Dr. Neri M Cohen M.D.

Cardiothoracic Surgeon

6569 N Charles St Suite 400 Towson MD, 21204 Show map

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About

Specializing in cardiothoracic surgery and surgery, Neri Cohen, MD, PhD, FACS, FCCP is one of the country's most highly rated doctors. Dr. Neri Cohen is an accomplished Surgeon, Senior Executive, Consultant, and Thought Leader with more than 20 years of success in clinical medicine and the healthcare and information technology industries. Leveraging extensive experience with clinical practice, both basic research and clinical trials research, venture capital, and legal and government policy advocacy, Dr. Cohen is a valuable asset for companies seeking guidance on leadership, healthcare, science and information technology. His broad areas of scientific expertise include biotech, oncology, immunology, acquisition, implementation and optimization of information technology, contracting, discovery in pharmaceuticals, bioengineering, and big data analysis, including artificial intelligence and machine learning. Currently, Dr. Cohen serves as Chief of the Division of Thoracic Surgery; Vice-Chair of the Department of Surgery for Innovation, Information, and Technology at GBMC Healthcare, as well as Head of the Thoracic Oncology Program at the Sandra & Malcolm Berman Cancer Institute. Throughout his career, Dr. Cohen has held leadership positions in various roles of progressive seniority. He is currently actively involved with Firefly Medical Inc. as Chief Medical Officer; Bearpac Medical as Chief Medical Officer; The Center for Healthcare Innovation as President; Greater Baltimore Medical Center in various roles of progressive seniority; Atrium Medical as Consultant. In the past he has been involved with The Baltimore County Medical Association as President and then Chairman of the Board; GroupMD as Chief Medical Innovation & Information Officer, and VCU Health as Head, Section of Thoracic Surgery. Dr. Cohen has been the recipient of numerous Honors, including the Joel J Roslyn Faculty Research Award from the Association for Academic Surgery and the 2012 Health IT Innovation Exchange Award from the World Healthcare Innovation and Technology Congress. He has been named as one of “America’s Top Doctors” (Top 1%), selected by US News & World Report for the past 8 years (2011-2018), and he was named a Top Doc by Baltimore Magazine for the past 10 years (2008-2017). Dr. Cohen obtained a BA in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (with honors) concurrent with an MS in Neurobiology and Physiology (with honors), both from Northwestern University (Honors Masters program); a PhD in Physiology & Biophysics from the University of Maryland concurrent with an MD from the University of Maryland at Baltimore School of Medicine (combined MD/PhD Medical Scientist Program). He is double board-certified in General Surgery and Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the American College of Chest Physicians. He has served on the Advisory Council for Verizon HealthCare, and as Head of the Section of General Thoracic Surgery, Surgical Director of Lung Transplantation, Director of the Cardiovascular and Thoracic Residency Training Program and Chief of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Research at the Medical College of Virginia of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA. He was concurrently Chairman of the Medical Advisory Committee of the LifeNet Organ Procurement Organization. Dr. Cohen’s NIH-funded research in cardiac electrophysiology discovered electrical protection strategies for cardiac surgery and thoracic organ transplantation, for which he was awarded a US Patent.

Education and Training

University of Maryland PhD 1987

University of Maryland MD 1989

Medical College of Virginia General Surgey 1996

Medical College of Virginia Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery 1998

Cleveland Clinic Foundation Thoracic Transplantation 1998

Northwestern University BA 1982

University of Maryland School of Medicine 1989

Board Certification

SurgeryAmerican Board of SurgeryABS

Thoracic SurgeryAmerican Board of Thoracic SurgeryABTS

Provider Details

MaleEnglish 28 years of experience

Dr. Neri M Cohen M.D.

Dr. Neri M Cohen M.D.'s Expert Contributions

My Answers

My son is 8 years old and has been detected with a hole in the heart. Is surgery the only option?
Although it sounds very scary to hear that your child may have a problem, congenital heart defects are common and are frequently easily correctable. If the hole hasn’t closed on it’s own by a certain age, the recommendations usually are to close the hole to prevent complications and avoid delays in growth and development. Depending on the location and size of the ‘hole’, it may be correctable with catheter based technology by a pediatric interventional cardiologist, or may require surgery. You certainly should have your child seen and evaluated by a pediatric cardiologist, even if that entails travel to a major medical center, who can better explain the problem and options forward therapy. READ MORE
What causes increased heart rate in a pregnant woman?
Not knowing the details of your wife’s general medical or OB history, I would talk to your OB to get a more complete answer to your question. In general, however, mild tachycardia (increased heart rate) is very common in pregnancy, especially in the later stages, is not dangerous and, in fact, is expected. It is usually caused by a combination of changes in blood volume distribution between the mom, placenta and baby, and a loss of capacity to increase the stroke volume of each heartbeat as the uterus rises out of the pelvis increasing intra-abdominal pressure and pushing the diaphragm up so the heart compensates the demand for increased output by beating faster. READ MORE
Would LAD lesion cause tachycardia?
Tachycardia can be caused by many things, some related directly to your heart and some because of other, more systemic issues - infection, inflammatory processes, abnormal hormone levels, etc. With regard to your specific query, 65% blockage of a coronary artery is usually not enough obstruction to be blood flow limiting and typically would not be clinically significant to require correction other than interventions to prevent further progression - diet modification, exercise, control of blood pressure, glucose levels and inflammation. READ MORE
How can I tell if it's a heart attack or just a chest pain?
Chest pain can be caused by many things - some life threatening like heart attack and some annoying but completely benign like pleurisy. Typically, chest pain of a cardiac origin is described more as pressure (‘an elephant sitting on my chest’) and can also radiate to the arm or jaw, and may be more commonly induced by increased cardiac demand like exercise, anxiety or stress. Chest pain as a result of inflammatory conditions in the chest, such as pleurisy or costochondritis, is described as sharp and stabbing, is very short lived, and is induced by situations that increase intrathoracic pressure - deep breath, cough or sneeze. READ MORE
My 4 year old son recently has an irregular heartbeat. Would he need a transplant in the future?
Irregular heartbeat, especially in children, can be caused by many things, only one of which is congenital heart defect and only rarely would that require transplantation. I would talk to your doctor(s) about what the specific diagnosis of the irregular heartbeat is, before jumping directly to questions about transplantation. If indeed the irregular heartbeat is caused by congenital heart disease, frequently that can be repaired and your child would be expected to have a completely normal life. Transplant immunology - what you asked about regarding rejection - is a very complicated subject - and for solid organs - liver, kidney, pancreas, heart, lung - is a life-long risk, and although it diminishes over time, requires long-term anti-rejection medications. READ MORE
What happens in a person to trigger a myocardial infarction?
Many factors contribute to the risk factors for myocardial infarction (MI). Currently, we believe that it a combination of narrowed coronary arteries from atherosclerosis with damage to the inner lining of the blood vessel that leads to turbulent flow and attraction of inflammatory cells and proteins to the damaged artery. When the blood flow is slow and turbulent enough, and the inflammation significant enough to attract enough platelets, a plug is formed in the artery which blocks the blood flow to that area of heart muscle, causing the muscle cells to die (infarction). READ MORE
What does an angioplasty procedure involve?
Angioplasty is done to relieve narrowing in an artery because of atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis causes the narrowing by stimulating the body to respond to inflammation which leads a plaque that is made up of tissues or varying hardness. Angioplasty is done by inflating a balloon inside the artery at the area of plaque formation to compress the softer tissues and crack and reduce the harder tissues in the plaque, thereby opening up the lumen of the blood vessel to allow for better blood flow. Frequently, a stent is inserted after the balloon angioplasty to keep the treated area of the blood vessel open. READ MORE
I have been detected with a growth in my esophagus. Should I consult a cardiothoracic surgeon?
There are many different types of “growths” in the esophagus, some benign some malignant, some causing symptoms others asymptomatic. Yes you should consult with a cardiothoracic surgeon to better understand what the nature of the growth is, and whether it requires surgical therapy. READ MORE