Facility Oakland Medical Center Department of Surgery Address Hospital Building 1st floor 280 W. MacArthur Blvd. Oakland CA 94611 Map & Directions Telephone Advice: (510) 752-6405 Appointments: (510) 752-1105 Cancellation: (510) 752-6395 510-752-7064 Enterostomal Therapy: (510) 752-6416 Surgery Scheduling: (510) 752-6417 E-mail your doctor

Department Hours

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Closed	8:30 am 5:30 pm	8:30 am 5:30 pm	8:30 am 5:30 pm	8:30 am 5:30 pm	8:30 am 5:30 pm	Closed
Closed during lunch, 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm

About Me
I grew up in a small town in South Carolina and attended the Citadel and the Medical University of South Carolina, both in Charleston. My wife and I married in 1987 and moved to Southern California for my General Surgery residency. It was at that time, while rotating through the Kaiser Hospital in Anaheim, that I saw the true advantage of working for Kaiser Permanente – namely that Kaiser physicians' lives are 90% medicine and only 10% “other”. After a year of fellowship training in Vascular Surgery in Richmond, Virginia, I began my career here at Kaiser Oakland in 1992.

We have 4 children, including twin girls (Cynthia and Isabella). When I have some free time, I enjoy golfing and painting watercolors.

I am currently an Assistant Chief of Surgery and Chief of Vascular Surgery here at Kaiser Oakland and an Assistant Clinical Professor of Surgery at UCSF. I am also a past president of the East Bay Surgical Society.

My Philosophy
Although Vascular Surgery is a surgical subspecialty, the vast majority of patients I see (with the exception of patients needing access for hemodialysis) do not require an operation. I am a firm believer in the dictum “First do no Harm” and the fact that the operations do carry risk. The key is to establish a favorable benefit/risk ratio for a given procedure in a given patient, i.e., the anticipated benefits should justify the risk – and proceed from there.

Across the board, more compelling indications for surgery include saving lives (preventing aneurysm rupture), preventing limb loss (leg bypass to improve circulation/heal wounds) and preventing stroke (carotid artery surgery). In general, conditions such as poor circulation in the legs leading to pain, with walking (claudication) and varicose veins – even if painful – are usually managed non-operatively – at least in the initial stages.

What causes Arterial Blockages?
This is a common question. Everyone is born with a specific predisposition to develop arterial blockages – just like they are predisposed to being thin or heavy or having a full head of hair till they’re 100 or being a “cue ball” by age 20. I always use the example of 2 children playing in a sandbox, both with perfectly normal arteries – 50 years later one will have severe arterial blockages and the other will not. The risk is coded in our genes, and at the present, there is no way to change our genetic makeup.

As I see it, approximately 10% of the population are born with almost no risk. We’ve all known them. Barring an accident or cancer they will live to be very old despite little attention to their arterial health. Another 10% will develop arterial blockages at an early age no matter what they do. This leaves the 80% in the middle. In this group, the outcome is dependent on how they care for their arteries. Caring for your arteries includes minimizing the risk factors that are known to cause arterial blockages. They are:

• SMOKING
• High Blood Pressure
• High Cholesterol
• Uncontrolled Diabetes

In Kaiser Permanente, great attention is paid to early identification and management of these risk factors. Compliance with these measures is critical in preventing the development of arterial blockages.

My Credentials

Medical school	Medical University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Charleston, SC
Internship	Medical University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Charleston, SC
Residency	UC Irvine Medical Center, Orange, CA
Fellowship	Medical College of Virginia, Richmond, VA
Board certification	Surgery, American Board of Surgery
Board certification	Vascular Surgery, American Board of Surgery

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