
Dr. Lannery Lauvao, named this week by Newsweek Magazine as one of the nation’s top 200 vascular surgeons, says his selection came as a complete surprise to him. In a phone interview with KHJ News, he said that he had no idea he was in the running.
On the day, Newsweek released the list, his phone was ringing off the hook.
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Lannery said his decision to study medicine was greatly influenced by his late father, Pediatrician Dr. Pita Lauvao.
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After graduating from Leone High School in 1993, Lannery attended Washington State University where he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in zoology. He said his search for the right medical school stretched from the University of Hawaii to Harvard University and he settled for the University of Washington in Seattle, where he obtained his medical degree.
He said he knew surgery was going to be his calling and he was drawn to becoming a vascular surgeon being full aware of the prevalence of diabetes among Samoans and Pacific islanders. He wanted a specialty that would be useful if he decided to return home. He told KHJ News that it was always part of his plans to return to American Samoa and he intends to stick to his plan.
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