Key West Surgical Group is there when you need help

July 27 – You don’t always have to go to the mainland to get the kind of surgical help you need. Especially not with the Key West Surgical Group on the islands.

Nikki Sommer, a nurse with Key West Surgical Group, joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5 FM for Medical Matters this morning.

Key West Surgical Group is the longest standing surgical practice in Key West – they’ve been in business more than 30 years.

General and laparoscopic surgery are their specialties, including appendectomies to thyroidectomies.

Dr. Juan Larrauri is certified by the American Board of Surgery. He came to Key West in 1990 and specializes in general surgery, laparoscopic surgery, hernia and open hernia repair, appendectomy, gall bladder surgery, breast biopsy, breast mastectomy, as well as colon surgery.

Mike Stapleford of KeysTalk 96.9/102.5FM pointed out, “A lot of people assume that they have to go off the island and go to the mainland for surgery and for specialists such as Dr. Larrauri. That’s not the case.”

Sommer said, “Both surgeons, Dr. Larrauri and Dr. Smith do their very best to make it so you can stay in the Keys. We try and find the best treatment for you and if we have to refer you out to the mainland, we will, but we do our best to keep you here close to home.”

Dr. Rhoda Smith is also certified by the American Board of Surgery and she specializes in esophagogastroduodenoscopy, as well as general surgery and other procedures.

Key West Surgical Group also offers in-office procedures as well.

Sommer said, “A lot of people have just skin abscesses, infection under the skin, that doesn’t necessarily need to be taken to surgery. We can do that in the office. A lot of people suffer from hemorrhoids. We can try and treat them in the office. Of course if it needs something a little bit more in depth, they can take them to the Surgical Center or the Lower Keys Medical Center.”

Cysts and fatty tumors can also be removed in the office, as well as skin cancer lesions.

Key West Surgical Group can also help with varicose veins with minimally invasive procedures.

Sommer said, “We are getting our vein practice up and running. We just got a new ultrasound machine, so we’re very excited to start that. Varicose veins can be those bulging veins in your legs that cause you a lot of pain, itching, discoloration in your leg. Unfortunately in severe cases, it can actually cause an opening of the skin or an ulcer that will not heal unless that vein is treated.”

The human veins have valves and the blood flows one way. As people get older, pressure on your veins can cause them to backflow and slow the blood flow to the heart.

A Radio Frequency Ablation basically shuts down the bad veins and redirects circulation into the good veins to remove the pressure and reduce the swelling.

Sommer said, “Even if you have general questions about an upcoming surgery and you’re not even our patient yet, you can go to the website. We have a patient education tab that basically gives a list of almost all the procedures the doctors do and what the procedure is and you can get the information there.”

Spanish translation and Creole translation are also available with advanced notice.

Sommer said, “We do our very best to make sure all our patients feel comfortable from the time they come in to the time they leave. We want to make sure we can take care of the whole community. Key West is one big human family, so we want to be able to take care of everybody.”

Colon cancer screenings are incredibly important as a preventative measure against colon cancer. The recommended age to begin with colonoscopies used to be 50, but it’s gone down to 45. Most insurance companies will cover 50 or older, but there have been some exceptions.

Symptoms include change in bowel habits, pain in the abdomen or bloating and cramping and blood in the stool.

Key West Surgical Group is located at 3136 Northside Drive and is accepting new patients.

You can also email Sommer at [email protected] or call 305-294-1041, ext.203.

For more information, click here: https://www.keywestsurgicalgroup.com/index.php