Steven M. Cohen, DO Owner verified

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Steven M Cohen, DO, FACS, the director of robotic pancreas surgery at the Northwell Cancer Institute, is a leading expert in the Whipple procedure (also called a pancreaticoduodenectomy). This robotic surgery, often used to treat pancreatic cancer, involves the removal of the pancreatic head, duodenum, gallbladder and bile duct, and the reconstruction of the gastrointestinal tract. Robotic versus open pancreas surgery is less invasive, there is less post-operative pain, and the hospital stay and healing process are shorter. Dr. Cohen's path to medicine started on a soccer field in college. I had some injuries and was amazed by how much the physiotherapists and orthopedic guys helped me. I was fascinated by how they did it, and I've always enjoyed helping others. His focus on pancreatic cancer stemmed from a family member who fought the disease during his childhood.Teaching and team building are two of Dr. Cohen's passions. Before coming to Northwell, he spent 15 years at NYU Langone Health, where he served as an award-winning associate professor of surgery at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine and helped build the Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary (HPB) division and robotic pancreas surgery program, and was an integral part of growing the surgical oncology pancreas program at Bellevue Hospital. He was drawn to Northwell by the opportunity to create the largest and most innovative pancreatic program in the Northeast at one of the fastest growing healthcare systems in the country.Dr. Cohen is especially grateful for the staff and framework at Northwell. To harness the technical and innovative aspects of robotics, you need a very cohesive and exceptionally talented team, which we have here. The coordination starts the second the phone call comes in. From our well-trained intake staff to specialists from every department, everyone is involved and communicating from the beginning. If you have that approach to patients and their families, the result is always going to be the highest level of care. I'm all in, all the time, and my core group of partners are the same way. Northwell tends to attract that type of physician.In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Cohen conducts research on the benefits of robotic pancreatic surgery and how to optimize resident training. He is also active in the Americas Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association (AHPBA) and Lustgarten Pancreas Cancer Foundation and is a speaker on robotic surgery at events such as the New York City Pancreatic Cancer Consortium. I treat my patients like they're my family from the moment I meet them. It's a tough disease and it's going to be a rollercoaster ride, but we're going to ride it together.

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