Leading Northeast Ohio in Vein and Vascular Health
Dr. Lawrence Schmetterer
In 1967 I was 11 years old. This was the year that the first human heart transplant was successfully completed in Cape Town, South Africa by Dr. Christian Barnard. The announcement was etched in my memory as this event captivated the evening news, newspaper headlines and the cover of Time magazine. This medical landmark was my introduction to medicine and the cardiovascular system. I visited the public library and read every book I could find on the heart, lungs and blood vessels.
What closely followed was the development of the artificial heart by the world-famous surgeon, Dr. Michael DeBakey in Houston, Texas. Dr. DeBakey appeared larger than life in the news. In seventh grade science class, we studied a cow’s heart, lungs and blood vessels. I was quite impressed, at the age of 13 years, when my grandfather traveled to Texas in order to undergo a vascular bypass operation by Dr. DeBakey himself. The operation saved my grandfather’s leg and added many years to his life.
For me, these events were amazing and further drew my interest to the field of cardiovascular disease. Nothing mattered more to me than becoming a surgeon trained to repair the heart, lungs and blood vessels. From that point forward, all efforts and decisions were directed to achieving that goal.
Hard work led to undergraduate studies at Duke University and Oxford, then medical school at the University of Illinois in Chicago with research in cardiac disease and a residency in General Surgery. Two additional years were spent at the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda where my experience deepened in cardiovascular and lung physiology. I was given the opportunity to perform original laboratory research in pulmonary vascular function and collaborated with scientists at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology and George Washington University who shared a common interest. During this time, my father required carotid artery surgery and coronary bypass surgery, both events spurring my desire to treat these diseases. He later suffered greatly from peripheral vascular disease, again, pushing me forward to treat others with this affliction. My experience in thoracic surgical oncology at the University of Illinois and a close family member with lung cancer also fueled my desire to pursue the surgical treatment of lung cancer.
After general surgery residency, I entered my cardiothoracic fellowship which brought me to Los Angeles for two years. I completed my training in 1992 and accepted a position to practice heart, lung and vascular surgery at Northside Hospital and St. Elizabeth’s in Youngstown, and have since expanded my practice to other hospitals in the Mahoning Valley. Perhaps due to my family’s involvement with vascular disease, my interest in limb salvage surgery developed further. I was fortunate to learn from leaders in this field and have employed these advanced techniques in my practice. My practice in treating diseases of the chest, most notably lung cancer, has been extremely rewarding. I have had the great experience to follow many patients who are long-term cancer survivors, some over twenty years since their surgery.
For the past 34 years, I have cared for people who live in my community. While my original childhood inspiration came from a titan of cardiovascular surgery, my daily motivation is to pursue what I love: fixing people and making them better so that they can enjoy all that life has to offer in our Valley. Whether it is bike riding along the Ohio Pyle River, walking through Mill Creek Park, attending a 50th wedding anniversary or attacking the cookie table at a wedding, good health is necessary to enjoy these activities to their fullest. I consider it a deep honor and privilege to be trusted and allowed to care for members of my community.
The Leading Vascular & Thoracic Surgeon Of Choice In Northeast Ohio
Dr. Lawrence Schmetterer
During my years of vascular training and surgical practice, I performed the full range of procedures that once defined standard treatment for venous disease: high ligation, vein stripping, and phlebectomy. These operations were effective, but they were also invasive, typically requiring general anesthesia, hospital admission, and a significant recovery period. Over time, the field began to evolve, and the evolution became personal in a direction I did not expect.
My wife, Dr. Susan Woods, is a dermatologist who treated many patients with spider veins and cosmetic venous concerns. What she began to notice was that many of these patients had symptoms that went far beyond appearance. Beneath the visible veins was a deeper problem: venous insufficiency leading to aching, heaviness, swelling, skin changes, and in some cases venous ulcers or clotting. These were not cosmetic issues. They were vascular diseases, and they needed to be treated as such.
Together, we began attending phlebology conferences and studying the rapidly advancing field of minimally invasive venous intervention. The introduction of duplex ultrasound changed everything, allowing precise identification of refluxing veins and enabling treatments that could be performed safely in an outpatient setting, without general anesthesia and without hospitalization. What emerged from that work was a shared clinical philosophy: treat the visible veins, but never stop at what is visible.
Today, I lead a comprehensive venous practice that integrates both medically necessary treatment of venous insufficiency and cosmetic management of superficial veins, including ultrasound-guided interventions, endovenous procedures, and sclerotherapy, selected and tailored based on each patient’s anatomy and disease pattern. It is, in many ways, a continuation of the same work I began decades ago: treating vascular disease at its source, now in a setting that allows for more precision, less invasiveness, and closer continuity with patients.
Treating Veins with Precision and Purpose
A New Focus. The Same Standard of Care
After more than 34 years in the operating room, repairing hearts, treating lung cancer, and rebuilding arterial circulation, I have transitioned my practice to the focused evaluation and management of venous disease in an outpatient setting. This is not a departure from surgery. It is a refinement of it.
Venous disease is common, often underrecognized, and profoundly impactful. The aching, the swelling, the skin changes, the wounds that do not heal: these are not minor complaints. They affect how people move through their day, how long they can stand, and whether they can enjoy the simple rhythms of life in this community. My role now is to apply the full depth of my surgical and vascular training to these conditions, in a setting that allows for careful evaluation, thoughtful decision-making, and unhurried patient care.
Just as importantly, I continue to care for the patients I have treated over the years. Those who have undergone cardiac, thoracic, and vascular procedures remain under my long-term follow-up, in coordination with their primary physicians and specialists. Continuity of care is not something I stepped away from. It remains an essential part of my practice.
At its core, the work is unchanged: restoring function, reducing suffering, and helping people return to the lives they want to live. That still means the walks along the Ohio River, the long days that end at a family gathering, and the cookie table at a Youngstown wedding that no one in this valley ever skips. After all these years, that is still the goal.
New E-Book
The
Vein
Health
Blueprint
Expert guidance on understanding and treating venous conditions.
