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Abraham Avi Lebenthal
Contact Information
- 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA 02115
- (617) 732-7696
- alebenthal@partners.org
Cancer has been a major medical problem throughout history, but it was not until the 19th Century that physicians began to feel there was any effective way to treat patients. Without anesthetics and antibiotics, surgery was not a viable treatment. Without radiology, the location and scope of the cancer could often not be accurately diagnosed. Slowly, progress was made. Early detection methods were improved upon, and pharmaceutical companies made major commitments to developing new drugs. Research into surgical techniques, drug therapy, and radiation treatments has reduced cancer deaths dramatically.
However, around the middle of the 20th Century, doctors began to see a large number of patients with a very rare form of cancer called mesothelioma. This cancer, which primarily attacks the tissue surrounding the lungs, is caused by exposure to asbestos. Many physicians and others in the health community were alarmed by this trend and began researching ways to treat mesothelioma. One of the doctors who specializes in the treatment of this unusual cancer is Dr. Abraham “Avi” Lebenthal.
Dr. Lebenthal is a thoracic surgeon, or a doctor who specializes in surgeries involving the organs within the chest, such as the lungs and diaphragm. In addition to experience as a surgical oncologist, he has the sub-specialty of trauma surgery. He received his medical degree in 1993 from Jerusalem's Hebrew University Medical School, followed by a master's degree in Health Administration from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel. His residency was completed at Hadassah Ein-Kareem in Jerusalem, and he served as senior resident at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York for one year. Fellowships in minimally invasive surgery and thoracic surgery were completed at Brigham and Women's Hospital, a Harvard affiliate in Boston, Massachusetts. In 2008, he moved to Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. He is board certified by the Israeli Board of Surgery, and has received the Patients' Choice Award in both 2008 and 2009.
Dr. Lebenthal also served in the Israeli Army for 13 years, both as a physician and as a commander of an infantry platoon. He received a Letter of Distinction for Bravery for treating and evacuating casualties under fire. He ended his military service as a company commander and was a major in the reserves, commanding the medical company for an elite brigade of paratroopers.
He is a member of several professional organizations, including the Israeli Surgical Society, the American Medical Society, and the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons. He specializes in mesothelioma, lung cancer, and esophageal cancer. He favors surgical methods that are minimally invasive whenever possible, and is also experienced in thoracic surgery that is video-assisted. He also has extensive experience with laser therapy, bronchoscopy and photodynamic therapy, as well as therapeutic endoscopy, endoluminal diagnostics and laparoscopy.
Dr. Lebenthal has published several scholarly articles in both American and Israeli journals.