Insurance doesn’t deter surgeon

Monday, March 20, 2006 | 7:09 a.m.

Dr. Michael Scheidler, a pediatric surgeon, moved to the Las Vegas Valley just over a year ago because he saw great potential.

With less than a thousand pediatric surgeons nationwide, Scheidler probably could have had a thriving practice anywhere. But the 37-year-old physician chose Las Vegas for several reasons.

"This is such a young and growing city there is a chance for doctors to get established in a very short time," Scheidler said. "There are so many different hospitals and you can get privileges fairly quickly, a doctor can develop a practice within months."

Scheidler practices out of the Center for Children's Surgery on Maryland Parkway. He also has credentials at Sunrise Hospital, Summerlin Hospital and St. Rose Dominican Hospital in Henderson.

"Since there are not many doctors in my field, we all know each other pretty well, and the group in Las Vegas has a pretty good reputation," said Scheidler, who cares for children up to about the age of 16.

With a relatively small number of hospitals in the valley designed to take care of children, he arrived here with concerns.

"A doctor is only one piece of the puzzle," Scheidler said. "You need a whole team of top-notch people, including nurses that knows how to talk to children and put them at ease, and I have been impressed. The area has a lot of high-caliber people."

Like many who settle here, Scheidler found that the valley is much different for residents than the Las Vegas portrayed in commercials and promotions.

"It is very residential and suburban in the neighborhoods here," Scheidler said. "It's like any other city that just happens to have the Strip 10 miles away, and the weather is better here than a lot of other places."

While Scheidler knew about the high malpractice rates, they were not enough to deter him.

"Malpractice insurance is high all over the country and while it is higher here, it is really a national problem."

He said his concerns about the issue have always been more personal than financial.

"I have devoted half of my life to taking care of babies and I have to look over my shoulder. It hurts your feelings more than anything else because I just put so much into it emotionally."

Scheidler, who is married with a 2-month-old child, said he is glad he moved and has no plans to leave anytime soon.

"For the last several years, for one reason or another, we have stayed in a place for a couple of years and then moved on, and we're a little tired of that," he said. He moved to Las Vegas from Pittsburgh and he had also practiced in Philadelphia and Little Rock, Ark.

"We have a baby now, so it's time for us to set up some roots, and this seems like a great place to do that."