"World-class" surgeons teaming up with St. Bernards, Clopton Clinic | Health

Northeast Arkansas women battling gynecological cancers will soon have access to “world-class treatment in Jonesboro.”

St. Bernards Healthcare announced Monday it’s teaming up with Clopton Clinic and The West Clinic of Memphis.  Under the agreement, Drs. Todd Tillmanns and Mark Reed, gynecologic oncology specialists, will be on the medical staff at St. Bernards.  Tillmanns will serve as lead surgeon.

According to Chris B. Barber, president and C.E.O. of St. Bernards Healthcare, “Drs. Tillmanns and Reed are among the most respected specialists in their fields and they bring invaluable experience currently not available outside major metropolitan areas, such as Memphis.”

According to a press release from St. Bernards:

Tillmanns is board certified in gynecologic oncology as well as obstetrics and gynecology.  He has been with The West Clinic for seven years. In February 2006, he performed the first robotic-assisted hysterectomy and paraaortic lymphadenectomy in the Mid-South using the da Vinci® Robotic Surgical System. As a leader in robotic-assisted surgery, Tillmanns also performed the first robotic surgery at Methodist University Hospital for gynecologic cancer, and in 2010 performed the first robotic surgery at Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital.

Tillmanns is the current president of the Memphis Robotic Surgical Society and a founding member of the organization. He also serves as an associate professor in the Department of OB/GYN, Division of Gynecologic Oncology at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, training the next generation of gynecologists and minimally invasive surgery specialists. Tillmanns also serves on the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Guidelines Committee for Cervical and Endometrial Cancer, Society of Gynecologic Oncologists 2012 Program Committee and the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists( AAGL) Oncology Committee, to name a few. He recently presented research findings at the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) international meeting in Chicago and is highly published in peer-reviewed journals.

Reed has been on staff at The West Clinic for more than a decade and is board certified in gynecologic oncology as well as obstetrics and gynecology. He is also a founding member of the Memphis Robotic Surgical Society and holds fellow status with the American College of Surgeons. Dr. Reed is an assistant professor in the Department of OB/GYN, Division of GYN Oncology, UT Health Science Center.

The West Clinic has been a premier provider of cancer care in the Mid-South for more than 30 years and is widely recognized for its breadth of expertise, dedication to excellence and commitment to compassionate care.

In January, 2012, The West Clinic formed a unique partnership with Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, a seven-hospital system based in Memphis, to create a comprehensive, fully integrated cancer service to greatly benefit residents in this region. Another move that speaks to the strength of The West Clinic cancer care program is that the University of Tennessee Health Science Center has moved its Oncology Fellowship Program to The West Clinic, with both The West Clinic and Methodist Health System contributing a total of $35 million over the next seven years to enhance cancer research, care programs and innovation.

Tillmanns and Reed will see patients at Clopton Clinic, 300 Carson.