Venous disease is one of the most common and most underestimated conditions affecting the legs. The aching, the swelling, the skin changes, the wounds that resist healing — these are not simply signs of aging. They are the visible consequences of a circulatory problem that, when properly diagnosed and treated, can be addressed effectively and durably. Dr. Schmetterer brings more than 34 years of cardiothoracic and vascular surgical experience to every evaluation, in a Youngstown office setting that allows for unhurried, thorough, personalized care.
Understanding What Is Happening
Vein Conditions
Venous disease presents differently in every patient, and identifying the condition driving a patient's symptoms is where every treatment plan begins.
Conditions treated at this practice range from chronic venous insufficiency, the underlying valve failure behind most venous problems, to varicose veins, spider veins, venous ulcers, and lymphedema. Each has its own pattern of symptoms, its own rate of progression, and its own implications for treatment. A duplex ultrasound, performed by the practice’s two dedicated vascular technicians, maps the venous system at the first visit and identifies the source before any recommendation is made.
Matched to What the Ultrasound Shows
Vein Treatments
Every procedure at this practice was chosen because it is the most effective, least invasive option for the specific type of vein it treats.
Treatment options include radiofrequency ablation, VenaSeal medical adhesive closure, Varithena foam sclerotherapy, Asclera sclerotherapy, and Nimbl pneumatic compression therapy. The recommendation follows the ultrasound findings and each patient’s anatomy — not a standard menu. All procedures are performed in the Youngstown office on an outpatient basis, most patients drive themselves home, and Medicare, Medicaid, and most private plans cover treatment when medical necessity is documented.
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Full Bio
In 1967, at age eleven, Dr. Schmetterer watched the first successful human heart transplant captivate the evening news and the cover of Time magazine. He went to the public library and read every book he could find on the heart, lungs, and blood vessels. What followed, in the news and in a seventh-grade science class, only deepened that interest: the development of the artificial heart by Dr. Michael DeBakey, and the year his grandfather traveled to Texas to undergo a vascular bypass operation by DeBakey himself. The operation saved his grandfather’s leg and added years to his life. From that point forward, Dr. Schmetterer’s efforts were directed toward a single goal.
Undergraduate studies at Duke University and Oxford led to medical school at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. Two years followed at the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, where he conducted original laboratory research in pulmonary vascular function and collaborated with scientists at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology and George Washington University. During those years, his father required carotid artery surgery and coronary bypass surgery, and later suffered from peripheral vascular disease. Those experiences, alongside his work in thoracic surgical oncology and the loss of a close family member to lung cancer, sharpened his sense of purpose across every branch of cardiovascular and vascular surgery.
After completing his general surgery residency at the University of Illinois, he entered a cardiothoracic fellowship in Los Angeles. He completed that training in 1992 and joined the surgical staff at Northside Hospital and St. Elizabeth’s in Youngstown, expanding his practice over the years to other hospitals in the Mahoning Valley. In the decades that followed, he performed open and minimally invasive surgery across the full spectrum of cardiothoracic and vascular disease, with a particular focus on limb salvage surgery for patients whose legs were at risk.
The evolution toward a dedicated venous practice grew from an unexpected direction. His wife, Dr. Susan Woods, is a dermatologist who had long treated patients with spider veins and cosmetic venous concerns. Over time, she recognized that many of her patients had symptoms that went far beyond appearance. Beneath the visible veins lay venous insufficiency with real and progressive consequences: aching, heaviness, swelling, skin changes, venous stasis ulcers, and in some cases blood clots. Together, Dr. Schmetterer and Dr. Woods attended phlebology conferences and studied the advances transforming the field. The introduction of duplex ultrasound imaging had changed everything, making it possible to identify refluxing veins precisely and treat them safely in an office setting, without general anesthesia and without a hospital stay. From that shared learning, their combined clinic took shape, bringing together the cosmetic treatment of surface veins and the medically necessary treatment of the deeper venous disease driving so many patients’ suffering.
Dr. Schmetterer now leads Schmetterer MD Vein & Vascular, providing the full spectrum of venous and vascular care in a dedicated outpatient setting in Youngstown, Ohio. He continues to follow the patients he has cared for over the years, including those who have undergone cardiac, thoracic, and arterial procedures, coordinating their ongoing care in collaboration with their primary care physicians and specialists. For more than 34 years, his daily motivation has remained unchanged: helping the people of this community return to the lives they want to live.
