PROVIDENCE, R.I. (June 24, 2021) — Brown Surgical Associates today announced nationally and internationally renowned surgeon Dr. Abbas El-Sayed Abbas has joined the practice as Chief of Thoracic Surgery. He will also serve as Chief of Thoracic Surgery at all Lifespan hospitals in addition to Chief of Thoracic Oncology at the Lifespan Cancer Institute – and at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.
“The addition of Dr. Abbas will serve to elevate our program already known for providing the people of Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts with world-class, cutting-edge care,” said Dr. William Cioffi, President of Brown Surgical Associates. “Dr. Abbas’ robotic minimally invasive surgical skill set and experience in translational and clinical research oncology will also allow us to advance our programs at Lifespan and Brown Medical School.”
Previously recognized as a Top Doctor, and as one Best Doctors in America® multiple times, Dr. Abbas specializes in robotic thoracic surgery for lung, mediastinal and esophageal diseases, including robotic lobectomy and totally endoscopic robotic esophagectomy. His expertise also extends to advanced thoracic endoscopy and minimally invasive management of foregut diseases such as esophageal motility disorders and complex antireflux procedures.
He comes to Rhode Island from Temple University Health System in Philadelphia where he held the title of System Thoracic Surgeon-in-Chief and System Director of the Foregut Disease Thoracic Oncology Programs where he served as Chief of Thoracic Surgery at Fox Chase Comprehensive Cancer Center.
“I am beyond thrilled to join the team at BSA, Lifespan, and Brown,” Abbas said. “The existing talent is incredible, and I plan to take advantage of the amazing resources we have in Rhode Island to build a unique and unrivaled thoracic medicine and surgery program. It will be one built on clinical excellence and academic superiority. In doing so, we hope to become a major provider of superb health care for all patients with thoracic disease in New England and beyond.
Dr. Abbas’ other areas of specialization include endoscopic procedures for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), esophageal and bronchial stents, robotic surgery for myasthenia gravis and thymic tumors, airway surgery, laser endoscopy, and cryoendoscopy. His past and current research interests include gene therapy for esophageal and lung cancer, outcome-based research in robotic surgery, esophageal cancer and lung cancer, the role of tumor-initiating cells in the microenvironment of esophageal cancer and transplant immunology.
Dr. Abbas earned his medical degree with honors at the Ain-Shams University School of Medicine in Cairo, Egypt, where he also earned a Master of Science with honors. He went on to complete general surgery internship and residency at the University of Pennsylvania after which he completed a three-year fellowship in cardiothoracic surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Dr. Abbas also completed postdoctoral research fellowships in mechanical cardiac support at Penn State University in the laboratory of Professor William Pierce and gene therapy for thoracic malignancies at the University of Pennsylvania in the laboratory of Professor Larry Kaiser.
Dr. Abbas will be seeing patients at 2 Dudley Street, Suite 470 in Providence, Rhode Island.
Tel: 401-553-8320
