Walker Shearon, MD

Dr. Franklin joined the medical staff at Piedmont Fayette Hospital in January 2011. He was previously in private practice in Gadsden, Alabama for over five years. He is board certified in general surgery and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. His practice includes the full range of General Surgery - hernia, colon resection, gallbladder surgery, and other diseases of the intestines and abdominal organs. He also does surgery on the thyroid, parathyroids, and skin. He has had a distinguished career in laparoscopic and robotic surgery. While in Alabama, he was the first surgeon in the state to complete a gallbladder removal with the da Vinci robot. After moving back to Georgia, he is the first surgeon in the Piedmont health system to complete gallbladder removal with the da Vinci robot, and also the first ever utilizing a single incision in the umbilicus. He is one of a very few surgeons in the US utilizing this technique. He has been involved in laparoscopic surgery for 20 years and over 12 years robotically. He has published and given numerous presentations to include topics of advanced laparoscopic procedures, cellular behavior of cancers, trauma, multiple sclerosis, and intravascular ultrasound. He has most recently served as chairman of the department Surgery at Piedmont Fayette. He now serves on the medical executive committee and utilization review committee. He also is involved in research projects in the US and internationally. Dr. Franklin believes that to plan the best possible operation, the surgeon must understand and listen to the patient. He can then plan and educate the patient in regards to their forward progress. He understands that operations are not without risk, and the patient must understand those risks along with its benefits, and the alternatives to treatment.

Dr. Kuruvilla earned his medical degree from Christian Medical College and Hospital, Vellore India and completed his residency at Medstar Health/Good Samaritan Hospital, Baltimore. He completed a post-doctoral research fellowship in hypertension and behavioral cardiology at Columbia University Medical Center, New York and did his cardiology training at State University of New York (SUNY) Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York. He then finished his advanced cardiac imaging training at University of Virginia Medical Center, Charlottesville. Dr. Kuruvilla has been practicing medicine for 11 years. Prior to joining Piedmont Heart, Dr. Kuruvilla was Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia and Director of Advanced Cardiac Imaging at the VA Medical Center at Philadelphia. He holds board certifications with the American Board of Internal Medicine and is a member of the American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology, Society of Cardiac Magnetic Resonance and Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography. His clinical and research interests are in the field of hypertension, heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and cardiovascular magnetic resonance perfusion imaging. In his spare time, Dr. Kuruvilla enjoys spending time with his family, reading books, watching documentaries and playing tennis. Dr. Kuruvilla is accepting new patients and welcomes most major insurance plans.