Dr. Lee Siwek is one of our two HHNW cardiac surgeons. Trained at Harvard Medical School, with residency at Massachusetts General, a fellowhip at NIH and a pediatric cardiac surgery fellowship at Boston Children's, he brings 34 years of experience to the OR. He has wanted to be a cardiac surgeon since he was in 3rd grade! His specialties are pediatric and robotic surgery. Ironically he uses robotic surgery in Spokane for mitral valve repair and replacement, ASD and many of the other defects he is repairing here in Rwanda. He has been to China to train the first Chinese, robotic, cardiac surgeons and has returned to give lectures.
He came to Rwanda last year as a favor to his long time friend, Hal Goldberg. He returned this year because he enjoyed his experience so much. He likes the camaraderie of the HHNW team and the total shared experiences. His hope is that with his and other HHNW staffers' teaching, King Faisal Hospital can learn to sustain this heart program. That hope and seeing the patients' gratitude and recovery bring him back to Rwanda.
When not working, Dr. Siwek enjoys spending time at the lake, playing golf, traveling and spending time with his family. He is married to Janine, one of our surgical nurses and they have 4 children. Their youngest graduates this Mother's Day from Gonzaga.
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