SWMC Welcomes Orthopedic Surgeon, Dr. Firas Kawtharani

·         Provided by Southwest Medical Center

Southwest Medical Center is proud to announce the arrival of orthopedic surgeon, Firas Kawtharani, M.D., to the Liberal community. Dr. Kawtharani joined Southwest Medical Center’s surgical team this April as part of the Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Care Center.

Dr. Kawtharani grew up in Beirut, Lebanon where he completed his undergraduate and medical degree at the American University of Beirut. He says his interest in science started at a young age and grew with his other interests over time.

“In middle school I developed an interest in biology which progressed into my career in medicine,” Kawtharani said. “I was a basketball player in college on the varsity team. I noticed many injuries during my basketball years. I was always intrigued by the nature of the injuries and I wanted to learn more about how they occurred and how to treat them. My interest in sports carried into medical school, and so naturally I was interested in treating sports medicine patients.”

Dr. Kawtharani completed his orthopedic surgery residency at the American University of Beirut Medical Center before arriving in the United States to continue fellowship training in sports medicine at the Cincinnati Medicine and Orthopaedic Center. Kawtharani then broadened his skills further through fellowship training in orthopedic trauma surgery at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Kawtharani says he applied to work in different areas of the country, and that meeting the people of Liberal led him to his decision to join Southwest Medical Center.

“When I came to Liberal I noticed that people in Liberal and mainly at the hospital whether patients, physicians or staff were all very warm and welcoming. This is a nice environment to work in,” he said. “There are small towns all over this country, but the hospital here and the people in this community were all so friendly. It made this an easy decision for me in selecting where to practice.”

Dr. Kawtharani explains he is excited to work with patients in the Liberal area and to coach them through the injuries and ailments which typically come with orthopedic and sports medicine cases.

“It is important for me to see the patients I’m treating progress between their clinic visits. I hope to give patients a positive experience in the clinic and our hospital setting,” Kawtharani said. “In orthopedics you have the chance to see people getting better by the day. That’s why it’s such a rewarding career and specialty.”

Dr. Firas Kawtharani is now seeing patients at the Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Care Center, alongside Dr. Pingal Desai. The practice is located at 305 W. 15^th Street, Suite 101 inside the Medical Office Building at Southwest Medical Center.

Dr. Kawtharani is accepting new patients and most major insurances, including Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Medicare, and Kansas and Oklahoma Medicaid. For questions about services performed by Dr. Kawtharani, please call (620) 624-0732 or visit www.swmccare.com.