The specialty of General Surgery is the oldest and broadest based of all the surgical specialties. While the name may sound like "General Practice" it is far from it. A General Surgeon must complete a minimum of 5 years of formal training in surgery after Medical School. That training includes everything from overseeing all aspects of trauma care to the treatment of a variety of acute and chronic conditions involving the GI tract, the Hepatobiliary System, Endocrine Glands, the Breast and other soft tissue tumors and infections. In short, there isn't a whole lot within the body that the General Surgeon isn't trained to provide expert surgical care.
While their training is extremely broad, more and more General Surgeons are electing to narrow their scope of practice. This is particularly true in major metropolitan communities. The "complete" General Surgeon is getting harder and harder to find except in rural communities, where some may even still deliver babies and perform tonsilectomies.
Dr. Robert Sewell is proud to be a General Surgeon by training and experience, but for the last decade he has largely confined his practice to minimally invasive, intra-abdominal procedures. He has a particular interest in the diagnosis and surgical treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) including repair of hiatal hernias and esophageal achalasia. In addition he provides weight loss surgery, including the Lap Band and the Gastric Sleeve.
Other laparoscopic procedures that Dr. Sewell offers include inguinal hernia and incisional hernia repairs and gallbladder removal. He was instrumental in developing these minimally invasive procedures and training other surgeons during the 1990's. He was also a pioneer in the treatment of liver tumors using laparoscopic ultrasound and radiofrequency ablation techniques. He offers numerous other minimally invasive procedure such as appendectomy, colon resection, small intestine surgery, splenectomy and adrenalectomy. More information about all of these services is available on this web site.