- ABOUT ME
- AREAS OF FOCUS
- EDUCATION & LEADERSHIP
- LOCATIONS & HOSPITALS
- NEWS & PUBLICATIONS
“Nothing is built on stone; all is built on sand, but we must build as if the sand were stone.” – Jorge Luis Borges
Dr. Balestra was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He attended medical school at the University of Buenos Aires, where he received his MD. He completed his internal medicine residency at Albert Einstein Medical Center. After his residency, he had a Pulmonary and Critical Care fellowship at Stanford University. The main focus of his fellowship training was lung transplantation. He then went on to pursue fellowship training in Interventional Pulmonology at the University of Cincinnati, where he became proficient in advanced bronchoscopic techniques and helped develop the lung cryobiopsy program. He joined The Oregon Clinic in 2017 attracted to the beauty of the Pacific Northwest lifestyle.
Dr. Balestra is the only physician in Oregon certified to offer the Zephyr Valve procedure to treat emphysema, a minimally invasive procedure that improves lung function for emphysema patients.
Dr. Balestra enjoys skiing and hiking in his free time.
Other Activities
Member, American Association of Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology
Member, American College of Physicians
Member, Pennsylvania Medical Society
Areas of Focus
Lung Cryobiopsy
Rigid Bronchoscopy
Advanced Bronchoscopic Diagnostics
Bronchial Thermoplasty
Pleural Disease
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
Emphysema
Zephyr Valve Procedure
EDUCATION & TRAINING
Fellowship, Interventional Pulmonology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, 2016
Fellowship, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, CA, 2014
Chief Residency, Internal Medicine, Albert Einstein Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA, 2011
Internship and Residency, Internal Medicine, Albert Einstein Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA, 2009
Residency, Internal Medicine, Hospital J. A. Fernandez, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2007
MD, Universidad de Buenos Aires School of Medicine, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2004
BOARD CERTIFICATION
Critical Care Medicine
Pulmonary Medicine
Internal Medicine
Interventional Pulmonary Medicine
HONORS
Outstanding Resident Award, Albert Einstein Medical Center, June 2010
Locations
Publications
Balestra, R., Selvaraju, A., Benzaquen, S. and Zander, D.S., 2017. Pneumonic‐type mucinous lung adenocarcinoma diagnosed by transbronchial cryobiopsy. Respirology Case Reports, 5(3).
Balestra, R., Benzaquen, S. and Wang, J., 2017. Sarcoidosis-like Granulomatous Lung Reaction Associated with Anti–Programmed Death Receptor-1 Ligand Therapy. Annals of the American Thoracic Society, 14(2), pp.296-299.
Saenz, A. and Balestra, R., 2011. Bilateral spontaneous pneumothoraces in a healthy young adult. American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine, 184(12), pp.e3-e3.
Trastornos del Metabolismo del Calcio, in Farmacologia para Nutricionistas de Isolabella D, Reynoso C. Chapter 4, pp 75-100. First Edition. 2005. Grupo Editor Mediciencia (Spanish).