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About the Author
R. W. Sewell, M.D. is a retired surgeon and the author of the six-novel A Surgeon’s Heart series, a character-driven medical drama that explores the ethical challenges facing modern medicine.
Born in Independence, Missouri, on November 20, 1950, Sewell moved to Texas with his family at the age of twelve and has called the state home ever since. He graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in Port Arthur before attending Lamar University in Beaumont, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in biology. He later attended the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, receiving his medical degree in 1974.
Following medical school, Sewell completed his general surgery residency at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, finishing his surgical training in 1979. Shortly afterward he began practicing general surgery in the Mid-Cities region between Dallas and Fort Worth.
A Career in the OR
For more than four decades Dr. Sewell practiced general surgery in North Texas, eventually relocating his practice to Southlake, Texas in 2003. His work focused primarily on minimally invasive abdominal surgery, an area in which he became widely recognized.
Throughout his career he taught advanced laparoscopic techniques to physicians both in the United States and internationally. He remained active in professional organizations including the American Society of General Surgeons, where he served as president from 2008 to 2010. He was also a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and served as a governor of that organization from 2013 to 2016.
Dr. Sewell also participated in several other medical organizations, including the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, the Texas Medical Association, the Tarrant County Medical Society, the Fort Worth Surgical Society, and the Texas Surgical Society.
PHOTO - Dr. Sewell Offering surgical care during a medical mission.
From Surgeon to Novelist
Drawing from decades of firsthand experience in medicine, Sewell began writing fiction exploring the ethical and personal challenges faced by physicians in a rapidly changing healthcare system.
His six-book series, A Surgeon’s Heart, follows pediatric heart surgeon Dr. Jack Roberts and the people around him as they confront the evolving realities of modern healthcare, the pressures of institutional systems, and the enduring importance of compassion in medicine.
The series spans multiple decades and generations, weaving together themes of family, faith, sacrifice, and professional integrity.
PHOTO - Dr. Sewell signing early copies of The Calling
Medicine and the Media
Over the years Dr. Sewell has also participated in public discussions about the medical profession, including radio commentary and television interviews addressing the changing nature of healthcare and the physician-patient relationship.
His perspective—shaped by more than forty years in surgical practice—continues to mold both his writing and his reflections on the future of medicine.
PHOTO - Discussing the novels on WFAA’s Good Morning Texas
Personal Life
Today Robert Sewell lives in a lakeside home in Bridgeport, Texas, with his wife Donna. After retiring from clinical practice in 2022, he devotes his time to writing, woodworking, gardening, and spending time around and on the water with his grandchildren.
PHOTO - Exchanging books with neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson.