OPERATION: FAMILY MATTERS

Walk into the doctors’ office on McKean Street in Donora and you might think you’re in another era. A smiling receptionist checks you in and initiates some easy conversation. “How is your mother’s broken hip?””Do you have any pictures of your grandchildren?” The atmosphere is relaxed and comfortable – almost family-like. No wonder. You’re surrounded by family – the Cordero family.

Dr. Edgar Cordero and his wife, Marge, who is also an RN and the office manager, have spent the past 33 years building this caring environment for generations of patients. They’re happy to say that they recently expanded their professional family as well by welcoming their son, general surgeon Dr. Marc Cordero, to the practice.

According to the younger Dr. Cordero, keeping it all in the family is the only way to go. “After my internship and residency, it was great to come back home to family – and to the Steelers, the Pirates and the Penguins. My Dad always had a great rapport with his patients and his physician colleagues. It’s good to be following in his footsteps, working in the same community. In fact, a lot of our patients remember me from when I was a kid and used to go on rounds with my Dad.”

But both doctors agree that so much has changed since those days.

“Back then, there were not as many specialists. A doctor practiced medicine – all sorts of medicine,” recalled Dr. Edgar Cordero. “You offered family practice, and if the patient needed surgery, you provided general surgery too. You did whatever you thought was necessary for your patient.” He noted that today, there are more rules and regulations set up by insurance companies and more limitations on what doctors can and cannot do.

“There’s definitely more paperwork,” said Marge. “Insurance is constantly changing,” she added. “Benefits change from one week to the next. We always have to be careful to check and double-check to make sure procedures are covered, and patients are pre-approved. It’s probably the biggest difference between now and when we first started our practice.”

Marc, a recently appointed Diplomate of the American Board of Surgery, is very much a modern physician. His training not only included all of the intricacies of a modern surgical practice, but the additional nuances of running an efficient and successful business. He hopes to implement some changes in the office soon, including an electronic medical record system to replace traditional paper patient charts.

“The style of practicing is different today,” said Dr. Marc Cordero. “With the Internet and TV, patients take a much more active role in their health than they used to. As a physician, my role is to lay out the options and make recommendations as I see fit.”

To become a surgeon has been this young doctor’s life-long dream. In fact, Marge kept one of her son’s first grade projects – a drawing of a cloud. Inside the cloud were a stethoscope and a syringe and the words, “One day I dream that I will be a doctor and a surgeon.” Marge proudly presented the framed artwork to Marc when he graduated from medical school.

As the youngest surgeon currently on staff at Monongahela Valley Hospital, Dr. Marc Cordero embraces the new technology that allows him to better treat his patients. “Minimally invasive procedures such as laparoscopic surgery are easier on the patient. And we can take care of patients right here in the Mon Valley, instead of having them and their families drive into Pittsburgh.”

He is quick to praise MVH for the support they have shown him early in his career. “I feel like they’re part of the family, too. They’ve always been very good to my Dad, and now they’re helping me get started in my career,” said Dr. Marc. “But I think I’m also helping them by bringing my training and expertise to their staff. It works for everyone.”

Although Dr. Edgar and Dr. Marc Cordero work in the same office, they never see patients together. Each one brings his unique talent and personality to the practice.

“As a person, I’m very much a reflection of my parents, as they were the ones who raised me,” said Dr. Marc. “But as a physician, I’m very much a reflection of the surgeons who trained me over the last seven years.”

This combination seems a perfect fit for this family-friendly practice in Donora. “Having Marc on board has changed the environment in the office,” noted Marge. “It’s really a lot of fun.”