MUSC Health Pulmonary at East Cooper Medical Pavilion

Dr. Derlis C. Fleitas is an assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Allergy, and Sleep. Dr. Fleitas graduated from the National University of Asuncion in Paraguay. He completed his internship and residency at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Jacobi program in New York. He then proceeded to complete his sub-specialty training in lung transplantation, pulmonary and critical care medicine at Temple University Hospital/Lewis Katz School of Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dr. Fleitas focuses his clinical and research efforts in the areas of lung transplantation, sarcoidosis, pulmonary embolism, and advance lung disease.

Dr. Rissmiller grew up in Pennsylvania and attended Villanova University as an undergraduate. He then moved to Winston-Salem, North Carolina and spent ten years at Wake Forest University completing medical school, a residency in internal medicine and a pulmonary and critical care fellowship. He then spent nine years in Charlotte, North Carolina, at Carolinas Medical Center (Main Campus) and provided pulmonary and critical care services for patients, as well as taking an active role in resident and medical student education. Dr. Rissmiller moved to MUSC in February of 2013 and has helped expand the sarcoidosis program, as well as seeing patients with pulmonary hypertension and general inpatient and outpatient pulmonary medicine. He maintains an interest in education. He has been designated a master clinical teacher by the medical school in 2014 and was awarded the Michael E. Assey Teaching Award for the Department of Internal Medicine in 2015.

Silvana Mooney is a Nurse Practitioner working with the Pulmonary Hypertension Group, a part of the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Allergy, and Sleep Medicine. Silvana works directly with Dr. Rahul Argula and Dr. Denise Sese providing care in the outpatient setting to patients with pulmonary hypertension.

Dr. Rahul Argula was born in Hyderabad, India. He completed his medical schooling further south in the coastal town of Puducherry, at JIPMER (Jawaharlal Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education & Research). After graduating from medical school, he moved to Houston, Texas, to pursue a Master's degree in public health at the University of Texas school of Public Health, focusing on epidemiology and biostatistics. He then completed a residency in internal medicine at MUSC and following this, completed his fellowship training in pulmonary and critical care medicine, also at MUSC. In 2013, he joined the faculty at MUSC with an interest in pulmonary vascular disease. He is the director of the MUSC pulmonary vascular disease program, where patients with a multitude of pulmonary vascular diseases such as pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary vasculitides, pulmonary arterio-venous malformations, etc. are cared for. The MUSC pulmonary vascular disease program is the only one in the state of South Carolina that is designated as a comprehensive care center for patients with pulmonary hypertension by the PHA (Pulmonary Hypertension Association). Dr.Argula's research interests include pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary vascular disease in the setting of connective tissue disease, interstitial lung disease, end-stage renal disease and sarcoidosis. His clinical interests include pulmonary arterial hypertension(PAH), chronic thrombo-embolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH), pulmonary vascular disease in the setting of advanced liver disease, end stage renal disease, COPD, and interstitial lung disease. Dr.Argula is board certified in pulmonary diseases and critical care. He works together with multiple providers within the MUSC system to provide inter-disciplinary care for patients with pulmonary hypertension and other advanced lung diseases. During his inpatient service time, Dr.Argula provides care for patients admitted to the intensive care units at MUSC and also provides consultative services to hospitalized patients with pulmonary diseases.

Dr. Smith has been a practicing pulmonologist and critical care physician for several decades, most recently as the Section Chief of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the VA Hospital Medical Center in Manhattan and Professor at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. In June 2024, he relocated to South Carolina and joined the faculty of MUSC, as Clinical Professor, to practice pulmonary medicine.

Luke Domaleski, MD, is a lung and critical care specialist. He cares for people with a wide range of breathing and lung conditions, including COPD, asthma, interstitial lung disease, lung nodules, and bronchiectasis. Dr. Domaleski uses advanced techniques such as bronchoscopy and ultrasound to diagnose and treat lung problems, and he performs procedures like thoracentesis to help patients breathe more comfortably. He believes in partnering closely with patients and their families, making sure each person understands their diagnosis and treatment options. After earning his medical degree from The George Washington University School of Medicine, Dr. Domaleski trained in internal medicine at the University of Cincinnati and completed fellowship training in pulmonology and critical care at Emory University. He takes pride in guiding patients through complex lung conditions with clear communication and a focus on improving everyday quality of life.

Dr. Aravind Menon is a Pulmonary and Critical Care physician and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine. He specializes in treating patients with Interstitial Lung Diseases, a type of chronic lung disease that can cause scarring in the lungs. Dr. Menon earned his medical degree from Kasturba Medical College in the Manipal, India. He was subsequently accepted into the Internal Medicine residency program at Boston University. During his residency, he was inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) honor medical society and was subsequently also chosen to serve as a Chief Resident at Boston University and the Veterans Affairs Hospital, West Roxbury, Boston. He pursued additional training through a fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the Harvard Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. His clinical and research interest in Interstitial Lung Diseases (ILD) spurred him to dedicate the fourth year of his fellowship in pursuing a Master's in Public Health (MPH) at the Harvard T.H Chan School of Public Health focusing on epidemiology and biostatistics. Dr. Menon's research interests include early interstitial lung disease and CT-based phenotyping of early interstitial lung disease.

Dr. Denise Gabrielle Sese is a pulmonary and critical care specialist. She sees patients both in the outpatient office as well as in the hospital and intensive care units. She has a subspecialty in pulmonary hypertension (PH) which is a cause of shortness of breath that goes undiagnosed in many patients that present with heart failure and some advanced lung and systemic diseases such as scleroderma, sarcoidosis, lung fibrosis, COPD and connective tissue diseases.Her research interests include patient centered outcomes such as looking at improving the quality of life advanced lung disease patients specifically with pulmonary hypertension. She has a special interest in palliative care and pulmonary medicine, improving systems of communication and improving access to supportive care for those with advanced lung disease. She finished her fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. She went to medical school at the University of the Philippines- Philippine General Hospital and graduated from the internal medicine program of Cleveland Clinic Akron General where she was also the chief resident for internal medicine.

Dr. Ennis James became interested in sarcoidosis as a pulmonary and critical care fellow at Virginia Commonwealth University and joined the pulmonary faculty at MUSC in 2015. Dr James currently serves as the Program Director for the Susan Pearlstine Sarcoidosis Center of Excellence, and strongly believes in its vision to improve the lives of sarcoidosis patients by providing coordinated, patient-focused multidisciplinary care and cutting edge sarcoidosis research. He is happy to see sarcoidosis patients with any type of organ involvement. For additional information about the sarcoidosis program, please visit www.musc.edu/sarcoidosis