Most surgeons have a straightforward story: medical school, residency, practice. Erik Stancofski’s is something else entirely. He grew up in Beirut, Lebanon, trained through one of the most turbulent periods in that city’s modern history, crossed an ocean, built a career from scratch in a small town, and never really slowed down. His path to the operating rooms of Lewes wasn’t a straight line. It was more like a test, repeated over and over, of whether he had what it takes. He does.
After completing his surgical residency in Baltimore, Erik arrived in Lewes in 1998 and joined Lewes Surgical Associates as a General Surgery attending. Two years later, he co-founded Cape Surgical Associates, where he spent the next 18 years performing surgery and managing the day-to-day operations of a busy private practice.
In 2018, Erik joined Beebe as a General Surgery attending and was later appointed Vice Chair of the Department of Surgery, a role he held for 6 to 8 years. He remains active on Beebe’s medical staff to this day.
Over the course of his career, Erik transitioned a substantial portion of his practice to the robotic surgery platform, a deliberate move driven by one simple reason: better patient outcomes.
Beyond the operating room, Erik co-authored a case study published in The American Surgeon in 1998 and has written regularly for the Cape Gazette, breaking down complex surgical topics for a general audience.
Erik grew up in Beirut, Lebanon, earned his Bachelor’s degree in Biology at the American University of Beirut, and went on to complete his medical degree there as well, graduating during the peak of the Lebanese Civil War. He finished his General Surgery residency at St. Agnes Hospital in Baltimore, and in 2008 added an MBA with a healthcare emphasis from George Washington University.
Between 2019 and 2022, Erik underwent four hip surgeries. In 2021, he discovered by chance that he had an aortic root aneurysm and had it repaired through open-heart surgery. He knows firsthand what it means to be a patient. That perspective stays with him in every consultation and every procedure he performs.
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