I grew up in Houston and trained in general surgery in Tulsa, but most of what I know about being a surgeon, I learned in Laredo, Texas. For six years, I practiced in a border community where the next surgeon might be hours away, which meant saying yes to a wide range of problems at all hours for patients who often arrived sicker than they should have been. That work made me broadly trained, comfortable in an emergency, and allergic to rushing anyone through a decision they do not understand. I became a surgeon because it is honest work. An operation is a promise you keep with your hands, and the patient is awake afterward to tell you whether you kept it. My approach is to explain what an operation can and cannot fix, what recovery actually looks like week by week, and when the right answer is not to operate at all. I would rather spend an extra fifteen minutes in clinic than have a patient wake up surprised. I see patients in English and Spanish. My clinical interests are hernia repair, gallbladder and biliary surgery, and emergency and acute care general surgery. Outside of work, I am usually with my wife and our son, on a trail somewhere around Holly Springs, in the kitchen, or losing an argument with my garden.
