*Dr. Mark Sutherland and Dr. Chris Timmons of Texarkana Surgical Specialists*

Dr. Chris Timmons joined Texarkana Surgical Specialists in July of 2021. He joins Dr. Mark Sutherland in the practice of General Surgery. He is eager to provide his patients with excellent care and attention, in addition to serving the community at large. A native of Bloomburg, Texas, Dr. Timmons was very excited to return to the ArkLaTex with his wife, Cheryl, and young son, Case. A graduate of Bloomburg High School, he attended Texarkana College for two years and then transferred to Texas A&M University in College Station. His father, Melvin, served as the mayor of Bloomburg for eight years and is retired from International Paper. His mother, JoKay, is a former history teacher and serves on the Bloomburg ISD school board.

*Cheryl and Chris with their grown children, Sydney and Connor, and young son, Case, while in Albuquerque in 2019. (Photo by Taylor Brooke Photography)*

Dr. Timmons became interested in medicine after working at Wadley Regional Medical Center in the Pathology Department. After graduating with a degree in Molecular and Cell Biology, he moved to Galveston, Texas, where he worked as an autopsy and research assistant. He attended medical school at Texas Tech University School of Medicine in Lubbock and at their Clinical Campus in El Paso. Initially pursuing a specialty in Pathology, he switched to General Surgery and after a one-year surgical internship at Vanderbilt University Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, he completed his residency in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This included five years of training with the University of New Mexico Health Science Center.

*Chris holds certification, training, and membership in many areas of general surgery.*

After residency, Dr. Timmons practiced at Memorial Hermann Baptist Hospital in Beaumont, Texas, for two years. In 2014, he returned to New Mexico as a staff surgeon at Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center in Santa Fe. He served as the Director of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery for eight years and is proficient in conversational and medical Spanish.

*Chris and Case tube on the Animas River in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, in 2021.*

Dr. Timmons welcomed the opportunity to return to East Texas to be closer to family and to join a private practice. He has extensive experience with the Intuitive Da Vinci Robot, which enables a patient to have various laparoscopic procedures. He performs a variety of surgeries including those involving endocrine neck/thyroid, hernia repair, gastrointestinal obstructions, appendectomies, and various biopsies. He also has training in trauma and acute care, treating patients at both Texarkana hospitals and seeing them two days a week in the Surgical Specialists Clinic. He holds certification, training, and membership in many areas of general surgery. Just recently, he established privileges at Signature Care ER. His goal is “to treat every patient with utmost care and dignity. By utilizing minimally invasive procedures when possible, patients will experience as little discomfort as possible and can get back to the things they enjoy.”

*With a knack for building and refurbishing guitars, Chris pays homage to the state of Texas with this custom creation.*

Chris and Cheryl met 12 years ago when both were working in Albuquerque. They have two grown children who still live there. Daughter, Sydney, is newly married and works as a scientist in the Air Force. Son, Connor, recently graduated with a degree in Economics and has plans to attend law school. In addition to traveling to see family, they stay busy with their son, Case, who is 7 years old. He is a student at St. James Day School and just started Little League baseball.

Dr. Timmons is an avid guitar player and when younger, toured all around the state performing with his band, Deuces Wild. He also builds and refurbishes guitars and has an impressive collection of classical ones. He was living in Santa Fe repairing his own guitars and started investigating how to refurbish and repair. He also enjoys different home improvement projects and being outside with his grill smoking barbecue for family and friends. He and his family love being back in the area and have enjoyed exploring the city and getting reacquainted with Texarkana. He notes how much the area has grown since he last lived here and likes the convenience and proximity to many things but retains a small town feel. He also looks forward to treating and caring for his new patients. Being a part of a completely private surgical group there are many opportunities for him and his colleagues to provide stellar medical care to those in need.

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