Dr. Vernon L. Cowell Jr., MD, MPH, FACS

Expert Publications

• Major hepatic trauma: warm ischemic tolerance of the liver after hemorrhagic shock.
• Trauma 24-hour observation critical path.
• Outcome assessment of physiologic and clinical predictors of survival in patients after traumatic injury with a trauma score less than 5.

Media Releases

Get to know General Surgeon Dr. Vernon L. Cowell Jr. who serves patients in Gresham, Oregon. 

Dr. Cowell Jr. is a board-certified general surgeon, who practices at Legacy Medical Group – General Surgery in Gresham, Oregon. The experienced, board-certified surgeons and staff working there offer special expertise in robotic surgery, kidney disease, and bloodless surgery, as well as providing a variety of general surgery services, including: GERD and hiatal hernias, hernia repairs (umbilical, ventral, inguinal, etc.), gallbladder and bile ducts, treatment of thyroid and parathyroid diseases, and small bowel and colon. They also provide surgical management of a range of diseases, working collaboratively with primary care doctors and any other referring doctors. 

Born in Reading, Pennsylvania, Dr. Cowell Jr. moved to Washington, D.C. when he was eight years old and lived there from elementary school through medical school. He earned his medical degree from the Georgetown University School of Medicine in 1989. He then went on to complete his internship at the State University of New York in Syracuse, followed by his residency at the State University of New York Health Science Center at Syracuse. During his time in medical school and residency training, he had the opportunity to learn from some of the pioneers in the field of surgery. 

After completing his master’s degree at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and his fellowship training at the same educational venue and Hartford Hospital, Dr. Cowell Jr. and his wife began looking for a place where they could settle down and start a family, which led them to Portland, Oregon. 

Among the doctor’s many achievements, he holds Fellowship status with the American College of Surgeons, the American Medical Association, the Portland Surgical Society, the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma, the Society of Critical Care Medicine, and the American College of Physician Executives. Additionally, he is board-certified in general surgery, surgical critical care, and public health by the American Board of Surgery, an independent, non-profit organization founded for the purpose of certifying surgeons who have met a defined standard of education, training, and knowledge. 

General surgery is a surgical specialty that focuses on abdominal contents including esophagus, stomach, small bowel, colon, liver, pancreas, gallbladder, appendix and bile ducts, and often the thyroid gland. A general surgeon performs a wide range of abdominal surgeries for many forms of intestinal and abdominal wall neoplasms, gallbladder disease, gastric and pancreatic disease. They follow the patient through critical care and surgical recovery all the way to outpatient care. 

When he is not working, Dr. Cowell Jr. enjoys hiking, reading, listening to music, playing sports, exercising, as well as spending time with his family.

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