Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Randell, MD.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Dr. Randell. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I have always been curious about the world. As a child growing up in Miami, I would take apart things and try to figure out how they worked. My aptitude for science emerged at an early age and I undertook science fair projects throughout junior high school and high school (competing with Jeff Bezos who went on to start Amazon.com). I attended Emory University where I studied psychology and biology with plans of going to medical school to become a neurologist and psychologist.
My first clinical rotation in medical school was in OBGYN and I knew that this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Following medical school at the University of Miami, I stayed in Miami and completed a four year residency at the prestigious University of Miami Jackson Memorial Medical Center. At the time, it was the busiest hospital in the country for obstetrics. I decided to return to Atlanta after my training and enter into private practice.
For most of my professional career I have been in solo practice which has benefited my more than 8,000 patients who always knew that I would be the one to deliver their baby or perform their surgery. As medicine has changed over the last two decades, solo practices have become extinct and larger groups and hospital-owned groups have emerged. Not wanting to lose the personal side of medicine– the part that I enjoy the most– I have remained in solo practice.
In 2016, I retired from delivering babies and my medical practice is now focused entirely on gynecology and advanced gynecologic minimally invasive surgery, including robotic assisted surgery. This year marks my tenth year of performing robotic surgery. I am the number-one surgeon in the world for robotic removal of fibroids based on total volume of surgeries performed over the last decade. Other doctors in Atlanta and from around the country refer their patients to me for fibroid surgery as well as other types of gynecologic surgery.
I recently developed a unique procedure I call RIGHT (Randell Improved Gynecologic Hysterectomy Technique) surgery, which allows me to perform an outpatient minimally invasive hysterectomy on women with large fibroids through fewer tiny incisions. I achieved this by building on surgical principles learned with robotics over the last decade and eliminating some incisions and instruments. With my RIGHT surgery, I am able to ensure the most minimally invasive and safest surgery for my patients. I also use this approach to remove fibroids in those women who desire to keep their uterus.
At Emory Saint Joseph’s Hospital in Atlanta, I have a dedicated team that works with me on all of my surgeries- only one operation at a time. I care about quality, not quantity. Others who do robotic surgery typically use four or more incisions and sometimes have to convert to an open operation when the uterus is too large or there are too many fibroids. I use three or less incisions and I have never had to convert to an open operation. Robotic surgery is only as good as the surgeon using the device. Behind any successful robotic surgery is an experienced surgeon and dedicated team. The machine doesn’t work by itself.
I’ve operated on patients from 42 states and 6 countries and many celebrities in addition to everyone else. All of my patients have had excellent outcomes. In addition to my practice in Sandy Springs, I teach the RIGHT surgery to other surgeons around the world. I performed Poland’s first laparoscopic laser surgery in 2014 and recently lectured in Germany, Portugal, Italy, Canada, Trinidad, and Bermuda.
I am extremely passionate about my work and I enjoy improving my patient’s lives.
Has it been a smooth road?
While there have been great advances in medicine, many in my lifetime, the practice of medicine has changed in a way that I do not feel is the best for patients or physicians.
The heart of medical practice has always been a physician, a patient, and what transpires when the patient seeks help from a physician. While I find helping patients extremely rewarding, obstacles from insurance companies and others involved in the delivery of health care have made the daily practice of medicine very challenging.
Despite this, I place my patients above everything else. I work tirelessly to make sure that procedures and medications my patients need are approved by their insurance plans. Similarly, I advocate on behalf of my patent’s when an insurance company improperly processes claims.
Despite today’s obstacles and challenges, I use my knowledge, skills, care, and understanding to practice excellent medicine. I have never forgotten the ideas and ideals that brought me to this noble profession in the first place.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I have been in practice for twenty-two years. I am a Board Certified Obstetrician and Gynecologist specializing in advanced minimally invasive laparoscopic and robotic surgery. In other words, I take big stuff out of tiny holes.
I am known for my dedication, compassion, and attention to detail, I have taken care of thousands of women from Georgia and across the country (and other parts of the world) suffering with the symptoms of uterine fibroids. I have developed and perfected techniques that allow patients to have their fibroids removed via outpatient minimally invasive surgery.
My interest in fertility-preserving surgery has led me to work closely with fertility specialists around the country to increase a woman’s ability to conceive and deliver a healthy baby.
My goal is to make sure that patients have an opportunity to be heard and have their concerns addressed with compassion. I give patients as much time as they need during appointments. I utilize the latest technology to provide patients with superior services and the highest quality of care. I am committed to providing patients with the most cost-effective care.
I am well known for taking on the most challenging surgical cases and cases that others say are impossible. While many physicians may offer patients just one option for managing their condition, I have the knowledge and experience to offer my patients several options. I then work together with my patients to come up with the best individualized plan of care.
Although I do not deliver babies anymore, I help women get pregnant. Unless a woman does not desire future fertility, my surgeries are designed to preserve and, when necessary, promote fertility. Many of my patients have gone on to deliver healthy babies after having surgery with me.
My record speaks for itself. For example, I once removed an 18 pound fibroid from a patient without performing a hysterectomy. I also have removed more than 150 fibroids from a patient while preserving her uterus for future childbearing.
In addition to my dedicated patient care, I am known as an educator. Other surgeons from around the country come to Atlanta to observe my work. I am also widely sought by the media for interviews on various women’s health topics. I regularly appear on CNN, CBS, ABC, NBC and I have appeared in stories in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The AJC, and many consumer magazines. I have also appeared on several “reality TV shows” with my celebrity patients.
I am an active member of international organizations and I have published several scientific papers.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Atlanta is an amazing city. I have traveled to cities around the country and I find Atlanta to have a higher quality of life unmatched by other metropolitan areas. What appeals to me the most is the sophistication of Atlanta’s medical community.
I practice in “Pill Hill” located in Sandy Springs, near the intersection of Georgia 400 and Interstate 285, in the Perimeter Center district. Pill Hill has become the health-care hub of Atlanta, with three hospitals, hundreds of physician practices, multiple outpatient centers and support services.
Patients coming to see me from out of town simply need to get on MARTA at the airport and get off at the medical center stop. My office is attached to the train station which is quite convenient.
If someone is just finishing their medical training and looking for work, there are plenty of opportunities in healthcare around Atlanta.
Contact Info:
- Address: 5667 Peachtree Dunwoody Road
Suite 280
Atlanta, Georgia 30342 - Website: http://www.obgynatlanta.com
- Phone: (404) 250-4443
- Email: office@obgynatlanta.com
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/obgynatlanta
- Other: www.fibroidsatlanta.com
Image Credit:
Michael D. Randell, MD, PC
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