George Rofaiel, MD, Joins LVHN as New Chief of Transplant Surgery for Institute for Surgical Excellence

George Rofaiel, MD, has been named Chief of Transplant Surgery at Lehigh Valley Institute for Surgical Excellence. Dr. Rofaiel comes to Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) from University of Utah Health School of Medicine, where he served as a transplant and advanced hepatobiliary surgeon as well as an associate professor of surgery.

Earlier this year, the Institute for Surgical Excellence announced the retirement of previous Chief of Transplant Surgery, Michael Moritz, MD, who stood as the backbone of LVHN’s transplant program for the last 18 years. Over the course of his tenure, Dr. Moritz created one of the most successful adult kidney and pancreas transplant programs in the state. The only transplant center in the region, LVHN’s transplant program maintains a transplant success rate well above the national and regional norms with a 94% success rate for kidney transplants. Transplant candidates who register at the Institute for Surgical Excellence also receive kidneys much faster than at other programs in this region of the country.

The legacy Dr. Moritz created is one Dr. Rofaiel looks forward to continuing.

“I was always taught that complex problems may require not just knowledge, but also the courage to tackle what may seem an uphill battle,” Rofaiel says. “LVHN offers both expertise and valor in the pursuit of helping its patients. That’s why I chose to come here. I look forward to picking up where Dr. Moritz left off and continue leading the transplant program down the path of innovation.”

When Dr. Rofaiel joined LVHN on April 17, he elevated the transplant program’s capabilities. Employing the latest in surgical technology, Dr. Rofaiel brings with him minimally invasive techniques including robotic transplant surgery. He will be seeing patients at LVPG Transplant Surgery–1250 Cedar Crest.

A transplant surgery specialist with more than two decades of experience in the medical field, Dr. Rofaiel entered the medical field because he wanted to help others become whole again. His desire to help shaped his career-long commitment to providing compassionate and individualized care to each and every patient.

After receiving his Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery from Cairo University in 2001, Dr. Rofaiel spent several years conducting research at Duke University. He then completed his General Surgery Residency at the Cleveland Clinic where he received world-class training in general and advanced subspecialty surgery. Dr. Rofaiel completed adult and pediatric multi-organ transplant training at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle. In this institution, he completed training to perform complex adult and pediatric organ transplants in one of the busiest programs in the nation.

Outside of his scrubs, Dr. Rofaiel is a loving father who enjoys spending time with his children, traveling, seeing new places and skiing.