Witnessing the Impressive Work of our General Surgery Team

At GBMC, we are extremely fortunate to have a strong and long-standing general surgery practice known as Finney Trimble Surgical Associates. The senior members include John “Jack” Flowers, MD, Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, President of GBMC Health Partners; Laurence Ross, MD; Francis Rotolo, MD, Division Head - General Surgery; and Joel Turner, MD, Chair - Department of Surgery. They are all outstanding surgeons and they have grown the practice and paved the way for success and positive patient outcomes throughout the years. Our next generation of general surgeons – Beatriz Briones, MD; Shauna Costinett, MD; Timothee Friesen, MD, Medical Director - GBMC Comprehensive Obesity Management Program, Director - Obesity Medicine Program; SaAda Seidu, MD; and Emily Watters, MD – continue to reshape the program to keep us at the forefront of surgical care for years to come. 

Last week, Emily invited me to observe a surgery that utilized GBMC’s brand-new robot, which we procured thanks to lead funding from the Kahlert Foundation and the Presbyterian Board of Governors, with additional support from individual grateful patients and advocacy of Chesapeake Urology surgeons Ronald Tutrone, MD, and David Goldstein, MD.  

To say I was impressed during my visit would be an understatement! I am used to hearing that our surgical team does fabulous work but seeing them in action took my understanding of their expertise to the next level. 

Every step of the case was expertly choreographed – from the presurgical time-out, when the team huddled to discuss the procedure and ensure patient safety, to the very end. It is the skill, attention to detail, and compassion of our team that makes our program stand out. I am happy that this incredible team now has more modern equipment to assist them in safely and seamlessly executing their work. The new robot is an impressive technology that juxtaposes my experience as a medical student – when I was helping to hold retractors during surgery but not able to see much. The robot is equipped with a console for the surgeon and the learner (which, in this case, was me), and the 3-D visualization was remarkable. Emily and her team demonstrated their skill and teamwork and were very kind in educating me along the way. 

Thank you to all involved in the procedure for delivering exceptional care to the patient and for teaching me more about the Robotics OR – Emily, Bing Wang, PA-C, first assist; Eliana Daniel, scrub tech; Heather Schmitt, RN, and Jennifer Gall, RN, circulators; and anesthesia staff Sanjay Trivedi, MD, and Ian Mores, CRNA. 

As I discuss our general surgery program, it seems fitting that February 4-10 is Perianesthesia Nurse Awareness Week! Thank you to our nurses working in pre-anesthesia and post-anesthesia care, ambulatory surgery, and pain management for caring for patients and their families.