians Regional Medical Center) while her husband was battling terminal cancer.
After meeting Dr. Julie Southmayd, also from the Boston area, Breeze felt an immediate connection and chose her as her own primary care doctor.

Southmayd, who worked at Medical Surgical Specialists for the past two years, recently left to form Millennium Physician Group in Naples.  “(Southmayd) is the most professional medical person I’ve encountered in Naples,” Breeze says. “She’s smart, articulate, caring. She brings to us a level of medicine we don’t always see here. I’ve referred dozens and dozens of patients to her, all of whom feel the same way.”

While caring for her dying husband, Breeze battled depression, anxiety and stress, along with chronic back pain. “There were just a lot of issues she helped me work through so well,” Breeze says. “I can’t imagine her not being there as a support system for me.”

Southmayd remembers a professor at Dartmouth Medical School who taught her to ask the right questions and let the patients tell their stories. “A lot of times, you can figure out what’s going on without doing any testing,” she says.

In treating Breeze’s degenerative back problems, Southmayd asked if she was willing to try an acupuncturist. “It has saved me,” Breeze says. “Any referrals she gives are excellent. Her colleagues respect her a lot. She’s just that kind of person. She’s about holistic medicine, de-stressing. She’s just an amazing doctor.”

Southmayd became interested in alternative medicine and different approaches to healthcare while in Massachusetts. She has studied approaches to illness and wellness that focus on basic biochemistry and nutrition. “The point is to try to get to the root cause rather than just giving someone a pill,” Southmayd says. “I try now to incorporate that basic knowledge into my practice.”