Richard F. Carlson, MD
Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Division of Anesthesiology, Critical Care Medicine, and Pain Medicine
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Professor, Anesthesiology & PeriOperative Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
Professor (Joint Appointment), Gastroenterology, Hepat & Nutr, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
Medical Director of ACB/Mays Surgery Center, Anesthesiology & PeriOper Med, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
Vice Chair of Houston Area Locations, Anesthesiology & PeriOper Med, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
Dual/Joint/Adjunct Appointment
Professor, Anesthesiology & PeriOperative Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
Professor, Gastroenterology, Hepat & Nutr, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
Research Interests
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2001 | The University of Texas at Houston Medical School, Houston, Texas, US, MD |
| 1995 | Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, US, Biomedical Science, BS |
Postgraduate Training
| 2002-2005 | Clinical Residency, Anesthesiology, The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas |
| 2001-2002 | Clinical Internship, Internal Medicine, The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas |
Licenses & Certifications
| 2006 | American Board of Anesthesiology |
| 2005 | Texas Medical Board |
Experience & Service
Faculty Academic Appointments
Associate Professor, Gastroenterology, Hepat,& Nutr, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2017 - 2024
Associate Professor, Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2017 - 2024
Assistant Professor, Gastroenterology, Hepat,& Nutr, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2013 - 2017
Assistant Professor, Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2010 - 2017
Administrative Appointments/Responsibilities
Non OR Anesthesia Medical Director, Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2018 - 2023
Vice Chair of Non OR Anesthesia, Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2018 - 2023
Sedation & Procedures Committee Chair, Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2016 - 2019
Billing and Compliance Officer, Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2012 - Present
GI Endoscopy Anesthesia Coordinator, Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2012 - 2015
Other Professional Positions
Co-Lead Anesthesiologist for Duncan Procedural Space Design, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, 2025 - Present
Co-Lead Anesthesiologist for Anesthesia Design of 1PC Building at TMC, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, 2025 - Present
Medical Director Of ACB/Mays Surgery Center, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, 2024 - Present
Co-Lead Anesthesiologist for Anesthesia Design of Sugarland Houston Area Location, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, 2023 - Present
Lead Anesthesiologist for the Anesthesia design of the Lifestyle Plaza GI Endoscopy Location, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2019 - Present
Lead Anesthesiologist for the Anesthesia design of The Woodlands - Houston Area Location, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2017 - 2020
Lead Anesthesiologist for the Anesthesia design of West Houston Area Location, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2017 - 2020
Super User -One Connect, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2015 - Present
Redcap for Aspiration Risk in the GI department for future studies, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2015 - Present
Neuro Redcap data base collection for Neurosurgery cases, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2015 - Present
EPIC building team, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2014 - 2015
Co-Lead, EPIC Co-Lead for Intraoperative Anesthesia Portion of the EPIC Computer System Role Out, Houston, TX, 2014 - Present
Member, Steering Committee for the GI Endoscopy Center, Houston, TX, 2014 - Present
Member, ERAS for Neurosurgical Spine Procedures Project, Houston, TX, 2014 - Present
Performance Improvement Project-First Start Cases in GI Endoscopy Center Improvement Project, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2013 - Present
Performance Improvement Project-GI Endoscopy Pharmacy Compliance with Anesthesia and Outpatient Pharmacy, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2012 - Present
Anesthesiologist, President, Bayshore Anesthesiology Group, Pasadena, TX, 2005 - 2010
Assistant Manager and Quality Assurance Coordinator, Austin Bio Med Laboratory, Austin, TX, 1995 - 1997
Extramural Institutional Committee Activities
Member, Perioperative Informatics Subcommittee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2019 - Present
Member, HAL's Steering Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2018 - Present
Member, Executive Committee of the Medical Staff (ECMS), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2016 - 2019
Member, GI Endoscopy Steering Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2014 - Present
Member, OR Equipment Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2012 - 2020
Member, Sedation and Procedures Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2011 - 2025
Honors & Awards
| 2022 | Excellence in Safety Award for the Innovation in Safety, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 1992 - 1994 | Distinguished Student's List, Texas A&M University |
| 1991 - 1994 | Smith's Scholarship in Science, Texas A&M University |
| 1990 - 1994 | Smith County A&M Mother's Club Scholarship, Texas A&M University |
| 1990 - 1991 | Dean's List, Texas A&M University |
Professional Memberships
Selected Presentations & Talks
National Presentations
- 2022. The Uses of the Gastro LMA in GI Endoscopy Procedures Including ERCPs. Conference. The Uses of the Gastro LMA in GI Endoscopy Procedures Including ERCPs. New Orleans, LA, US.
- 2016. Perioperative Hyperglycemia is Not Associated with Decreased Survival in Patients with Glioblastoma. Conference. Perioperative Hyperglycemia is Not Associated with Decreased Survival in Patients with Glioblastoma. Chicago, IL, US.
- 2015. The Impact of Airway Management Strategies on MR Image Quality in Pediatric and Adult Patients. Conference. The Impact of Airway Management Strategies on MR Image Quality in Pediatric and Adult Patients. San Diego, CA, US.
- 2015. Total Intravenous Anesthesia without an Endotracheal Tube for Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography and the Intolerance of Conversion to Endotracheal Intubation. A Retrospective Review. Conference. Total Intravenous Anesthesia without an Endotracheal Tube for Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography and the Intolerance of Conversion to Endotracheal Intubation. A Retrospective Review. Washington DC, US.
International Presentations
- 2021. Growth of Non-OR Anesthesia: Challenges and Trends. Conference. Instituto Nacional de Cancerologia-Mexico. Mexico City, MX.
- 2021. Botox Interference of Facial Nerve Monitoring During a Robotic Case. Conference. Botox Interference of Facial Nerve Monitoring During a Robotic Case, CZ.
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Brower, JV, Russo, AL, Bradley, KA, Fisher, C, Carlson III, R, Brubaker, LW, Hagen, P, Leaf, RK, Small, W, Klopp, AH. Management of Venous Thrombosis and Pulmonary Embolism During Cervical Brachytherapy. Practical radiation oncology 15(6):e617-e620, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 40523472.
- Cukierman, DS, Perez, M, Guerra-Londono, JJ, Carlson III, R, Hagan, K, Ghebremichael, SJ, Hagberg, C, Ge, PS, Raju, GS, Rhim, A, Cata, JP. Nasal continuous positive pressure versus simple face mask oxygenation for adult obese and obstructive sleep apnea patients undergoing colonoscopy under propofol-based general anesthesia without tracheal intubation. Journal of Clinical Anesthesia 89, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37406462.
- Hagan KB, Carlson R, Arnold B, Nguyen L, Lee J, Weston B, Hernandez M, Feng L, Syed T, Hagberg CA. Safety of the LMA®Gastro™ for Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography. Anesth Analg 131(5):1566-1572, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 33079880.
- Ning MS, Venkatesan AM, Stafford RJ, Bui TP, Carlson R, Bailard NS, Vedam S, Davis R, Olivieri ND, Guzman AB, Incalcaterra JR, McKelvey FA, Thaker NG, Rauch GM, Tang C, Frank SJ, Joyner MM, Lin LL, Jhingran A, Eifel PJ, Klopp AH. Developing an Intraoperative 3 T MRI-Guided Brachytherapy Program within a Diagnostic Imaging Suite: Methods, Process Workflow, and Value-Based Analysis. Brachytherapy 19(4):427-437, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 31786169.
- Raju GS, Lum P, Abu-Sbeih H, Ross WA, Thirumurthi S, Miller E, Lynch P, Lee J, Bhutani MS, Shafi M, Weston B, Rashid A, Wang Y, Chang GJ, Carlson R, Hagan K, Davila M, Stroehlein J. Cap-fitted endoscopic mucosal resection of 20mm colon flat lesions followed by argon plasma coagulation results in a low adenoma recurrence rate. Endosc Int Open 8(2):E115-E121, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32010742.
- Cata JP, Bhavsar S, Hagan KB, Arunkumar R, Shi T, Grasu R, Dang A, Carlson R, Arnold B, Popat K, Potylchansky Y, Lipski I, Raty S, Nguyen AT, McHugh TM, Feng L, Rahlfs TF. Scalp blocks for brain tumor craniotomies: A retrospective survival analysis of a propensity match cohort of patients. J Clin Neurosci 51:46-51, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29514747.
- Cata JP, Bhavsar S, Hagan KB, Arunkumar R, Grasu R, Dang A, Carlson R, Arnold B, Popat K, Rao G, Potylchansky Y, Lipski I, Ratty S, Nguyen AT, McHugh T, Feng L, Rahlfs TF. Intraoperative serum lactate is not a predictor of survival after glioblastoma surgery. J Clin Neurosci 43:224-228, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28601568.
- Thirumurthin, Raju GS, Pande M, Ruiz J, Carlson R, Hagan K, Lee JH, Ross WA. "Does Deep Sedation with Propofol Affect Adenoma Detection Rates in Average Risk Screenings Colonoscopy Exam?". Journal of Gastroenterology. e-Pub 2017.
- Cata JP, Hagan KB, Bhavsar SD, Arunkumar R, Grasu R, Dang A, Carlson R, Arnold B, Potylchansky Y, Lipski I, McHugh T, Jimenez F, Nguyen AT, Feng L, Rahlfs TF. The use of isoflurane and desflurane as inhalational agents for glioblastoma surgery. A survival analysis. J Clin Neurosci 35:82-87, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 27765559.
- Hagan K, Bhavsar S, Arunkumar R, Grasu R, Dang A, Carlson R, Cowles C, Arnold B, Potylchansky Y, Rahlfs TF, Lipski I, Walsh C, Jimenez F, Nguyen AT, Feng L, Cata JP. "Association between Perioperative Hypergylcemia and Survival in Patients with Glioblastoma". J Neurosurg Anesthesiol 29(1):21-29, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 27438798.
- Bhavsar S, Hagan K, Arunkumar R, Potylchansky Y, Grasu R, Dang A, Carlson R, Cowles C, Arnold B, Rahlfs T, Lipski I, Cata J. "Preoperative Statin Use is Not Associated with Improvement in Survival after Glioblastoma surgery". Journal of Clinical Neuroscience. e-Pub 2016.
- Szmuk P, Matuszczeak M, Carlson RF, Warters RD, Rabb MF, Ezri T. Use of Cobra PLA for airway management in a neonate with Desbuquois syndrome. Pediatric Anesthesia 15(7):602-605, 2005. e-Pub 2005.
- Ucisik-Keser FE, Chi L, Hamid Y, Yang Y, Wei W, An D, Chang E, Carlson R, Ferson D. Airway Management Strategies and MRI Quality. Journal of Clinical Neuroscience.
Other Articles
- Cukierman, DS, Paredes-Flores, M, Guerra-Londono, JJ, Carlson III, R, Hagan, K, Ghebremichael, SJ, Hagberg, C, Ge, PS, Raju, GS, Rhim, A, Cata, JP Corrigendum to “Nasal continuous positive pressure versus simple face mask oxygenation for adult obese and obstructive sleep apnea patients undergoing colonoscopy under propofol-based general anesthesia without tracheal intubation. Journal of Clinical Anesthesia 97, 2024. PMID: 37989650.
- Hagan KB, Raju G, Carlson R, Gottumukkala V Rethinking Sedation During Prolonged Mechanical Ventilation for COVID-19 Respiratory Failure. Anesth Analg 131(2):e125-e126, 2020. PMID: 32398429.
Abstracts
- Huong T Le-Petross MD, Shreyas Bhavsar MD, Sun J, Thao Bui MD, Karen Shin MD, Jason Stafford PhD Richard Carlson III, MD, Marion Scoggins MD, Beatriz Adrada MD. Breast MRI with Sedation. Radiological Society of North America, 2022. e-Pub 2022.
- Joseph R, Carlson R, Jackson A, Joseph S, Owusu-Agyemang P, Van Meter A, Williams U, Kapoor R, Idowu T, Tsai J, Zavala AA. Botox Interference of Facial Nerve Monitoring During a Robotic Case. 17th World Congress of Anesthesiologists, 2021. e-Pub 2021.
- David F, Katherine H, Ethan M, Richard C, Mary Z, Emily W, Thomas R. Emergency Airway Management with the LMA During Upper Endoscopy in a Patient with Difficult-to-Manage Airway. World Airway Management Meeting, 2019. e-Pub 2019.
- Raju, ; Lum GS, AbuSbeih P;, Ross H;, ; Thirumurthi WA, Miller S;, ; Lynch ED, ; Lee PM, Bhutani J;, ; Shafi MS, Weston M;, ; Rashid BR, Davila A;, ; Wang ML, Chang Y;, ; Carlson GJ, ; Hagan RF, Stroehlein K;, John R. Endoscopic Mucosal Resection (EMR) of Large (>20 MM) Laterally Spreading Tumors of the Colon Followed by Argon Plasma Coagulation (APC) Results in a Low Recurrence Rate. Digestive Disease Week, 2016. e-Pub 2016.
- Hagan K, Ruiz J, Thiramurthi S, Carlson R, Owusu-Agyemang P, Weston b Demare C, Arnold B. Total Intravenous Anesthesia Without an Endotracheal Tube for Endoscopic Retrograde Cholongropancrectography and the Intolerance of Conversion to Endotracheal Intubation; A retrospective Review. Digestive Disease Week, 2015. e-Pub 2015.
- Ferson D, Ucisik-Kosser F, Hamid Y, Wei W, Yang Y, Carlson R, Chi L. The Impact of Airway Management Strategies on MR Image Quality in Pediatric and Adult Patients. American Society of Anesthesia, 2015. e-Pub 2015.
- Ross W, Thiramurthi S, Carlson R. TIVA versus Non TIVA Colonoscopies-"Better Results?". Presented at GALA, 2014. e-Pub 2014.
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified July 22, 2026