Anorectal Fistula near Kingsport, TN

Biography: I'm a Dallas native who's been fortunate to call Western North Carolina "home" for more than a decade. In 2014, I became Buncombe County's first board-certified colorectal surgeon. I've been blessed to have my community trust me to provide proctological care ever since. \n I take tremendous pride in managing conditions ranging from colorectal cancer to inflammatory bowel disease to benign anorectal disease and in treating them with advanced technology such as robotic surgery. I can also offer patients several choices when it comes to where they have surgery, as I have privileges at a few surgery centers in the area. \n I treat a wide variety of conditions, including diverticulitis, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, hemorrhoids, anal fistulas, and anal and colorectal cancers. \n When not in the office, I enjoy running, skiing with my wife and being an expert ball and frisbee thrower for my golden retriever.

Biography: I'm a board-certified, fellowship-trained colorectal surgeon with a specialty of diagnosing, treating and managing benign conditions and malignant diseases of the colon and rectum. I'm the only female colorectal surgeon in Western North Carolina. \n For some patients, colorectal issues may be personal or embarrassing. It is my goal to put patients at ease and guide them through treatment with as little discomfort as possible. \n I completed a general surgery residency along with a colon and rectal surgery fellowship at the University of South Florida. In my last year of residency, I was honored to serve as administrative chief resident. \n I stay up to date on the latest traditional and minimally invasive laparoscopic and robotic surgical procedures. I have expertise in not just colon, rectal and anal cancers, but also in complicated diverticulitis, inflammatory bowel disease and anorectal pathology. \n In my free time, I enjoy being with my family, traveling and exploring Western North Carolina - my adopted home and the place I'm happy to be raising my three children. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve this community by providing care in a specialty that's under-represented in our region.

Biography: As a surgeon, I have been trained to help people by excising and repairing. However, as a surgical oncologist, the most important part of my job is to determine whether surgery will actually help someone. This is often a balance of risk and benefits, and is different for every person who has their own goals and risk tolerance. Surgery is often a crucial component of an attempt to cure many cancers; however, we are sometimes able to offer surgery to prolong life or improve quality of life, even in the absence of cure. \n I have wanted to be a surgeon for as long as I can remember. My father is a surgeon, which certainly helped inspire and guide my career as a surgical oncologist. I love surgical oncology because I get to build a long-term relationship with a patient. Each patient also may present his or her own unique presentation for which I can work with other oncologic specialties and the most recently published data to come up with a specific treatment plan. \n I have training in complex malignancies, offer minimally invasive/robotic surgery, and value open communication and joint decision-making with my patients. I attend multiple regional tumor boards each week and national conferences yearly. \n I graduated magna cum laude from Purdue University's honors program with Phi Beta Kappa honors. I moved on to Northwestern University in Chicago where I served as administrative chief general surgery resident during my general surgery training there. After completing specialty fellowship training at University of Tennessee, I traveled to Asheville with my wife and three children, where we can hike, and I can fly-fish.