Facility Santa Clara Medical Center Department of Anesthesiology Address 700 Lawrence Expressway Floor 2, Dept 200 Santa Clara CA 95051 Map & Directions Telephone Office: (408) 851-6020 Fax: (408) 851-6021 E-mail your doctor View your preventive services

Please note that my office hours may be different from my department’s hours of operation.

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My Biography

I was born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa where I received my Medical degree at the University of Cape Town (where Christian Barnard performed the first heart transplant). After internship and a couple of years doing everything from tooth extractions to delivering babies in small rural African hospitals, I decided to specialize in anaesthesia. I completed a 4 year anaesthesia residency at the University of Natal in Durban followed by an extra year in cardiothoracic anaesthesia as a specialist lecturer. I was invited to teach for a year at Stanford University in 1988. After 6 months I was asked to become part of the cardiovascular anaesthesia team and shortly after that was invited to become a permanent member of the faculty. I rewrote all my medical examinations including my American Anaesthesia boards. I went on to become both the chief of liver transplant anaesthesia program and the cardiovascular anaesthesia program. In 2000 I left Stanford to join Kaiser Permanente as part of the cardiovascular anaesthesia team at San Francisco. I retain an appointment as volunteer faculty at the level of Clinical Associate Professor.

I chose anaesthesia because I enjoyed acute medical care along with being part of a team. I especially enjoyed cardiac physiology, pharmacology and specialized in caring for patients with cardiac problems. I am also interested in transesophageal echocardiography and have recently become board certified in Perioperative Transesophageal Echocardiography.

I joined Kaiser Permanente for many reasons but the chief amongst them was that, although I am in a highly specialized area of medicine, I believe in an integrated health system where the doctors make the decisions about patient care. One of the other aspects of my work here that I really like is that I still get to teach residents and fellows cardiac anaesthesia (a part Stanford experience I would really have missed).

I have been married for more than 20 years. We have no children but do have 2 English cocker spaniels both of whom are, needless to say, spoilt rotten!! Outside of the hospital I enjoy photography as a hobby. I do mostly black and white photography in both large and small format and do all my own printing. My other interests are traveling and gardening. I return to South Africa most years to visit with family and see all the wonderful wildlife.

Darwin Falls

Professional Affiliations: Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesia; American Society of Anesthesiology; International Anesthesia Research Society
Began Practice: 1980
Joined Kaiser Permanente: 2000

Other Resources

My Credentials

Medical school	University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
Residency	University of Natal Faculty of Medicine, Durban, South Africa
Board certification	Anesthesiology, American Board of Anesthesiology

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