Dr. Frank Raiser Joins Visiting Specialists Team

The Ruby Valley Medical Center is pleased to announce that Dr. Frank Raiser will be seeing surgical patients at the Visiting Specialists Clinic. Dr. Raiser has been providing surgical healthcare in Butte since 2004 and is the Medical Director for the level 3 trauma unit at St. James Healthcare. He is also the Interim Trauma Director at Deer Lodge Medical Center. Dr. Raiser’s primary practice is at Silver Bow Surgical Associates.

Dr. Raiser’s surgical skills are primarily applied to health issues related to the esophagus, thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal glands, spleen, breast, stomach, small intestine, colon, and hernia. Whenever feasible, he prefers to use laparoscopy and thoracoscopy as part of the surgical procedure. Laparoscopic and thoracoscopic surgery employs specialized instruments and a camera to allow the surgeon to see into the abdomen or chest area and perform the surgery without making large incisions.

Dr. Raiser also offers robotically assisted surgery via the DaVinci Surgical System. “Robotically assisted surgery sounds more glamorous and sci-fi than it is,” said Dr. Raiser. “The surgeon controls the machine and the machine controls the instruments. It provides advantages for fine, delicate work, as you have better control over the instruments.” Raiser notes that for some laparoscopic procedures requiring 3-5 incisions, a robotically assisted surgery might only require one incision. Gall bladder surgery is an example of the benefits of combining laparoscopy and robotic assistance. Rather than requiring multiple incisions in a laparoscopic procedure, a robotically assisted gall bladder surgery would only require a single one-inch incision at the belly button,” said Dr. Raiser. Laparoscopy, thoracoscopy and surgical robotics can result in smaller incisions, less pain, reduced risk of infection, shorter hospital stays, faster recovery, less scarring and reduce blood loss.

Dr. Raiser has been certified by the American College of Surgeons and is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He is certified by the American Burn Association for Advanced Burn Life Support. He is also certified in Advanced Trauma Life Support and Advanced Cardiac Life Support and is a member of the Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons.

Born in Germany, Dr. Raiser’s family moved to Illinois when he was six years old. His father had brought the family to the United States while he was doing research at the University of Illinois. The Raiser family eventually settled in suburban Chicago. Dr. Raiser attended the Chicago Medical School at the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science. He did his residency at Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska.

Fifteen years ago, Dr. Raiser moved from Southern Colorado to Butte. He and his wife were looking for a sense of community and easy access to mountain-based outdoor activities. In addition to skiing, hiking, camping and mountain biking, Dr. Raiser also enjoys restoring old cars. “I’m currently working on a 1973 BMW 2002 and helping my son restore a 1967 Mustang,” said Raiser.

While most of Dr. Raiser’s patients are referred by primary care providers, prospective patients can also call him directly for an appointment without a referral. If you would like see Dr. Raiser at the Ruby Valley Medical Center, please call his Silver Bow Surgical Associates office at (406) 723-0043 for an appointment. The schedules of upcoming visits for all Ruby Valley Medical Center’s specialists can be found at www.RVMC.org/visiting-healthcare-specialists.