Mercy Earns Oklahoma’s First ‘Center of Excellence’ Recognition for Hernia Surgery

OKLAHOMA CITY – Larry Sawyer looked down and saw his own intestines in his hands, fearing the worst as his wife Marsha frantically called 911 last July from their rural Oklahoma home. 

Larry’s abdomen had split open after an unsuccessful surgery at a non-Mercy facility, leaving him holding his insides together in his bathroom and awaiting a rescue flight. After an emergency operation to re-close the wound and stabilize him, he and Marsha needed someone with an exceptionally high level of expertise in hernia care to give him a chance of resuming a normal life.

What Is a Center of Excellence?

Health care facilities and surgeons seeking a Surgical Review Corporation accreditation as a Center of Excellence undergo an extensive assessment and inspection process to ensure they meet SRC’s proven standards and requirements. These include surgical volumes, facility equipment, clinical pathways and standardized operating procedures.

The designation also emphasizes patient education and continuous quality assessment. Inspectors educate staff in the accredited departments on best practices to help an organization improve its care and services.

For hernia surgery, certified Centers of Excellence perform at least 125 qualifying hernia surgeries every year, at least 15% of which are complex. Each surgeon must perform at least 60 qualifying surgeries annually and have served as the primary surgeon for at least 160 qualifying surgeries during their career.

Centers of Excellence must have a full complement of consultative services, plus surgeons and support staff who meet a number of performance and continuing education standards.

There are only 56 Centers of Excellence for hernia surgery nationally, and Mercy is the only one in Oklahoma.

SRC is a nonprofit patient safety organization that develops the accreditation programs and certifies the Centers of Excellence.

Hernia Surgery at Mercy OKC

As a certified Center of Excellence for hernia surgery, Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City prepares patients for their surgery with a comprehensive examination and evaluation by an expert team of physicians and caregivers in support positions.

The team provides extensive patient education services, ensuring patients and their families are informed and comfortable with the procedure, including what happens before and during recovery.

As part of the Center of Excellence designation, the Surgical Review Corporation has also certified Dr. Buendia and Dr. Randal Baker as Master Surgeons in Hernia Surgery. The designation recognizes their experience in the most complex hernia surgeries requiring total abdominal wall reconstruction, resulting in excellent patient outcomes.

“We can take all of these complex patients who have sometimes failed medical therapy, failed conservative therapy and continued to worsen,” said Dr. Buendia. “We can give them a surgical option to get their abdominal wall reconstructed. Between our surgeons and caregivers throughout the entire center, we believe we do great work here.”

Mercy’s hernia surgery team worked diligently to achieve Center of Excellence recognition to ensure patients in Oklahoma have access to transformational hernia surgery without leaving the state.

“We’re proud to recognize Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City for its commitment to advancing and providing quality care for all patients,” said Surgical Review Corporation CEO Gary M. Pratt. “This accreditation signals that this facility is among the best in this specialty and is dedicated to delivering the highest level of care possible.”

Visit the Advanced Hernia Care & Surgery webpage on mercy.net for more information.