Ask Melvin D. Schursky, Jr., M.D. what most people want to know when they find out he is a general surgeon and he’ll tell you – “so what is it that you do?”
His answer? Think lumps and bumps. Heartburn relief. Gallbladders. Vascular. Appendicitis. Colonoscopies. Nearly every surgery related to cancer treatment. Lungs.
Certified by the American Board of Surgeons, Dr. Schursky and Michael J. Francis, M.D. of Riverside Surgical Specialists – Gloucester conduct well over 1,250 surgeries and procedures each year. Their Virginia Middle Peninsula practice is located on the medical campus of Riverside Walter Reed Hospital.
As general surgeons, Dr. Francis said, it’s their job to provide the best care possible while “always keeping the patient and what they are comfortable with at the center of what we do.”
In Tappahannock, Wirt Cross, M.D. and Reginald K. Mason, M.D. practice with Riverside Surgical Specialists – Tappahannock, which is located on the medical campus of Riverside Tappahannock Hospital.
“With many aspects of medicine, you treat a patient,” Dr. Cross said. “In surgery, we fix patients.” Whether it’s in the Middle Peninsula or Northern Neck areas, “we strive to provide a wide range of surgical care right here at home so patients don’t have to travel,” Dr. Schursky said.
Sure, there are elements of their practice that help them stand out. For one, they provide the region with one of the only single-port laparoscopy centers, giving patients the option of having minimally invasive surgeries that can reduce pain, bleeding and chance of infection.
But more than that, they are members of the community. “I’m not from a small town, didn’t grow up in a small town, but I love practicing in a small town,” Dr. Mason said. “Each day, here, you feel like you make a difference.”
Patients are often surprised by the scope of what the Riverside general surgeons do, Dr. Schursky said, explaining that “we really are a family taking care of people. You aren’t just a bump or a lump or a hernia.”
“Every case we work on has a story associated with it,” Dr. Cross said. “For every patient we work with, we know it’s one of the biggest days of their life. We try to be cognizant of that.”
INTRODUCING OUR SURGEONS
There’s nothing general about general surgeons. Riverside’s General Surgeons are highly trained, offering a wide spectrum of integrated and specialized surgical expertise as well as general surgery. Riverside’s comprehensive array of surgical services, anchored by the exceptional surgeons below, treats conditions large and small: from hernias and hemorrhoids to larger organ systems.
RIVERSIDE SURGICAL SPECIALISTS – GLOUCESTER
7554 Hospital Drive, Suite 303, Gloucester, Virginia
804-693-3400
Melvin D. Schursky, Jr., M.D.
Dr. Schursky chose general surgery because he “loves the broad range of surgical care that he provides for all ages at Riverside Surgical Specialists.”
General surgery also provides Dr. Schursky with opportunities to continually use the latest in advanced, minimally invasive surgical techniques. As he puts it, “My goal is to provide excellent, state-of-the-art care to all patients in our community.” He has a special interest in surgical treatments for venous stasis disease and breast cancer related surgery. Dr. Schursky uses a new, minimally invasive procedure to treat varicose veins and their underlying cause with little or no pain.
Dr. Schursky graduated from Temple University School of Medicine and completed a fellowship in surgical critical care at Boston Children’s Hospital. He has been board-certified by the American Board of Surgeons since 2009.
Michael J. Francis, M.D.
After receiving his medical degree from New York Medical College, Dr. Francis completed a surgery residency at the Naval Regional Medical Center in Oakland, California, and a fellowship in colon and rectal surgery at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital/Rutgers Medical School. He served the Navy for 21 years, including two tours in the Persian Gulf, before retiring as a captain.
Board-certified by the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery and the American Board of Surgery, Dr. Francis specializes in laparoscopic surgery, gastrointestinal surgery, endoscopy and colonoscopy. He has published articles in nationally recognized journals and has held numerous leadership and teaching positions in his field.
When it comes to his bedside manner, Dr. Francis will tell you openly that “I am an introvert. I am not overly expressive. I will tell patients exactly what’s going on and be very direct. But at the same time, and I hope patients see this, on the inside I see every patient as a wife, a mother, a father, a brother. I see their connection to their families and see it as my job to do the very best I can to help them heal.”
RIVERSIDE SURGICAL SPECIALISTS – TAPPAHANNOCK
659 Hospital Road, Tappahannock, Virginia
804-443-6232
Wirt Cross, M.D.
Dr. Cross received his medical degree at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond. He completed a general surgery residency at Saint Agnes Hospital with supplemental training at Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland Shock Trauma, all in Baltimore.
Dr. Cross was an intern at Portsmouth Naval Medical Center and received the Defense Meritorious Service Medal while serving with the National Security Agency. He also served as a medical officer in the Navy, achieving the rank of lieutenant commander. Dr. Cross has had articles published in nationally recognized journals.
He started out wanting to go into family medicine, but then discovered how much he enjoyed surgery. Dr. Wirt Cross provides general surgery services, including a focus in laparoscopic hernia, gastrointestinal procedures, vascular surgery (specifically dialysis access and endovascular approaches to peripheral vascular disease), as well as endoscopies and colonoscopies.
Reginald K. Mason, M.D.
Dr. Mason was commissioned as an ensign in the Navy in 1992 and remained in the Naval Reserve until 2000 while earning his medical degree from the Medical College of Pennsylvania. He completed residency training at Saint John’s Hospital and Medical Center and returned to active duty in the Navy, where he was department head of General Surgery at Yokosuka Naval Hospital as well as Camp Lejeune Naval Hospital until 2004.
Dr. Mason is board certified by the American Board of Surgery. He is a member of the American Society of Breast Surgeons as well as the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract.
Dr. Mason provides general surgery services, including non-invasive treatment for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) as well as medical modalities, advanced techniques for hernia repair, laparoscopic surgery for the gallbladder and colon, and advanced treatment for diseases of the intestine, including colonoscopy. Dr. Mason believes in establishing trust with his patients to facilitate the best possible outcomes.