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Interview| Volume 97, ISSUE 6, P929-942, March 15, 2006

Lawrence Harvey Cohn, MD: A Conversation With the Editor⁎

Published:February 06, 2006DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjcard.2005.12.020
Lawrence Harvey Cohn, MD: A Conversation With the Editor⁎⁎This series of interviews was underwritten by an unrestricted grant from Bristol-Myers Squibb
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      Larry Cohn was born in San Francisco, California, in 1937 and that is where he grew up. He received a BA in history from the University of California at Berkley in 1958 and his MD degree in 1962 from Stanford University School of Medicine. His internship and junior assistant residency in surgery was on the Harvard Surgical Service at Boston City Hospital from 1962 to 1964. He then was at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, for 2 years as a surgical associate in the Surgery Branch of the National Heart Institute. In 1966, he returned to San Francisco for a 3-year residency in general surgery including chief resident at the University of California. From 1969 to 1971 he was resident and chief resident in cardiothoracic surgery at the Stanford University School of Medicine. In July 1971, he and his family moved to Boston, Massachusetts, where he initially was assistant professor of surgery at the Harvard Medical School and a member of the division of cardiothoracic surgery at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. By 1980 he was full professor of surgery and in 1999 he became the Virginia and James Hubbard Professor of Cardiac Surgery at Harvard Medical School. From 1987 to 2005, Dr. Cohn served as Chief of Cardiac Surgery at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. During his nearly 35 years at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Dr. Cohn has published extensively, mainly in peer reviewed medical journals. He has evaluated a number of prosthetic and bioprosthetic heart valves. He has been a major force in simplifying cardiac surgery and making it safer and more effective. He has always been on the forefront of mitral valve repair operations and has personally performed over 2,000 of these operations. His contributions to coronary bypass procedures and those for patients with heart failure have been extensive. He continues to be an extremely active and busy cardiac surgeon. His publications in medical journals number over 400; his invited articles, editorials and reviews number nearly 100; his chapters in books number just over 100, and he has authored or edited 11 books, including the 2nd edition of Cardiac Surgery in the Adult, a major textbook in his field. His editorial activities have been extensive. For 6 years he was editor of Modern Techniques in Surgery, the founding editor of Journal of Cardiac Surgery (1985 to 1995) and presently he is editor of Operative Techniques in Cardiothoracic Surgery. He has lectured at >600 medical centers and postgraduate courses throughout the world.
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      Original Articles by LHC

        • Cohn L.H.
        • Roberts W.
        • Rockoff D.
        • Morrow A.G.
        Bacterial endocartitis following aortic valve replacement. Clinical and pathologic correlations.
        Circulation. 1966; 33: 209-217
        • Mason D.T.
        • Cohn L.H.
        • Ross J.
        • Braunwald E.
        Effects of changes in heart rate on the severity of obstruction to left ventricular outflow in idiopathic hypertrophic subaortic stenosis.
        Am J Cardiol. 1967; 19 (Dr. Cohn’s comment: First to suggest that ventricular fibrillation causes decreased left ventricular function.): 797-805
        • Reis R.L.
        • Cohn L.H.
        • Morrow A.G.
        The effects of induced ventricular fibrillation on ventricular performance and cardiac metabolism.
        Circulation. 1967; 36: 234-243
        • Vetter W.R.
        • Cohn L.H.
        • Reichgott M.
        Hypokalemia and electrocardiographic abnormalities during acute alcohol withdrawal.
        Arch Int Med. 1967; 120: 182-186
        • Cohn L.H.
        • Reis R.L.
        • Morrow A.G.
        Left ventricular function following mitral valve replacement. The effect of excision of the chordae tendineae and papillary muscles.
        J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 1968; 56 (Dr. Cohn’s comment: First to document importance of papillary muscles.): 11-15
        • Cohn L.H.
        • Powell M.
        • Seidlitz L.
        • Hamilton W.K.
        • Wylie E.J.
        Fluid requirements and shifts in patients undergoing aortic reconstruction.
        Am J Surg. 1970; 120: 182-186
        • Cohn L.H.
        • Angell W.W.
        • Shumway N.E.
        Body fluid spaces following cardiopulmonary bypass. Effects of cardiac failure and hemodilution.
        J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 1971; 62 (Dr. Cohn’s comment: References 24, 26, and 45 document body fluid spaces in patients with coronary artery disease for the first time and in 2 hospitals.): 423-430
        • Cohn L.H.
        • Kosek J.
        • Angell W.W.
        Pulmonary arteriosclerosis produced by hyperoxemic normotensive perfusion.
        Surgery. 1971; 70: 723-729
        • Cohn L.H.
        • Fogarty T.
        • Daily P.
        • Shumway N.E.
        Emergency coronary artery bypass.
        Surgery. 1971; 70 (Dr. Cohn’s comment: One of the first papers at a national meeting documenting that emergency coronary artery bypass grafting could be done with good results.): 821-829
        • Cohn L.H.
        • Gorlin R.
        • Herman M.
        • Collins Jr., J.J.
        Surgical treatment of acute coronary occlusion.
        J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 1972; 64: 503-513
        • Cohn L.H.
        • Klovekorn P.
        • Moore F.D.
        • Collins Jr., J.J.
        Intrinsic plasma volume deficits in patients with coronary artery disease. Effects of myocardial revascularization.
        Arch Surg. 1974; 108: 57-60
        • Cohn L.H.
        • Collins Jr, J.J.
        Local cardiac hypothermia for myocardial protection.
        Ann Thorac Surg. 1974; 17: 135-140
        • Fujiwara Y.
        • Cohn L.H.
        • Adams D.
        • Collins Jr., J.J.
        The use of Gortex grafts for replacement of the superior and inferior vena cava.
        J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 1974; 67: 774-779
        • Cohn P.
        • Gorlin R.
        • Collins Jr, J.J.
        • Cohn L.H.
        The left ventricular ejection fraction as a prognostic guide in the surgical treatment of coronary and valvular heart disease.
        Am J Cardiol. 1974; 34: 136-141
        • Cohn L.H.
        • Boyden C.M.
        • Collins Jr, J.J.
        Improved long-term survival following aorto-coronary bypass for advanced coronary artery disease.
        Am J Surg. 1975; 129 (Dr. Cohn’s comment: One of the first papers documenting improved survival after coronary artery bypass grafting.): 380-385
        • Cohn L.H.
        • Anderson W.
        • Fosberg A.
        • Collins Jr., J.J.
        The effects of phlebotomy, hemodilution and autologous transfusion on blood utilization in open-heart surgery.
        Chest. 1975; 68 (Dr. Cohn’s comment: Program for blood conservation in heart surgery.): 283-287
        • Sanders Jr., J.H.
        • Cohn L.H.
        • Dalen Je
        • Collins Jr, J.J.
        Emergency aortic valve replacement.
        Am J Surg. 1976; 131: 495-498
        • Florian A.
        • Cohn L.H.
        • Dammin F.G.
        • Collins Jr., J.J.
        Small vessel replacement with Gore-Tex (expanded polytetrafluoroethylene).
        Arch Surg. 1976; 111 (Dr. Cohn’s comment: One of the first papers using Gortex in blood vessels.): 267-270
        • Koster J.K.
        • Cohn L.H.
        • Collins Jr., J.J.
        • Muller J.
        • Young E.
        Continuous hypothermic arrest versus intermittent ischemia for myocardial protection during coronary revascularization.
        Ann Thorac Surg. 1977; 24: 330-336
        • Koster K.J.
        • Cohn L.H.
        • Mee R.B.
        • Collins Jr., J.J.
        Late results of operation for acute aortic dissection producing aortic insufficiency.
        Ann Thorac Surg. 1978; 26: 461-467
        • Cohn L.H.
        Thomas Jefferson’s contributions to American medicine.
        Am J Surg. 1979; 138 (Dr. Cohn’s comment: History interest.): 286-292
        • Cohn L.H.
        • Mudge G.H.
        • Pratter F.
        • Collins Jr., J.J.
        Five to eight year follow up of patients undergoing porcine bioprosthetic valve replacement.
        N Engl J Med. 1981; 304: 258-262
        • Cohn L.H.
        • Koster Jr., J.K.
        • Van Devanter S.
        • Collins Jr., J.J.
        The in-hospital risk of re-replacement of dysfunctional mitral and aortic valves.
        Circulation. 1982; 66: 153-156
        • Schoen F.J.
        • Collins Jr., J.J.
        • Cohn L.H.
        Long-term failure rate and morphologic correlations in porcine bioprosthetic heart valves.
        Am J Cardiol. 1983; 51: 957-964
        • Nunn G.R.
        • Dance G.
        • Peters J.
        • Cohn L.H.
        Effect of fluorocarbon exchange transfusion on myocardial infarction size in dogs.
        Am J Cardiol. 1983; 52: 203-205
        • Cohn L.H.
        • Allred E.N.
        • DiSesa V.J.
        • Sawtelle K.
        • Shemin R.J.
        • Collins Jr, J.J.
        Early and late risk of aortic vlave replacement. A 12-year concomitant comparison of the porcine bioprasthetic and tilting disc prosthetic aortic valves.
        J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 1984; 88: 699-705
        • Cohn L.H.
        • Allred E.N.
        • Cohn L.A.
        • DiSesa V.J.
        • Shemin R.J.
        • Collins Jr, J.J.
        Long-term results of open mitral valve reconstruction for mitral stenosis.
        Am J Cardiol. 1985; 55: 731-734
        • DiSesa V.J.
        • Gold J.P.
        • Mark J.B.
        • Kidwell F.
        • Shemin R.J.
        • Collins Jr., J.J.
        • Cohn L.H.
        Respiratory and hemodynamic effects of nitrous oxide. A dose response study in patients following cardiac surgery.
        Surg Forum. 1985; 36: 243-245
        • Stone J.J.
        • Piccione Jr., W.
        • Berrizbeitia L.D.
        • Dance G.R.
        • Schoen F.J.
        • Shemin R.J.
        • Cohn L.H.
        Hemodynamic, metabolic and morphologic effects of cardiopulmonary bypass with a fluorocarbon priming solution.
        Ann Thorac Surg. 1986; 41 (Dr. Cohn’s comment: A simple way to handle a tough problem.): 419-424
        • Gold J.P.
        • Cohn L.H.
        Operative management of the calcified patent ductus arteriosus.
        Ann Thorac Surg. 1986; 41: 567-569
        • Adler D.S.
        • Goldman L.
        • O’Neil A.
        • Cook E.F.
        • Mudge Jr., G.H.
        • Shemin R.J.
        • DiSesa V.J.
        • Cohn L.H.
        • Collins Jr, J.J.
        Long-term survival of more than 2,000 patients after coronary artery bypass grafting.
        Am J Cardiol. 1986; 58 (Dr. Cohn’s comment: Indicates residual mitral regurgitation is a very negative long-term risk factor.): 195-202
        • Gharagozloo F.
        • Melendez F.J.
        • Hein R.A.
        • Austin R.E.
        • Shemin R.J.
        • DiSesa V.J.
        • Cohn L.H.
        The effect of oxygen free radical scavengers on the recovery of regional myocardioal function after acute coronary occlusion and surgical reperfusion.
        J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 1988; 95: 631-636
        • DiSesa V.J.
        • Allred E.N.
        • Kowalker W.
        • Shemin R.J.
        • Collins Jr., J.J.
        • Cohn L.H.
        Performance of a fabricated trileaflet porcine bioprosthesis. Midterm follow-up of the Hancock modified orifice valve.
        J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 1987; 94: 220-224
        • Knight J.L.
        • Cohn L.H.
        Left thoracotomy and femoro-femoral bypass for reoperative revascularization of the posterior coronary circulation.
        J Cardiol Surg. 1987; 2: 343-349
        • Cohn L.H.
        • Kowalker W.
        • Bhatia S.
        • DiSesa V.J.
        • Shemin R.J.
        • St. John Sutton M.
        • Collins Jr., J.J.
        Comparative morbidity of mitral valve repair versus replacement for mitral regurgitation with and without coronary artery disease.
        Ann Thorac Surg. 1988; 45: 284-290
        • Cohn L.H.
        The paradox of high tech health care. Has our technology outstripped our ability to be ethical, cost effective and timely in its delivery?.
        Chest. 1988; 93 (Dr. Cohn’s comment: American College of Chest Physicians, Presidential Address.): 864-867
        • Edmunds L.H.
        • Clark R.E.
        • Cohn L.H.
        • Miller D.C.
        • Weisel R.D.
        Guidelines for reporting morbidity and mortality after cardiac valvular operation. Published Simultaneously.
        Ann Thorac Surg. 1988; 46 (J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1988;96:351–353) (Dr. Cohn’s comment: This has become the standard terminology for the statistical results of valve data.): 257-259
        • Raza S.T.
        • Tam S.K.C.
        • Sun S.C.
        • Laurence R.
        • Berkovitz B.
        • Shemin R.
        • Cohn L.H.
        Sequentially paced heterotrophic heart transplantation in the left chest provides improved circulatory support for the failed left ventricle. A potential biologic bridge to orthotopic transplantation.
        J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 1989; 98: 266-274
        • Cohn L.H.
        • DiSesa V.J.
        • Couper G.S.
        • Peigh P.S.
        • Kowalker W.
        • Collins Jr, J.J.
        Mitral valve repair for myxomatous degeneration and prolapse of the mitral valve.
        J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 1989; 98: 987-993
        • Cohn L.H.
        • Peigh P.S.
        • Sell J.
        • DiSesa V.J.
        Right thoracotomy, femoro-femoral bypass and deep hypothermia for re-replacement of the mitral valve.
        Ann Thorac Surg. 1989; 39: 53-55
        • Cohn L.H.
        • Collins Jr., J.J.
        • DiSesa V.J.
        • Couper G.S.
        • Peigh P.S.
        • Kowalker W.
        • Allred E.N.
        Fifteen-year experience with 1678 Hancock porcine bioprosthetic heart valve replacements.
        Ann Surg. 1989; 210: 435-443
        • Cohn L.H.
        • Couper G.S.
        • Kinchla N.M.
        • Collins Jr., J.J.
        Decreased operative risk of surgical treatment of mitral regurgitation with or without coronary artery disease.
        J Am Coll Cardiol. 1990; 16: 1575-1578
        • Cohn L.H.
        • Aranki S.F.
        • Rizzo R.J.
        • Adams D.H.
        • Cogswell K.A.
        • Kinchla N.M.
        • Couper G.S.
        • Collins Jr., J.J.
        Decrease in operative risk of reoperative valve surgery.
        Ann Thorac Surg. 1993; 56: 15-21
        • Cohn L.H.
        • Couper G.S.
        • Aranki S.F.
        • Rizzo R.J.
        • Kinchla N.M.
        • Collins Jr, J.J.
        Long-term results of mitral valve reconstruction for regurgitation of the myxomatous mitral valve.
        J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 1994; 107: 143-151
        • Cohn L.H.
        Tricuspid regurgitation secondary to mitral valve disease. When and how to repair.
        J Cardio Surg. 1994; 9: 237-241
        • Savage E.B.
        • Cohn L.H.
        “No touch” dissection, antegrade-retrograde blood cardioplegia, and single aortic cross-clamp significantly reduce operative mortality of reoperative CABG.
        Circulation. 1994; 90 (Dr. Cohn’s comment: Marked reduction in reoperation coronary artery bypass grafting mortality.): 140-143
        • Cohn L.H.
        • Anderson R.P.
        • Loop F.D.
        • Fosburg R.G.
        • Cunningham J.N.
        • Laks H.
        Thoracic surgery workforce report. The fourth report of the thoracic surgery workforce of the American Association of Thoracic Surgery and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons.
        J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 1995; 110: 570-585
        • Horvath K.A.
        • Mannting F.
        • Cummings N.
        • Shernan S.K.
        • Cohn L.H.
        Transmyocardial laser revascularization.
        J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 1996; 111 (Dr. Cohn’s comment: One of the first series of transmyocardial laser revascularization patients.): 1047-1053
        • Edmunds Jr., L.H.
        • Clark R.E.
        • Cohn L.H.
        • Grunkemeier G.L.
        • Miller D.C.
        • Weisel R.D.
        Guidelines for reporting morbidity and mortality after cardiac valvular operations.
        Ann Thorac Surg. 1996; 62 (Published Simultaneously) (Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 1996;10:812–816; J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1996;112:708–711): 932-935
        • Horvath K.A.
        • Cohn L.H.
        • Cooley D.A.
        • Crew J.R.
        • Frazier O.H.
        • Griffith B.P.
        • Kadipasaoglu K.
        • Lansing A.
        • Mannting F.
        • March R.
        • Mirhoseini M.R.
        • Smith C.
        Transmyocardial laser revascularization.
        J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 1997; 113: 645-654
        • Sayeed-Shah U.
        • Mann M.J.
        • Martin J.S.
        • Grachev S.
        • Reimold S.
        • Laurence R.G.
        • Dzau V.
        • Cohn L.H.
        Complete reversal of ischemic wall motion abnormalities by combined use of gene therapy with transmyocardial laser revascularization.
        J Thorac Cardvasc Surg. 1998; 116: 763-769
        • Cohn L.H.
        What the cardiothoracic surgeon of the 21st century ought to be.
        J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 1999; 118: 581-587
        • Byrne J.G.
        • Aranki S.F.
        • Couper G.S.
        • Adams D.H.
        • Allred E.N.
        • Cohn L.H.
        Reoperative aortic valve replacement.
        J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 1999; 118: 991-997
        • Cohn L.H.
        Becoming a surgical leader.
        J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2000; 119: S42-S44
        • Linden P.A.
        • Cohn L.H.
        Medium term follow-up of pulmonary autograft aortic valve replacement.
        J Heart Valve Disease. 2001; 10: 35-42
        • Byrne J.G.
        • Cohn L.H.
        The preferred approach for mitral valve surgery after CABG.
        J Heart Valve Dis. 2001; 10: 584-590
        • Greelish J.P.
        • Cohn L.H.
        • Leacche M.
        • Mitchell M.
        • Karavas A.
        • Fox J.
        • Byrne J.G.
        • Aranki S.F.
        • Couper G.S.
        Minimally invasive mitral valve repair suggests earlier operations for mitral valve disease.
        J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2003; 126: 365-371
        • Byrne J.G.
        • Karavas A.N.
        • Mihaljevic T.
        • Rawn J.D.
        • Aranki S.F.
        • Cohn L.H.
        The role of the cryopreserved homograft in isolated elective AVR.
        Am J Cardiol. 2003; 91: 616-619
        • Farivar R.S.
        • Cohn L.H.
        Hypercholesterolemia is a risk factor for bioprosthetic valve calcification and explantation.
        J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2003; 126: 969-975
        • Mihaljevic T.
        • Paul S.
        • Leacche M.
        • Farivar R.S.
        • Soltesz E.G.
        • Rawn J.D.
        • Byrne J.G.
        • Cohn L.H.
        Robotic mammary takedown and off-pump bypass surgery for single vessel disease of the left anterior descending artery.
        Am J Cardiol. 2003; 92: I222-I224
        • Yacoub M.H.
        • Cohn L.H.
        Novel approaches to cardiac valve repair: from structure to function: Part I.
        Circulation. 2004; 109: 942-950
        • Yacoub M.H.
        • Cohn L.H.
        Novel approaches to cardiac valve repair: from structure to function: Part II.
        Circulation. 2004; 109: 1064-1072
        • Mihaljevic T.
        • Cohn L.H.
        • Unic D.
        • Aranki S.F.
        • Couper G.S.
        • Byrne J.G.
        One thousand minimally invasive valve operations.
        Ann Surg. 2004; 240: 529-534
        • Byrne J.G.
        • Leacche M.
        • Unic D.
        • Rawn J.D.
        • Simon D.I.
        • Rogers C.D.
        • Cohn L.H.
        Staged initial percutaneous coronary intervention followed by valve surgery (“hybrid approach”) for patients with complex coronary and valve disease.
        J Am Coll Cardiol. 2005; 45: 14-18

      65. Gogbashian A, Sepic J, Soltesz EG, Nascimben L, Cohn LH. Operative and long-term survival of elderly is significantly improved by mitral valve repair. Am Heart J, in press.

      Article Info

      Publication History

      Published online: February 06, 2006

      Identification

      DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjcard.2005.12.020

      Copyright

      © 2006 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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