Brian Cmolik MD, FACS

Cmolik has been part of the Cleveland VA Medical Staff since 1993, serving most recently as Chief of Surgery Service since 2013. He began his career with the VA as a cardiothoracic surgeon in 1993, and became Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery in 2006. Dr. Cmolik completed his undergraduate education at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1979 and received his medical degree in 1985 from Northeastern Ohio Medical University. He is an Associate Professor of Surgery at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

He remains actively involved clinically in the surgery service, and in clinical research in the cooperative studies program at the VA. During his tenure as Surgical Service Chief, he initiated programs in robotic surgery, transcatheter aortic valve replacement, destination therapy for mechanical circulatory support, and opened a freestanding ambulatory surgery center. His clinical interests are in the management of postoperative cardiac and thoracic surgical patients. He has also served as an acting Veterans Integrated Services Networks region 10 chief surgical consultant. Presently he remains active in the thoracic surgery residency programs of University Hospitals as well as the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, and has been a key faculty member in the general surgical residency program of University Hospitals of Cleveland since 1993.