Expanding Surgical Care

Front left to right: Shannon Johnson, NP, Bradley Dyniewski, M.D., Bunry Pin, D.O., James Partridge, M.D., Scott Schneider, M.D., Mark Janzen, M.D., Austin Holmes, M.D., and Brian Dwyer, PA, have helped expand surgical services at Enloe.

Christopher Bowen’s 76th birthday is one he won’t forget. Instead of celebrating at home, the Chico resident found himself at Enloe Health’s Emergency Department after his hand and arm suddenly went numb and turned a deep red-purple. Dizzy and disoriented, he drove himself to the hospital.

Tests ruled out a stroke, but physicians discovered a blockage in a small artery supplying blood to Bowen’s left forearm and hand. Without quick treatment, he risked losing his arm. Mark Janzen, M.D., a vascular surgeon who joined Enloe Health in 2023, performed a minimally invasive procedure using a thin, flexible tube threaded through an artery to deliver clot-dissolving medication. The procedure was repeated the next day. After four days in the hospital, Bowen went home and fully recovered.

Dr. Janzen is one of three vascular surgeons — along with Bradley Dyniewski, M.D., and Austin Holmes, M.D., — who have joined Enloe Health in recent years. Vascular surgeons treat conditions affecting blood vessels throughout the body, from varicose veins and chronic wounds to life-threatening blockages and aneurysms. The Enloe team also brings new treatments to the area, including the breakthrough technology TransCarotid Artery Revascularization (TCAR) to treat patients with carotid artery disease, a narrowing of the blood vessels in the neck.

Growing to Meet the Moment

“Our newer vascular surgeons bring varied experience from different universities and big cities,” said Sean Maiorano, D.O., Enloe Health’s Chief Medical Officer. “We’ve been lucky that the people we chose also chose us. Chico is a special place to live and work.”

In addition to the growing Vascular Surgery service line, Enloe’s general surgery team has also expanded to meet the needs of the community. Scott Schneider, M.D., has been a cornerstone of Enloe’s general surgery program since 1999, helping shape it into what it is today. He’s now joined by Bunry Pin, D.O., a California State University, Chico, alumnus with extensive Bay Area hospital experience, and James Partridge, M.D., who was at the Mayo Clinic for more than two decades. Dr. Schneider calls them his dream team.

It’s a team equipped to handle nearly anything, including hernia repairs, gallbladder disease, cyst and lipoma removals, and other general surgery needs. They see patients at Enloe Health & Wellness General Surgery and Enloe Health Enloe Medical Center.

Not All Hernia Repairs Are Created Equal

Durl White knows firsthand how much that team can do. The 35-year-old police sergeant underwent multiple hernia repair surgeries over five years, ultimately developing a painful 3-inch hernia that protruded from his abdomen. He was eventually forced to take medical leave.

White needed a surgeon with specialized skills. He found that in Dr. Schneider, one of only a few general surgeons in Northern California who perform these procedures. Dr. Schneider uses a distinctive multi-layered approach — combining mesh with targeted Botox injections to relax the abdominal muscles before reconstruction.

“I think of it like a lasagna,” White said. “Muscles, stitches and mesh, rather than just mesh. My previous surgeries were like slapping a patch on a kiddie pool — it was only a matter of time before it tore again.”

The surgery delivered the result he’d been searching for. “I feel great, and I’m going back to work soon,” White said. “I’m pain free and the visual difference is night and day.”

That kind of care is becoming more accessible across the North State. In all, Enloe Health added 12 surgeons since 2023. This fall, the organization will expand services even more by opening a new multispecialty clinic in Oroville.

To learn more about surgical services at Enloe Health, visit www.enloe.org/surgery.