General Info

Lisa Dos Santos, MD, joined Northwell Health in 2011 as an attending gynecologic oncologist, but in some ways, she’s been connected to the health system since childhood—in fact, she was born at Huntington Hospital. “My mother was a head nurse in neonatal care at Huntington for 30 years, and that’s one of my hospitals now, so providing care here is especially personal for me,” she says. “I spent a lot of time there as a kid, and that’s where my interest in medicine really began.” After graduating with a medical degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo, followed by residency at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, Dr. Dos Santos completed her training in gynecologic oncology with a four-year fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. She particularly appreciates the complexity of surgery and the opportunity to provide long-term care for patients. “My approach is individualized based on a patient’s needs, and I spend a good deal of time with each one to understand who they are,” she says. Another major element is providing education and comprehensive explanation of treatment options, to ensure each patient has the information necessary to make informed decisions about their care plan. “This is why having the multidisciplinary, team-based approach at Northwell is so important. Patients have a range of expertise and resources to support them.” Dr. Dos Santos specializes in minimally invasive surgeries and is considered an expert in robotic procedures. She has a particular interest in fertility-sparing treatment of gynecologic cancers as well as managing precancerous conditions in young women for cancer prevention and preservation of fertility. As assistant professor and the central region director of medical student education in gynecologic oncology at Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, she focuses on helping medical students gain basic knowledge of women’s health regardless of their future specialty. She’s a member of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology, American College of Surgeons, and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and is passionate about supporting the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition. “My goal, always, is providing patients with optimal cancer outcomes while also helping them live their lives while in treatment,” she says.