Helga Komen, M.D. Titles and Appointments Assistant Professor Schools Medical School Departments Anesthesiology & Pain Management You have reached the Academic Profile. For more information on the doctor and patient care, please visit the clinical profile. Biography Helga Komen, M.D., M.B.A., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Management at UT Southwestern Medical Center. She joins UT Southwestern from Washington University in St. Louis, where she spent more than 10 years in the Department of Anesthesiology and served as an anesthesia leader for the ENT and Neurosurgery operating rooms. Dr. Komen earned her medical degree and completed her residency in anesthesiology in Rijeka, Croatia, before moving to the United States. Her clinical interests include ENT anesthesia, difficult airway management, anesthesia for spine surgery, and intraoperative pain management. Her academic and professional interests include long-acting opioids, low-flow anesthesia and sustainability, quality improvement, innovation, and the development of evidence-based approaches to perioperative care. At Washington University, Dr. Komen developed clinical protocols, organized educational workshops and weekly conferences, and led a sustainability initiative that generated substantial annual savings and was subsequently expanded across the BJC HealthCare system. Dr. Komen has a strong commitment to medical education and has taught and mentored medical students, residents, CRNAs, and faculty. She is particularly interested in the intersection of clinical care, healthcare operations, and innovation. She holds an Executive MBA from Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis, Class of 2023, which broadened her expertise in healthcare management, organizational strategy, and leadership and strengthened her interest in applying business and management principles to complex clinical environments. At UT Southwestern, Dr. Komen looks forward to contributing to clinical excellence, medical education, and the continued advancement of high-quality, efficient, and innovative perioperative care. Her interests include developing evidence-based clinical practices, improving perioperative systems and workflows, and identifying opportunities where clinical innovation and operational strategy can improve both patient care and healthcare delivery. She is particularly interested in collaborative initiatives that bring together clinicians, educators, and operational leaders to address challenges in modern academic medicine. Through her clinical, educational, and management experience, she hopes to contribute to the continued growth and innovation of the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Management at UT Southwestern. Education Medical Education Republic of Croatia University of Rijeka (1996) Internship Dom Zdravlja Krk (1997), Family Medicine Adult Medicine Residency Clinical Hospital Centre Rijeka (2008), Anesthesiology Graduate School Washington University School of Medicine (2023) Research Interest Difficult Airway Management Intraoperative Pain Management Sustainability in Anesthesia Publications Featured Publications Persistent Brain Connectivity Changes in Healthy Volunteers Following Nitrous Oxide Inhalation. Palanca BJA, Conway CR, Zeffiro T, Gott BM, Nguyen T, Janski A, Jain N, Komen H, Burke BA, Zorumski CF, Nagele P, Biol Psychiatry Glob Open Sci 2023 Oct 3 4 698-704 Intraoperative Methadone in Next-day Discharge Outpatient Surgery: A Randomized, Double-blinded, Dose-finding Pilot Study. Kharasch ED, Brunt LM, Blood J, Komen H, Anesthesiology 2023 Oct 139 4 405-419 Intraoperative Methadone in Same-Day Ambulatory Surgery: A Randomized, Double-Blinded, Dose-Finding Pilot Study. Komen H, Brunt LM, Deych E, Blood J, Kharasch ED, Anesth Analg 2019 Apr 128 4 802-810 Safety of Small-Diameter Endotracheal Tubes in Microlaryngeal Surgery. Strober WA, Enin K, Kallogjeri D, Piccirillo JF, Komen H, Rohlfing ML, Laryngoscope 2025 Apr 135 4 1451-1454 Where Medical Statistics Meets Artificial Intelligence. Sundaramoorthi D, Komen H, N Engl J Med 2023 Dec 389 25 2402-2403 Perioperative factors associated with persistent postsurgical pain after hysterectomy, cesarean section, prostatectomy, and donor nephrectomy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sharma LR, Schaldemose EL, Alaverdyan H, Nikolajsen L, Chen D, Bhanvadia S, Komen H, Yaeger L, Haroutounian S, Pain 2022 Mar 163 3 425-435 A phase 2 trial of inhaled nitrous oxide for treatment-resistant major depression. Nagele P, Palanca BJ, Gott B, Brown F, Barnes L, Nguyen T, Xiong W, Salloum NC, Espejo GD, Lessov-Schlaggar CN, Jain N, Cheng WWL, Komen H, Yee B, Bolzenius JD, Janski A, Gibbons R, Zorumski CF, Conway CR, Sci Transl Med 2021 Jun 13 597 Results 1-7 of 7 1 Books Featured Books Complications of Tracheal Intubation. In Fausts Anesthesiology Review 6th edition Trentman TL, Gaitan BD, Gali B, Johnson RL, Mueller JT, Rose SH, Weingarten TN (2023). Philadelphia, Elsevier How to Successfully Occlude an Intravenous Line. In A Case Approach to Perioperative Drug-Drug Interactions Marcucci C, Hutchens MP, Wittwer ED, Weingarten TN, Sprung J, Nicholson Sandson NB (2015). New York, Springer Professional Associations/Affiliations American Association for Physician Leadership (2014) American Society of Anesthesiologists (2014) International Anesthesia Research Society (2024) Society for Technology in Anesthesia (2024) Texas Society of Anesthesiologists (2026)
