Most surgeons think highly of UMC and its CEO

William A. Zamboni, Henderson

Friday, Dec. 25, 2009 | 2:02 a.m.

Regarding Marshall Allen’s article in Wednesday’s Las Vegas Sun, in which two surgeons criticized University Medical Center CEO Kathy Silver:

Dr. Joseph Thornton’s comments, in particular, are his own and in no way reflect the overall opinion of the 22 surgeons in the Department of Surgery, University of Nevada School of Medicine. As chairman of the department and a physician leader within the medical school, I interact frequently with UMC administration and our relationship has never been better.

Kathy Silver has supported several surgical programs beneficial to patients in our community, including our training programs — Trauma and Critical Care, Acute Care Surgery (the first program in the country), Plastic and Hand Surgery, Pediatric Surgery, Bariatric Surgery, Burn Care — and several specialty clinics staffed by my group of talented surgeons, including a Colon and Rectal Clinic, which Dr. Thornton runs.

I am a plastic surgeon with a busy breast reconstruction practice and choose UMC for my patients because the operating room staff and nursing care are excellent. Our department remains committed to UMC as we continue to grow our service and training programs.

The fact that greater than 90 percent of our surgeries as a group are performed at UMC goes against the notion that patients are being redirected to other hospitals.