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Memorial Sloan Kettering surgeon Valeria Silva Merea

Valeria Silva Merea, MD

Head and Neck Surgeon

My Role at MSK

Areas of Expertise

My Specialties

  • Vocal Cord Cancer
  • Vocal Cord Leukoplakia
  • Vocal Cord Paralysis
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Dr. Silva Merea's Office Information
Languages: English & Spanish
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About Me

What I Do at MSK
  • Director, Speech and Hearing Center
Get To Know Me

I am a surgeon who specializes in caring for people with early laryngeal cancer, and voice, airway, and swallowing disorders. Managing these conditions requires a multidisciplinary approach, so I work closely with speech-language pathologists, head and neck surgeons, interventional pulmonologists, gastroenterologists, thoracic surgeons, and radiation oncologists to provide the best care possible.

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Treatments for head and neck cancer can cause complications and side effects that impact essential functions, like breathing, swallowing, and speaking. As a laryngologist, I can treat these problems and help improve my patients’ quality of life.

I am experienced in both minimally invasive endoscopic and open procedures, mostly performed with general anesthesia in the operating room. In addition, I have a special interest in diagnostic and therapeutic procedures that can be performed in the office with local anesthesia. This means that patients are awake for the procedure and go home after the office visit.

The concept of being awake for a surgical procedure may lead to questions and concerns for some patients. Before the procedure, I thoroughly explain what is involved and spend as much time as necessary to address any questions. My goal is to help patients and their families feel fully confident in their care plan. During the procedure itself, patients are made as comfortable as possible and I walk them through each step in real-time.

My Role at MSK

A head and neck surgeon is a doctor with special training in surgery on the head and neck. This includes the larynx, lips, mouth, nose, salivary glands, and throat.

Areas of Expertise

My Specialties

  • Vocal Cord Cancer
  • Vocal Cord Leukoplakia
  • Vocal Cord Paralysis
  • Benign Vocal Cord Lesions
  • Spasmodic Dysphonia
  • Voice Disorders
  • Swallowing Disorders
  • Zenker’s Diverticulum
  • Airway Disorders
  • Subglottic Stenosis
Education & Honors

Education

  • MD, Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons

Residencies

  • Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery – NewYork-Presbyterian at Columbia Medical Center/Weill Cornell Medical Center

Awards and Honors

  • The Coakley Memorial Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Otolaryngology, Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons (2012)

Fellowships

  • Laryngology – Cleveland Clinic

Board Certifications

  • Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery

Insurance Information

Understanding your insurance options is an important part of managing your cancer care. We have relationships with many common healthcare providers and plans.

Aetna

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO PPO, POS, Transplant

Aetna Medicare Advantage (MTA and NYC retirees only)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

Anthem BCBS and other BCBS licensee plans

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

See updates

Anthem BCBS Health Plus

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

See updates

Anthem Blue Cross Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO, DSN

See updates

Blue Cross Blue Shield Federal Employee Program

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, PPO

See updates

Blue Cross Blue Shield states outside of NY/NJ

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO PPO, POS

See updates

Carrum Health

In Network Coverage Type
Supplemental

Cigna

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO

Connecticare

In Network Coverage Type
POS, EPO, HMO

Emblem

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Emblem to learn more.

Emblem Essential

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Emblem Medicare Advantage (Medicare Choice PPO Network and VIP Prime Network Only)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO

Empire Essential

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Empire Plan / NYSHIP (Blue Cross/UnitedHealthcare split plan)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

See updates

Fidelis

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO

Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Fidelis to learn more.

Fidelis Managed Medicaid & HARP

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Fidelis Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

First Health

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

Healthfirst

In Network Coverage Type
EPO, HMO, PPO, POS

Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Healthfirst to learn more.

Healthfirst Managed Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Healthfirst Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, PPO

Healthsmart

In Network Coverage Type
PPO EPO

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey (HMO)

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

See updates

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey (PPO)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

See updates

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey Omnia Tier I (EPO)

In Network Coverage Type
EPO

See updates

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey Omnia Tier II (EPO)

In Network Coverage Type
EPO

See updates

Horizon Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO

Husky CT Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Magnacare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO

Straight NJ Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Straight NY Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Medicare Part A&B (traditional Medicare)

In Network Coverage Type
Federal Government

Multiplan/Beech Street/PHCS

In Network Coverage Type
Supplemental

MVP

In Network Coverage Type
PPO/OAP

Non-Participating Plans with Out of Network Benefits

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

NYC Medicare Advantage Plus for City Employees

In Network Coverage Type
TBD

Oscar

In Network Coverage Type
HMO/EPO

Oxford

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, EPO

World Trade Center Health Program (WTC)

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Qualcare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO

Tricare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO

UMR

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS

United Healthcare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO

Don't see your carrier or plan? We can help you understand your coverage.

If you don't have health insurance or are worried that your care may not be fully covered, our financial assistance programs may be able to help.

If you have questions about insurance, call us at 646-497-9176.

Make an Appointment

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Current Patients
Request an appointment by logging on to MyMSK or calling your doctor’s office. If you aren’t registered for MyMSK, call 646-227-2593 for your Enrollment ID.

Contact and Location

Dr. Silva Merea sees patients at one location.

Office Phone
Location
New York, NY
David H. Koch Center for Cancer Care at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
530 East 74th Street New York NY 10021
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Colleagues

Doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering work as teams, with specialists from all different areas. This allows us to consider all your needs together, and to give you the best possible care.

See all Head and Neck Service doctors

Clinical Trials

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Find a Clinical Trial for You

Memorial Sloan Kettering's doctors and scientists are constantly developing new treatments for cancer. MSK is typically running hundreds of clinical trials at a given time.

You may be able to participate in a clinical trial even if you are new to MSK. Search our online directory to find trial information and see more about who can participate.

Search clinical trials

Research and Publications

Silva Merea V, Lee AHY, Peron DL, Waldman EH, Grunstein E. CPAS: Surgicalapproach with combined sublabial bone resection and inferior turbinate reduction without stents. Laryngoscope. 2015; 125(6):1460-1464.

Cai Y, Merea VS, Lee AH, Su GH, CaruanaSM. Nasopharyngeal papillomas treated with CO2 laser and human papillomavirus vaccination. Laryngoscope. 2017; 127:2279–2281.

Silva Merea V, Husain S, SulicaL. Medialization laryngoplasty after injection augmentation. J Voice. 2018; 32:249-255.

Silva Merea V, Bryson PC. Office-based retrograde transtracheal application of mitomycin C. Am J Otolaryngol. 2018; 39:704-706.

Verma S, Yetzke M, Silva Merea V, Heye R, Clary M, Lott D, Bryson P. Are perioperative antibiotics necessary during direct microlaryngoscopy? Laryngoscope. 2018; 128:2838-2843.

Nelson R, Bryson P, Silva Merea V, Milstein C, Benninger M, Tierney W. Laryngeal botulinum toxin injection for vocal tremor: Utility of concurrent strap muscle injection. Laryngoscope. 2019; 129:1433-1437.

Lehman B, Procop GW, Silva Merea V, Harrington SM, Mawhorter S, Benninger MS. Chronic laryngitis caused by Mycobacterium kansasii in a traveler. Laryngoscope. 2019; 129:2534-2535.

Silva Merea V, Sadoughi B. Type I Posterior glottic stenosis: Natural history and in-office management. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 2019; 128:1073-1077.

Silva Merea V, Kacker A. Nasal Neoplasms. In: Kacker, A. RhinologyHandbook. 1st ed. New Delhi, India: Jaypee BrothersMedical Publishers (P) Ltd; 2015.

Silva Merea V, Kacker A. Electronic cigarettes. In: LalwaniAK, Pfister MHF, eds. Recent Advances in Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery:Volume 5. 1st ed. New Delhi, India: Jaypee BrothersMedical Publishers (P) Ltd; 2016.

Awad MI, Silva Merea V, Stachler RJ, Shibuya TY, Golub JS, Pasha R. General Otolaryngology. In: Pasha R, Golub JS, eds. Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Clinical ReferenceGuide. 5thed. San Diego,CA, USA: PluralPublishing Inc; 2017.

Silva Merea V, Pitman MJ. Anatomy and Physiology of the Upper Esophageal Sphincter. In: Chhetri D, Dewan K, eds. Dysphagia Evaluation and Management in Otolaryngology. 1st ed. St. Louis, MO, USA: Elsevier; 2018

Silva Merea V, Nelson RC, Benninger MS. Laryngeal Dysplasia and Early Glottic Cancer. In: Allen J, Nouraei SAR, Sandhu GS, eds. Laryngology: A Case-Based Approach. 1st ed. San Diego, CA, USA: Plural Publishing Inc; 2019.

Disclosures

Doctors and faculty members often work with pharmaceutical, device, biotechnology, and life sciences companies, and other organizations outside of MSK, to find safe and effective cancer treatments, to improve patient care, and to educate the health care community.

MSK requires doctors and faculty members to report (“disclose”) the relationships and financial interests they have with external entities. As a commitment to transparency with our community, we make that information available to the public.

Valeria Silva Merea discloses the following relationships and financial interests:

No disclosures meeting criteria for time period


If you’re a patient at MSK and would like more information about your doctor’s external relationships, please talk with your doctor.

The information published here is a complement to other publicly reported data and is for a specific annual disclosure period. There may be differences between information on this and other public sites as a result of different reporting periods and/or the various ways relationships and financial interests are categorized by organizations that publish such data.

This page and data include information for a specific MSK annual disclosure period (January 1, 2023 through disclosure submission in spring 2024). This data reflects interests that may or may not still exist. This data is updated annually.

Learn more about MSK’s COI policies here. For questions regarding MSK’s COI-related policies and procedures, email MSK’s Compliance Office at [email protected].


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