Surgery Services at Mammoth Hospital

From left: Fru Bahiraei, MD, Sarah Sindell, MD, and Richard Koehler, MD.

Over the past 5 years, Mammoth Hospital has been extremely fortunate to have 2 surgeons trained to perform general surgery, chest surgery, and endoscopy procedures 365 days a year. For anyone who has been hurt on the mountain, or needed an appendectomy in the middle of the night, this has been a great comfort to our community and our visitors. But anyone who has spent any time in Mammoth over the last several years has seen our town grow, and become much busier on a more regular basis. Those periods of shoulder seasons are becoming shorter and shorter, and soon enough, they will disappear altogether.

Mammoth hospital has also seen an increase in volume with respect to ER visits, clinic visits, and the number of patients requiring admission to the hospital. In fact, over the last 10 years, our business model has completely changed. Once upon a time ago, surgery at Mammoth hospital was 80% emergent, and 20% elective. Today, those numbers ae completely reversed, with 80% of surgery cases being elective and 20% being emergent. In order to accommodate the increasing number of patients requiring elective surgery, our general surgery department needs to grow to meet that need.

In October of this year, are pleased to add a third surgeon to our growing list of providers. Dr. Sarah Sindell will be joining Dr. Fru Bahiraei and Dr. Rich Koehler in a full time general surgery practice. In addition to all being highly qualified, our surgeons share the distinction of having worked and trained together at Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle, Washington. As a result, they all have the same level of training, and they all practice the same way. What this means for our community is that no matter what day you need a general surgeon, they have you covered.

In addition to any and all emergency needs that may arise, the Mammoth Hospital General Surgery group is able to provide a wide range of elective surgical services, including:

• Upper Endoscopy
• Gastroesophageal Reflux Surgery
• Colonoscopy and Colon Cancer Screening
• Evaluation and repair of hernias of the groin and abdomen
• Gallbladder surgery
• Hemorrhoids
• Breast disease
• Skin lesions – lumps and bumps, moles, lymph nodes
• Wound care

For more information or to schedule an appointment, visit our General Surgery page here.