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Date Published: Thursday, February 2, 2023
Date Updated: Friday, June 30, 2023

New York Medical College and Westchester Medical Center Appoint Steven Lansman, MD, PhD, to Lead Department of Surgery

Dr. Lansman had served as interim surgery chair and director since November 2021.

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VALHALLA N.Y. (February 2, 2023) – Steven Lansman, MD, PhD, has been named Chair of the Department of Surgery at New York Medical College School of Medicine and Director of the Department of Surgery at Westchester Medical Center.

Dr. Lansman had served as interim surgery chair and director since November 2021. 

"It is our pleasure and privilege to have Dr. Lansman serve in these roles and we are excited to work together with him as he advances the mission of the Departments of Surgery at both New York Medical College and Westchester Medical Center,'' said Jerry L. Nadler, MD, Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology and Dean at New York Medical College (NYMC) School of Medicine. Renee Garrick, MD, Chief Medical Officer, WMCHealth and NYMC Vice Dean Westchester Medical Center, said Dr. Lansman was instrumental in building Westchester Medical Center's cardiac transplant program and introducing the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), among other healthcare therapy advances at Westchester Medical Center.

"The Cardiac Transplant Program at Westchester Medical Center is now one of the most active centers in the International Heart Transplant Registry, thanks in part to Dr. Lansman," said Dr. Garrick. "He has a long and distinguished record of accomplishments at Westchester Medical Center, and we are fortunate to have him as our Director of the Department of Surgery.''

Dr. Lansman joined the faculty of New York Medical College as professor of surgery and the clinical staff of Westchester Medical Center as Chief of the Section of Cardiothoracic Surgery in 2005.

As Section Chief, Dr. Lansman was instrumental in obtaining state and federal authorization to launch the cardiac transplant program at Westchester Medical Center and helped establish the mechanical assist device program at the hospital. Dr. Lansman and his team were also the first to report the use of ECMO as the definitive treatment of massive pulmonary embolism.

Dr. Lansman also oversaw the addition of a hybrid operating room at Westchester Medical Center, and the related expansion of minimally invasive and catheter-based approaches to aortic valve replacement and mitral valve repairs.

Dr. Lansman has more than 150 peer-reviewed publications and authored 13 book chapters, and serves as a valued mentor to junior faculty, residents and students at New York Medical College. 

Previously, Dr. Lansman was on the medical staff of Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City, where he started the hospital's heart transplant program and performed the first cardiac transplant at Mount Sinai in 1986. He also directed Mount Sinai's Mechanical Assist and Heart and Lung Transplant Program. Before joining Mount Sinai Medical Center, Dr. Lansman served as interim chief of cardiothoracic surgery for SUNY Brooklyn, the Brooklyn VA Hospital and Kings County Hospital. 

Since 1988, he has organized and directed the Aortic Symposium Series, an internationally recognized forum for aortic surgery that typically draws more than 1,000 participants. In 2001-2002, Dr. Lansman served as president of the New York Society of Thoracic Surgery.

Dr. Lansman received his MD and PhD (Biophysics) degrees in 1977 from the State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate Health Science Center. 

About Westchester Medical Center Health Network
The Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth) is a 1,700-bed healthcare system headquartered in Valhalla, New York, with nine hospitals on seven campuses spanning 6,200 square miles of the Hudson Valley. WMCHealth employs more than 13,000 people and has nearly 3,000 attending physicians. The Network has Level I (adult and pediatric), Level II and Level III trauma centers, the region's only acute care children's hospital, an academic medical center, several community hospitals, dozens of specialized institutes and centers, Comprehensive and Primary Stroke Centers, skilled nursing, assisted living facilities, home-care services and one of the largest mental health systems in New York State. Today, WMCHealth is the pre-eminent provider of integrated health care in the Hudson Valley. For more information about WMCHealth, visit WMCHealth.org or follow WMCHealth on Facebook.com/WMCHealth or Instagram.com/WMCHealth.


About New York Medical College
Founded in 1860, New York Medical College is one of the oldest and largest health sciences colleges in the country with nearly 1,500 students and 330 residents and clinical fellows, more than 2,600 faculty members and 23,200 living alumni. The College, which joined the Touro College and University System in 2011, is located in Westchester County, New York, and offers degrees from the School of Medicine, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, the School of Health Sciences and Practice, a School of Dental Medicine and a School of Nursing. NYMC provides a wide variety of clinical training opportunities for students, residents, and practitioners.

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