Dr. Abbas El-Sayed Abbas

Doctor Overview

Dr. Abbas El-Sayed Abbas is a thoracic surgeon based in Providence, Rhode Island. He specializes in minimally invasive surgical techniques like video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS). He has taught hundreds of surgeons to use robotic surgery. Dr. Abbas focuses on cancers and other diseases affecting the chest area. He treats and researches mesothelioma.

He is the Chief of Thoracic Surgery at Brown Surgical Associates and at The Warren Alpert School of Medicine at Brown University. He’s also the Chief of Thoracic Oncology at the Brown University Health Cancer Institute. Dr. Abbas serves on the following boards:

• American Association for Thoracic Surgery
• American Lung Association
• International Society of Minimally Invasive Cardiothoracic Surgery
• Society for Robotic Surgery

He also serves on several editorial boards for medical publications. Formerly, he was President of the Eastern Cardiothoracic Surgical Society.

Dr. Abbas received his medical degree from the Ains-Shams University School of Medicine in Cairo, Egypt. He came to the United States for his residency in surgery at the University of Pennsylvania. He completed a cardiothoracic surgery fellowship at the Mayo Clinic. Before coming to Rhode Island, he led the Thoracic Oncology program at Temple University Health System. He has also taught at Ohio State University and Tulane University.

Doctor Fast Facts

Main Specialty: Thoracic Surgery

Other Interests & Specialties: Advanced esophageal and bronchoscopic endoscopy, cardiothoracic surgery, clinical research, esophageal motility disorders, hiatal hernia repair, lung volume reduction surgery, robotic esophagectomy, robotic lobectomy, thoracic oncology, thymectomy and VATS.

Certifications, Awards & Accolades: American Board of Surgery, American Board of Thoracic Surgery

Education & Experience:

• Medical Degree from Ain-Shams University School of Medicine
• Master of Science in Surgery from Ain-Shams University School of Medicine
• Residency in Surgery at UPHS Pennsylvania System
• Residency in Surgery at UPMC Medical Education
• Fellowship in Cardiothoracic Surgery at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science
• Postdoctoral Research in Mechanical Cardiac Support at Penn State University

Publications

Gender, race, and ethnicity in lung cancer clinical trial participation: Analysis of 253,845 patients from 2002 to 2021. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2025 May;169(5):1346-1353.e1.

Robotic-assisted versus video-assisted lobectomy for resectable non-small-cell lung cancer: the RVlob randomized controlled trial. EClinicalMedicine. 2024 Aug;74:102707.

Complex anterior chest wall reconstruction after extensive oncologic resections: a narrative review. Shanghai Chest. 2021 Oct;5:41.

Commentary: When cancer is oligometastatic, even mesothelioma is curable. JTCVS Tech. 2020 Sept;3:361–2.