Dr. S. Jacob Scheinerman, MD
Associate Chairman, Cardiothoracic Surgery

Dr. S. Jacob Scheinerman has been a cardiac surgeon for more than 18 years and specializes in minimally invasive surgery. He has expertise in all aspects of cardiac surgery, including minimally invasive treatment of atrial septal defects — a hole in the wall between the two upper chambers of the heart.

Before joining LIJ, Dr. Scheinerman practiced in Hartford, CT, at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center, which is home to one of New England's most active and prestigious private cardiothoracic surgical practices. He held an academic appointment of assistant clinical professor of surgery at the University of Connecticut Medical Center. He was also a consultant to thoracic and cardiovascular surgery at the Rehab Hospital of Connecticut.

While in Hartford, Dr. Scheinerman devoted a great deal of time to providing charity medical care to Russian immigrants. In recognition of those efforts, he was honored by the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford for his generosity and dedication to providing health care to new members of the community. He was also president of the Central Connecticut affiliate of the American Heart Association and chaired its annual fundraising dinner from 2000 to 2005.

Dr. Scheinerman is board certified by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery and the American Board of Surgery. A graduate of New York University (NYU) School of Medicine, he received his residency training at NYU Hospital, Bellevue Hospital Center and the Manhattan VA Medical Center. He also completed his fellowship in cardiothoracic surgery at NYU Hospital, Bellevue Hospital Center and the Manhattan VA Medical Center. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from NYU's undergraduate program.

Dr. Scheinerman was appointed Associate Chairman of Cardiothoracic Surgery for LIJ Medical Center in December 2006.

Dr. L. Michael Graver, MD, FACS
Chief, Adult Cardiac Surgery

Dr. L. Michael Graver was born in Buffalo, NY. He completed the six-year BS/MD program at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Albany Medical College in 1977. His surgical training was at the Roosevelt Hospital in New York City and was followed by a year of cardiovascular pharmacology research at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical School. After a two year cardiothoracic residency in Boston at the Boston Children's Hospital and New England Deaconess Hospital he returned to New York and joined the staff of Long Island Jewish Medical Center in 1985.

Dr. Graver currently serves as the president of the New York Society for Thoracic Surgery. He is a Professor of clinical cardiothoracic surgery at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He has been named in the New York Magazine "Top Physician" list each year since 1999. He is the author or coauthor of more than 50 papers and two book chapters in the field of cardiothoracic surgery. His clinical areas of interest are valvular surgery, surgery of the ascending aorta and arch and revascularization surgery.

Dr. Graver was appointed chairman of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in 1992 and Chief in 2006. He is also the program director of LIJ's cardiothoracic surgery training program.

Dr. Frank Manetta, MD, FACS
Program Director

Dr. Frank Manetta was raised on Long Island. He obtained his Bachelors of Science degree in Nutritional Biochemistry from Cornell University. He subsequently graduated from The Medical College of Pennsylvania with a Medical Doctorate degree. Dr. Manetta then completed his General Surgery Residency at Albany Medical Center. During that time, Dr Manetta was inducted into the medical honor society Alpha Omega Alpha and received the Silver Scalpel Award for his excellence in medical student teaching.

From Albany, Dr. Manetta then completed his thoracic residency training at Long Island Jewish Medical Center. After two years of private practice in adult cardiothoracic surgery, Dr. Manetta has returned to Long Island Jewish Medical Center.

Dr. Manetta is currently an attending cardiothoracic surgeon at Long Island Jewish Medical Center and an Assistant Professor of Surgery at Albert Einstein School of Medicine. He is board certified by both The American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a member of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Dr. Manetta is also a member of other national and local surgical and medical societies. His clinical interests include Beating Heart Surgery, Surgery for Atrial Fibrillation, Valvular Surgery, General Thoracic Surgery and Lung Volume Reduction Surgery.

Dr. Robert S. Palazzo, MD, FACS

Dr. Robert S. Palazzo was born in Brooklyn, NY. He completed his undergraduate degree at Fordham University and then went on to get a Masters Degree in Physiology and his MD from Georgetown University School of Medicine. He completed his General Surgery residency at Massachusetts General Hospital and went on to do a year of cardiothoracic research and a two-year cardiothoracic fellowship at Barnes Hospital Washington University in St. Louis. He then returned to New York and joined the staff of the Long Island Jewish Medical Center.

Dr. Palazzo is currently an Attending in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery and an Assistant Professor in clinical cardiothoracic surgery at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He is board certified in Cardiothoracic Surgery and a member of several professional societies including the Society of Thoracic Surgery and The American Heart Association. A full list can be accessed by going to the find a member link of the Society of Thoracic Surgery Web site.

Dr. Palazzo's clinical interests are valve surgery, thoracic aortic surgery, endografting and coronary revascularization.

Dr. David Zeltsman, MD

Dr. David Zeltsman is the Chief of Thoracic Surgery in the Divison of Thoracic Surgery at Long Island Jewish Medical Center. Dr. Zeltsman possesses extensive experience in minimally invasive thoracic surgery. His special interests include all aspects of thoracic oncology including surgical management of tumors of the lung, esophagus, mediastinum, and the chest wall. Dr. Zeltsman also offers videoscopic lung resections, esophageal minimally invasive surgery for benign conditions, and antireflux procedures, as well as video-assisted thoracic surgery for palmar hyperhydrosis (sweaty palms). Dr. Zeltsman has additional expertise in tracheal surgery and extensive experience in interventional bronchoscopy, tracheal and bronchial stent placement, and laser interventions.

Before joining the North Shore-LIJ Health System, Dr. Zeltsman was in charge of thoracic surgery at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, and held an academic appointment of assistant professor of surgery at Jefferson Medical School.

Dr. Zeltsman is board certified by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery and the American Board of Surgery. He is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He is also a member of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons and the Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons.

Dr. Zeltsman is the author of various papers and has been published in peer-reviewed journals. He is also the author of numerous book chapters and abstracts.

Dr. Zeltsman is a graduate of Moscow Medical School and completed his pediatric surgery training in Moscow, Russia. He received his cardiothoracic training at UMDNJ/Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ, and his general surgical training at Mercy Catholic Medical Center in Philadelphia, PA. He also completed his visiting fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania in Heart and Lung Transplantation and Ventricular Assist Devices.

Dr. Lawrence R. Glassman, MD
Chief, Division of Thoracic Surgery

Dr. Glassman became the Chief of Thoracic Surgery in the Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery at North Shore University Hospital in 2003. He is a graduate of New York University School of Medicine, 1981.

His post-graduate medical training includes a residency in general surgery at the University of Minnesota and New York University Medical Center. Dr. Glassman completed fellowships in cardiothoracic surgery at the National Institutes of Health, Memorial Sloan Kettering and New York University Medical Center and also obtained special training in lung transplantation at the University of Pittsburgh's Department of Surgery.
Dr. Glassman is board certified by the American Board of Surgery-General Surgery, the American Board of Thoracic Surgery and the American Board of Surgery-Critical Care. Dr. Glassman is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation, the New York State Society of Thoracic Surgeons and the American College of Chest Physicians.

Dr. Glassman's areas of expertise include lung cancer, surgery for emphysema, esophageal cancer, tracheal thoracoscopic surgery, surgical treatment of myasthenia gravis and mediastinal tumor surgery.

Dr. Kevin Hyman, MD
Thoracic Surgery

Dr. Kevin Hyman joined North Shore University Hospital in 2007. He received his post-graduate medical training in both general and cardiothoracic surgery at New York University Medical Center. This was followed by a year of specialized fellowship training in advanced minimally invasive thoracic surgery at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. He is a graduate of Cornell University College of Arts and Sciences and Cornell University Medical College. Dr. Hyman is board certified by the American Board of Surgery and American Board of Thoracic Surgery.

Dr. Hyman has published in numerous peer-reviewed journals, including Surgery, the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, the American Journal of Pathology and the Journal of Clinical Immunology and Immunopathology.

Dr. Hyman's area of expertise is thoracic surgery, with special emphasis on the minimally invasive approaches to lung and esophageal cancer, mediastinal tumors, myasthenia gravis, anti-reflux surgery and emphysema surgery. Dr. Hyman is also skilled at an array of endobrochial and endoscopic therapies, including stenting and laser therapy.