General Surgeon, Christopher Young, MD, who began seeing patients last fall at Heartland Health Care Clinic in Abilene, has had some impressive numbers since joining the staff. Through January of this year, Dr. Young has performed 133 surgeries at Memorial Hospital in Abilene.
Among these surgeries, Dr. Young has performed the following:
- Colonoscopy-a lighted thin tube with a camera at the end is inserted into your rectum and then passed around to the start of the large bowel and the end of the small bowel. Polyps can be removed using thin wires down the colonoscope channels.
- Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD)-a lighted tube with a camera at the end is inserted into your mouth then passed into your esophagus, your stomach and your duodenum. Many diseases causing reflux and upper abdominal pain can be diagnosed this way.
- Hernia repair-the most common types of hernia are in the groins and at the belly button (umbilicus). They can be present with pain and a lump that gets bigger. These can be repaired laparoscopically or open depending on their size.
- Laparoscopic cholecystectomy-the gallbladder is a very common organ that gets sick and causes pain and other problems. Four small tubes are inserted in the abdomen and the gallbladder is removed laparoscopically.
Dr. Young also performs procedures on general lumps and bumps that are causing pain or discomfort or are getting bigger. This can include sebaceous cysts and lipomas, and hemorrhoids.
New surgical equipment was also purchased to help perform many of these surgeries and procedures. Now, on site, at Memorial Hospital in Abilene are new colonoscopies and gastroscopes, state-of-the-art laparoscopic equipment, a new video processing system for the colonoscope and laparoscope, and new operating room lights that enhance the surgeon’s vision. This has all increased the accuracy of diagnosis and the ability to complete procedures laparoscopically.
“It has been very nice being able to complete complex laparoscopic colon and rectal resections at Abilene, avoiding needing to refer or transfer patients to other hospitals or counties,” said Dr. Young. There are times patients may need to be referred elsewhere, but the scope and range of procedures able to be completed safely and competently at Abilene has increased.
Most of Dr. Young’s patients are referred to him by the doctors or one of the advanced practice providers in Heartland Health Care Clinic (HHCC). Some patients do come directly to him from other counties, and those numbers are rising as people get to know that he is there. Dr. Young sees patients in HHCC on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, all day, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Abilene and Dickinson County are fortunate to have a surgeon like Dr. Young at Memorial Hospital. For more information, or to schedule an appointment to see Dr. Young, please contact Heartland Health Care Clinic at (785) 263-4131.