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Kootenai Clinic’s general surgeons are board certified and are trained and experienced in a wide range of surgical procedures. Kootenai Clinic offers a variety of surgical services, including general surgery, endoscopy and advanced laparoscopic procedures.

As graduates of nationally recognized university training programs, Kootenai Clinic’s surgeons have experience in cancer care, endovascular procedures, trauma surgery, and colorectal surgery. They are also well equipped to handle virtually any surgical illness and look forward to providing excellent care to surgical patients in conjunction with Â鶹¹ÙÍø for many years to come.

What is General Surgery?

General surgeons are trained to manage a broad spectrum of diseases and injuries affecting almost any area of the body that requires surgical intervention. These physicians are involved in the diagnosis, preoperative, operative and postoperative care of the surgical patient, and they are trained to provide comprehensive management of trauma and complete care of critically ill patients with underlying surgical conditions. The surgeon uses a variety of diagnostic techniques, including endoscopy, for observing internal structures, and may use specialized instruments during operative procedures. Although its scope is broad, general surgery usually involves the abdomen, breasts, peripheral vasculature, skin, neck, soft tissue, critical care, trauma, and burns. General surgery is the surgical specialty that focuses on the abdominal organs. Despite the term “general”, surgeons that practice general surgery are highly skilled surgeons that typically operate on common abdominal complaints including appendicitis, hernias, gallbladder surgeries, stomach and intestinal issues.

What are some of the most common procedures?

Surgeries involving the colon, bowel, gallbladder, hernias, appendix, mastectomies, lesion removals, certain cancer surgeries, and biopsies. A lot of these procedures may be performed using a scope (minimally invasive). This is not an all-inclusive list; please do not hesitate to ask.

Appointments

Appointments can be scheduled Monday through Friday. We even have some appointments that can be made after normal work hours. If you are a new patient, please arrive 30 minutes prior to your scheduled appointment time. This will allow enough time to complete the required paperwork prior to your scheduled appointment time. To help make the process faster, fill out your new patient paperwork before your appointment and bring it with you. If you fill out your paperwork before, feel free to arrive five minutes prior to your appointment.

Helpful Links

Insurance

We accept most major insurance companies and Medicare. However, it is important you know your insurance carrier when scheduling your appointment. This is necessary to help schedule you with a physician who is a provider of your insurance network to maximize your benefits.

Please bring your insurance cards to your visit. We will also file Idaho workers’ compensation claims with authorized case number and billing address information. Co-payments are due at the time of service. If you are unable to make the payment at the time of your visit, please contact us to arrange other payment options.

We accept cash, checks, and all major credit cards.

Get a Cost-Estimate

Call us for a personalized cost estimate. We welcome your request for a price estimate related to your upcoming treatment at Â鶹¹ÙÍø. Call to speak to a member of our billing services team who will provide an estimate based on your services and your health insurance provider, including the specifics of your coverage plan.

Things to know about your request:

• It is helpful to know the CPT code of your procedure (your provider can give this to you). If your procedure is already scheduled, our staff may be able to help get this code for you.
• Please allow at least one to two business days for estimates as it may take extra time to obtain certain information related to your request.

To obtain a personalized estimate, call (208) 625-4484 or learn more on our page.

Online Patient Portal

Looking for online access? Visit Â鶹¹ÙÍø¡¯s MyChart 

Breast Center of Excellence

Kootenai Clinic Cancer Services was granted a full accreditation designation by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC), a program administered by the American College of Surgeons.  Accreditation by the NAPBC is only given to those centers that have voluntarily committed to provide the highest level of quality breast care and that undergo a rigorous evaluation process and review of their performance. 

NAPBC Breast Care Team Members

• Aaron Chalmers, M.D., Breast Program Director General Surgery
• Luke Grauke, M.D., Radiology
• Benjamin Mandel, M.D., FACS, Plastics and Reconstruction
• Aaron Wagner, M.D., Radiation Oncology
• Paul White, M.D., Medical Oncology
• Judd Fite, M.D., Pathology

Patient Downloads

• Patient Information Form