Swee-Ling L. Levea, M.D., is an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center and a member of its Division of Nephrology. She specializes in nephrology and kidney transplant medicine, with particular expertise in living kidney donation.
In addition to providing clinical care, Dr. Levea spends much of her time educating medical students and patients about kidney disease and transplantation.
Dr. Levea earned her medical degree at UT Health Science Center at San Antonio School of Medicine and completed internal medicine residency training at Cleveland Clinic. She then received advanced training through fellowships in nephrology and in transplant nephrology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
Certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in both internal medicine and nephrology, Dr. Levea joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2015.
She is a member of the National Kidney Foundation, American Society of Nephrology, American Society of Transplantation, and other professional organizations.
As a nephrologist, Swee-Ling Levea, M.D., evaluates and cares for UT Southwestern Medical Center patients with a wide variety of kidney conditions, including those with chronic and end-stage kidney disease.
Dr. Levea has special expertise in kidney transplant medicine – particularly living kidney donation – and her primary clinical specialty is living kidney donor evaluation and management.
“One of the key things I offer is a promotion of living donors by helping them have a healthy lifestyle both before and after donation,” she says. “I spend about half my time working with living donors and helping to improve access for people who are interested in donating.”
Dr. Levea also works to ensure that patients who are waiting for a kidney transplant understand living donation and how to discuss their need for a kidney with other people.
In addition, Dr. Levea assesses and treats kidney and pancreas transplant recipients, as well as those who have received some other solid-organ transplant but who also have kidney disease.
Dr. Levea has a strong commitment to promoting health literacy and education to both medical trainees and patients alike.
“It’s important for us as physicians to take the time to connect with people where they are and to educate them on a level they can understand,” she says. “For example, we can tell patients to take medication every day, but we have to realize that they might not have enough money to afford that medication.”
Fellowship trained, Dr. Levea is board certified in both internal medicine and nephrology. One of the things she enjoys most about her specialty is the continuity of care she has with patients.
“Once someone receives a kidney transplant, he or she becomes my patient for the rest of his or her life, and I feel like I become a part of that life – I’ve seen my patients get married and start families and watched their kids and grandkids grow up,” she says.
“It’s especially rewarding to teach my patients how to advocate for themselves and to see people who had severe kidney disease get a second chance in life.”
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