Department of Surgery at LSU Health Shreveport (2024)

The Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport Regional Burn Center serves northern Louisiana, southern Arkansas, and eastern Texas. The vast majority of burn injuries are minor and have minimal or no consequences. Some injuries can be extensive or deep or life threatening and/or result in functional impairment or scarring.

The Center averages 1300 outpatient visits and 74 admissions per year.

The Center treats all aspects of both pediatric and adult burn injuries, which includes initial evaluation, resuscitation, skin grafting, rehabilitation, and after care. Beyond thermal injuries, the Burn Center manages chemical injuries, electrical injuries, smoke inhalation injuries, necrotizing soft tissue infections, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis, hidradenitis suppurativa, and other complex wounds. There is a 24- hour emergency clinic for smaller injuries that can be treated on an outpatient basis.

The Burn Center team involves physicians, nurses, nursing techs, physical and occupational therapists, nutritionists, and social workers to care for our patients.

The LSU Health Shreveport Cardiothoracic Surgery program has a 40 year history of taking care of routine and advanced coronary artery, valvular, aortic, and pulmonary pathology. The patients that are served come from all areas of Louisiana and the surrounding three state region. Two full-time Board certified cardiothoracic surgeons routinely perform coronary artery bypass grafting, valvular repair and replacement, replacement of the aortic root and arch along with composite repair of the thoracoabdominal aorta.

Pulmonary surgery includes resection of cancers of the chest wall, lung, and mediastinal structures along with the ability to perform these procedures through open, thoracoscopic, and robotic technologies. Advanced esophageal surgery is available.

We excel not only in the surgical management of primary and secondary cardiothoracic problems but also have the ability to provide 24 hour per day in-house physician intensive care and monitoring. Referrals can be seen in our outpatient clinic and through in-house consultation at Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport.

A Colon and Rectal Surgical Division was created at LSU Health Shreveport in December 2003. Three physicians comprise the division. Each physician completed a general surgery residency and a colon and rectal surgery residency. The physicians of the Division are certified by the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery, which gives them special expertise in the diagnoses and management of problems involving the small intestine, colon, rectum, and anus.

Diseases treated include benign anorectal and colon disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and colo-rectal cancer. Colonoscopy for screening, polyp surveillance, cancer follow-up, and evaluation of gastrointestinal symptoms is also available.

The mission of the Colon and Rectal Division is to provide excellence in the treatment of colon and rectal disease. The surgeons work hard to ensure their patients receive the most appropriate and up-to-date care. They are involved in national and international education forums, weekly conferences, and critical appraisal of new treatments.

The Colon and Rectal Division maintains one of only 63 Fellowships for colon and rectal surgery in the United States. Surgeons trained by the Colon and Rectal Division are in practice from Alaska to Alabama and most places in between. Learn more about our fellowship training.

General Surgery has been described as able to provide surgical treatment of the skin and all its contents. The Division of General Surgery provides high quality, compassionate care for surgical management for a variety of surgical diseases including malignant and benign conditions. The Division is at the center of resident training at the LSU Health tertiary care center. The surgeons of general surgery services, Drs. Kathryn Richardson, Amos Sit, Jane Sugar, and John Savoy are trained and available to treat the full range of general surgical diseases and offer procedures for treatment of hernias, surgery of the biliary tract, benign soft tissue lesions, soft tissue infections, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, and endocrine surgery.

The most common procedures performed at the main campus include:

• Robotic, laparoscopic, and open hernia repair (inguinal, umbilical, ventral, incisional hernias)
• Robotic, laparoscopic and open cholecystectomy (gallbladder removal)
• Appendectomy
• Laparoscopic and open colectomy for cancer, polyps or inflammatory bowel disease, diverticulitis
• Insertion peritoneal dialysis catheter
• Port for chemotherapy
• Thyroidectomy, Parathyroidectomy
• Biopsy, excision of tumors and skin lesions
• Breast surgery, lumpectomy
• Esophagoscopy, colonoscopy, gastrostomy-feeding tube placement
• Removal of thyroid and parathyroid glands

Pediatric surgeons, Drs. Kevin Boykin, Mark F. Brown, and Donald Sorrells are committed to the surgical care of your infant. Our physicians are specially trained in the surgical issues associated with newborn and premature infants. Our group has over 50 years of experience in caring for newborn and premature infants. They work closely with the obstetricians, maternal fetal specialists, and neonatologists, which allows for optimal care for full term and premature infants with surgical issues. This ensures a seamless team approach to the care of each child on a 24/7 basis. Our pediatric surgeons are available for prenatal consultation and consultation after the infant is born.

• Neonatal lung surgery
• Neonatal esophageal surgery
• Neonatal stomach and intestine surgery
• Neonatal colon and rectal surgery
• Neonatal neck surgery
• Neonatal tumor surgery
• Neonatal hernia surgery
• Neonatal abdominal wall defects

At Feist-Weiller Cancer Center (FWCC), Dr. Terry Lairmore works with a multi-disciplinary team of physicians to provide patients the care and treatment needed to fight illness and continue with daily life. Our patients’ needs, outcomes, and current research findings are all combined to develop individual plans for each patient.

What We Offer Our Patients
Surgical Oncology offers the novel surgical treatment, Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC) to our patients with advanced abdominal malignancies. FWCC is currently the only cancer center in Northern Louisiana that offers HIPEC.

We offer mammosite, the five-day targeted radiation therapy for breast cancer patients. This outpatient radiation treatment allows patients to finish treatments sooner and get back to daily life.

Our excellent and caring nurses help our patients navigate through the medical system at FWCC.

Cancers We Treat
Our fellowship-trained surgical oncologistsdiagnoseand providesurgical care for patients with all types of cancer:

• Breast cancer
• Skin cancer
• Cancers of the gastrointestinal tract (including esophagus, stomach, liver, biliary, pancreas, small bowel, colon and rectum)
• Soft tissue sarcoma
• Recurrent and/or metastatic disease
• Gastrointestinal stromal tumors
• Thyroid nodules and cancer
• Hyperparathyroidism and parathryoid cancer
• Adrenal masses and cancer
• Multiple endocrine neoplasia syndromes

Annually the Surgical Oncology service cares for approximately 10,000 patients. We are a major referral center for complex abdominal surgeries and surgeries of the liver, pancreas, and biliary diseases throughout the state of Louisiana.

Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport is North Louisiana’s premier Trauma Center caring for adults and children. Serving Louisiana, East Texas, and South Arkansas, we offer some of the most advanced medical and surgical care available. From the time patients enter our Trauma Center, they are cared for by physician and nursing experts who specialize in the assessment and treatment of critically ill and injured patients. Trauma surgeons and emergency and intensive care physicians from LSU Health Shreveport are available 24/7, 365 days a year. There is always an emergency bay, operating room and intensive care bed available for persons who need it.

Supported by a team of medical and surgical specialists, we are committed to providing the best trauma care available – regardless of a patient’s ability to pay. In addition to providing trauma and emergency care, Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport is involved in education and research activities. As a regional resource, we train caregivers regarding medical matters. We also educate the public to help prevent injury. We work extensively with the region’s first responders, police officers, firefighters, paramedics, and other rescuers, to make sure that they have the information and skills necessary to save lives. Our outreach through various community groups ensures that teachers and families are aware of ways to make our community safer for people young and old. Together, we will make the communities of North Louisiana a safer place to work and live.

For Referring Physicians

Referring physicians can reach us at any hour by calling our emergency call and transfer center at (318) 572-STAT or toll-free (855) 572-STAT.

Pre-hospital care providers needing medical advice can reach Shreveport’s emergency and trauma physicians by calling LERN & the State Emergency Response Network call center at (866) 320-8293

Advanced Trauma Life Support Course

The Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery maintains a steadfast commitment to highest standard of quality in healthcare delivered to patients, education to surgery residents and medical students, and research in basic and clinical sciences. The faculty members have extensive experience in the management of various arterial and venous diseases. We offer our patients the latest in evidence-based medicine, comprehensive treatment with minimally invasive endovascular techniques as well as traditional open surgery.

The Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery at LSU Health Shreveport serves as a major referral center for re-operative surgery and other complex vascular pathologies throughout North Louisiana. It is the only center in North Louisiana certified in fenestrated stent graft technology for treating complex aortic aneurysms.

Our state-of-the-art hybrid vascular and endovascular suite allows us to perform repair of complex thoracic and abdominal aortic aneurysms and perform peripheral arterial and venous balloon angioplasty and stenting.

Our mission is to provide excellent care to our patients irrespective of their gender, race, religion, nationality, and ability to pay. At the same time, we thrive to advance the field of vascular surgery through education of future surgeons and research.

Conditions Treated

• Aortic dissection
• Carotid artery stenosis
• Complex abdominal and thoracic aortic aneurysms
• Deep vein thrombosis ( DVT)
• Infected aortic grafts
• IVC filter placement and removal
• Median Arcuate ligament syndrome
• Mesenteric artery stenosis/occlusion
• Nutcracker syndrome
• Peripheral artery stenosis/occlusion: lower and upper extremity ischemia
• Renal artery stenosis
• Ruptured aortic aneurysms
• Thoracic outlet syndrome
• Varicose veins
• Vascular Trauma

For Referring Physicians

• Office based referrals, call (318) 675-6068.
• Nurse Coordinator - (318) 675-6068
• Hospital-to-hospital transfers, call Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport Academic Medical Center Transfer Center at (318) 626-1070. Vascular surgery services are offered 24/7 to all referring physicians.
• Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery provides consistent follow-up information to all referring physicians regarding each patient they direct to our care.