Section of General Surgery

Timothy A. Pritts, MD, PhD, FACS
Professor of Surgery
Chief, Section of General Surgery
Interim Director, UCMC General Surgery

UC Health surgeons are at the forefront of advancing state-of-the-art care for general surgery conditions. The team offers care of routine and complex general surgery and bariatric conditions as well as minimally invasive surgical approaches for gastrointestinal surgical disorders. Our surgeons performed more than 2,200 major elective and urgent general surgery operations during the past year.

Our team specializes in the surgical management of a wide variety of disorders including the broad discipline of general surgery, swallowing disorders such as achalasia, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), gastroparesis, and paraesophageal hernias; gallstones and gallbladder disease; abdominal wall hernias, inguinal hernias, and abdominal wall reconstruction; enterocutaneous fistula; diseases of the spleen; acute pancreatitis; diverticulitis and other colon conditions; and diseases of the adrenal gland.

Our faculty surgeons offer expertise in minimally invasive gastrointestinal surgery as well as the full range of procedures for treatment of morbid obesity. In addition, robotic-assisted operations are performed for several gastrointestinal disorders. We are the only group in the Tri-State region that is performing perform POEM (per-oral endoscopic myotomy) for achalasia, POP (per-oral endoscopic pyloroplasty) for gastroparesis, and Z-POEM for the management of Zenker’s diverticulum.  Patients are often referred to our practice by other surgeons for treatment of very complex conditions.

West Chester Hospital General and Bariatric Surgery

Jonathan R. Thompson, MD, FACS
Assistant Professor of Surgery
Director of WCH General Surgery
Medical Director of Bariatric Surgery

Our Bariatric Surgery program, in partnership with the UC Health Weight Loss Center and TRIMS, the Transplant-Related Interdisciplinary Metabolic Surgery Program, now offers weight loss solutions at both the West Chester Hospital and the University of Cincinnati Medical Center campuses. The West Chester location is recognized for excellence by the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP), a joint program of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS). Our surgeons have performed thousands of successful laparoscopic weight loss operations since its inception. Further information on our surgical weight loss program can be found by visiting http://uchealth.com/weightloss.

General surgery patients are seen at the UC Health Physicians Office Clifton and UC Health Physicians Office North in West Chester.

West Chester Hospital Trauma and Acute Care Surgery

Ryan Earnest, MD
Assistant Professor of Surgery
Director of WCH Trauma and Acute Care Surgery

UC Health Surgeons offer emergency care for trauma and general surgery patients at West Chester Hospital, bringing the highest level of surgical care to the Northern Cincinnati region. The West Chester trauma center opened in 2014 and earned formal verification as a Level III trauma center from the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma in 2015. In conjunction with our partners in Emergency Medicine, more than 900 trauma patients were cared for over the past year. The acute care surgery program at WCH continues to grow and provided care for more than 1,400 emergency surgery patients last year. Expert general and trauma surgeons are available for immediate consultation in the WCH emergency department, ICU, and inpatient floors at all times.

University of Cincinnati Medical Center Acute Care Surgery

Jason J. Schrager, MD, FACS
Associate Professor of Surgery
Director of UCMC Acute Care Surgery

The UCMC Acute Care Surgery team is focused on providing outstanding care patients with general surgery emergencies including diverticulitis, intestinal obstruction or perforation, appendicitis, cholecystitis, pancreatitis, intestinal bleeding, incarcerated hernias, and necrotizing soft tissue infections. Our surgical team is immediately available to provide consultation and expert surgical care around the clock. We also provide tertiary and quaternary general surgery emergency care in consultation with referring surgeons from throughout the Tri-State region through our transfer referral center (513-584-BEDS).

University of Cincinnati Medical Center Trauma Surgery

Amy T. Makley, MD, FACS
Associate Professor of Surgery
Director of UCMC Trauma Surgery

UC Medical Center (UCMC) serves as the Tri-State region’s only ACS-verified adult Level I Trauma Center. Our trauma center has been in continuous operation for over 25 years and provides the highest level of care for injured patients for the region and beyond. During the past year, the trauma team was activated more than 4,300 times to evaluate and care for patients at UCMC.

The highest level of trauma activation is a Trauma STAT. Upon arrival, critically injured Trauma STAT patients are met by the fully assembled trauma team, including physicians from emergency medicine and trauma surgery, specially trained shock resuscitation nurses, respiratory therapists, and physicians and nurses from the operating room and surgical intensive care unit. Immediate consultation is available from a full spectrum of experts including neurosurgeons, orthopedic surgeons, neurointensivists, spine surgeons, facial trauma specialists, and anesthesiologists. The resuscitation and care of trauma patient is led by our trauma surgeons. We are also available at all times for trauma care consultation with referring providers from throughout the Tri-State region through our transfer referral center (513-584-BEDS). The UCMC trauma and emergency medicine team’s excellence was recognized by the first-ever “Heroes in Action Award” by the Cincinnati Business Courier in 2019.

An important component of our Level I trauma center is community education and outreach. We provide ongoing trauma prevention programs in the areas of motor vehicle crashes, older adult falls, and gun violence prevention, as well as an active EMS education program including lectures and rounding. More information is available at http://uchealth.com/trauma/injury-prevention/.

In conjunction with the American College of Surgeons, the White House, DOD, the FBI, and FEMA, we are proud to offer Stop the Bleed courses for medical and non-medical personnel in the Tri-State region. This is a national initiative to teach the public life-saving bleeding control techniques to aid individuals in a variety of situations. In 2019, we trained more than 4,000 individuals in these life- saving techniques. More information is available at http://uchealth.com/trauma/injury-prevention/and http://www.bleedingcontrol.org/.

University of Cincinnati Medical Center Surgical Critical Care

Betty J. Tsuei, MD, FACS
Professor of Surgery
Director of UCMC Surgical Critical Care

Krishna P. Athota, MD, FACS
Associate Professor of Surgery
Director, Surgical Critical Care Fellowship
Associate Director of UCMC Surgical Critical Care

The UCMC SICU treats patients in 34 adult beds with more than 2,000 yearly admissions from all surgical specialties including trauma, general surgery, transplantation, surgical oncology, vascular surgery, urology, thoracic surgery, and obstetrics/gynecology. Daily multidisciplinary rounds are highly collaborative in nature, with input and discussion from all team members including critical care nurses, respiratory therapists, critical care pharmacists, and resident physicians. Subspecialty services such as nephrology, infectious disease, rehabilitation medicine, cardiology, and hematology are available for consultative assistance. Additional clinical support services in the SICU include nutrition services, nurse educators, and a dedicated SICU social worker.

We offer additional training in surgical critical care.  Our one- or two-year ACGME accredited Surgical Critical Care Fellowship accepts two candidates yearly and provides training that encompasses all aspects of care of the critically ill surgical patient. Our fellowship emphasizes cardiopulmonary mechanics, principles of resuscitation, and mechanical ventilation. Our graduates have gone on to leadership positions in the areas of trauma and critical care throughout the country.

General Surgery Research

Our research programs focus on the concept that early intervention after injury leads to improved patient outcomes. Our extensive research portfolio includes projects in basic science, translational science, outcomes research, education and simulation, device design and implementation, and clinical trials. The division currently oversees more than 35 active research grants, with funding from the NIH, DOD, and industry. We have strong collaborative ties with several key partners including emergency medicine, neurosurgery, the UC College of Pharmacy, Hoxworth Blood Center, the UC College of Engineering, Northwestern University, and the University of North Carolina.

C-STARS Cincinnati

The section of general surgery and UC Health are proud to host one of six national military medical trauma training centers. UC Medical Center serves as the site of the United States Air Force Center for Sustainment of Trauma and Readiness Skills (CSTARS). Cincinnati CSTARS is home to the Critical Care Air Transport Team (CCATT) advanced validation center. The Cincinnati CSTARS CCATT advanced course is attended by members of the USAF’s elite CCATT teams. These military medical personnel are responsible for the medical care and evacuation of the sickest casualties across the globe. The USAF CSTARS center serves as home base for over 20 active duty Air Force military personnel who serve as instructors and support personnel for CCATT training. Five active duty Air Force trauma surgeons participate as fully integrated partners of the section of general surgery as a part of their assigned duties at Cincinnati CSTARS.

Faculty

Timothy A. Pritts, MD, PhD, FACS (Chief)
Krishna P. Athota, MD, FACS
Richard D. Branson, RRT, MS, MBA
Jennifer S. Colvin, MD
Ryan E. Earnest, MD, FACS
Lane L. Frasier, MD
Michael D. Goodman, MD, FACS
Kevin Grimes, MD, FACS
Jana Hambley, MD
Christopher F. Janowak, MD
Bobby J. (BJ) Johnson, MD
Amy T. Makley, MD, FACS
Jay Nathwani, MD
Valerie Sams, MD, FACS
Jason J. Schrager, MD, FACS
Aaron Seitz, MD
Richard J. Strilka, MD, FACS
Jonathan R. Thompson, MD, FACS
Betty J. Tsuei, MD, FACS, FCCM
Christina P. Williams, MD

Advanced Practice Providers

Ashley Agnew, CNP
Olivia Gordon, CNP
Emily Kelly, CNP
Amber Lanich, CNP
Elizabeth Linz, CNP
Ashley Martin, CNP
Chandra Rhodes, CNP
Nicholas Rittle, PA-C
Jessica Straus, CNP
Sara Tompkins, CNP
Caleb Von Lehman, CNP
Shaleen Williams, CNP