OPERATION EXPANSION
WellStar Paulding Hospital expands access to advanced surgery

WellStar Paulding Hospital continues to expand its healthcare services, making a wide range of surgical procedures available close to home. On the heels of opening three additional state-of-the-art operating rooms, the hospital recently welcomed another board-certified general surgeon. The new ORs will bring the hospital’s total to seven.
“The patients in the community are very happy they don’t have to leave their community to get highly specialized care,” said Karun Somani, M.D., Paulding Hospital’s newest surgeon. “They appreciate how much we’re able to do for them right here in Paulding County.”
General surgeons at Paulding Hospital commonly perform hernia repair as well as the removal of the appendix and gallbladder. More specialized gastrointestinal treatments are also available in the Paulding community, such as surgery for advanced colon cancer, diverticulitis, anorectal disease, hemorrhoids and fissures. When the surgery is complex, the surgeons work together in the operating room to achieve the best outcome for the patient.
“This is the nicest hospital I’ve worked in,” Dr. Somani said. “It’s not just the facility and modern technology. The people here are focused on patient-centered care. We want to make sure patients have a good experience whether it’s in the clinical area or the perioperative area before or after a procedure. That’s one of the things that make surgery at WellStar Paulding a good experience.”
According to Dr. Somani, patients are often able to schedule surgeries quickly, within a few days. Typically, the general surgeons at Paulding perform laparoscopic surgeries, meaning they are minimally invasive with small incisions.
“With the technology today, the majority of patients go home the same day,” Dr. Somani said. “In some situations, a patient may require 1-2 days in the hospital.”
Nearly 3,400 surgeries were performed in WellStar Paulding Hospital’s operating room last year. In addition to general surgery, a number of surgical specialties are available at WellStar Paulding Hospital including: Breast; Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT); General; Gynecology; Hand Surgery; Ophthalmology; Orthopedics; Podiatry; Pulmonology; and Urology.
Dr. Somani practices at the Hiram location of WellStar Douglas Surgical Associates on the campus of WellStar Paulding Hospital. He will begin seeing patients at a second location in Acworth this March. For more information, visit www.wellstar.org or call 770-445-4915.

“This is the nicest hospital I’ve worked in,” said Karun Somani, M.D., a new surgeon at WellStar Paulding Hospital. “It’s not just the facility and modern technology. The people here are focused on patient-centered care.”