Breast Surgery
Dr. F. Ames Smith Jr. is a board certified general surgeon who has dedicated his practice exclusively to the management of benign and malignant diseases of the breast since 2009. He is excited to have founded a specialty breast surgery and hereditary cancer practice, Physician Specialists NW, since October of 2022. He received his undergraduate degree from Duke University in 1980, earned his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston in 1984 and completed surgical training at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston in 1990. He has been active in surgical practice since that time, first in Austin from 1990 to 2012, and later in Seattle from 2012 to 2022, where he served as Director of Breast Surgery for ten years. In addition, he has a special interest in hereditary cancer screening and management, and developed and led the Polyclinic Hereditary Cancer Risk Clinic in Seattle from 2012 to 2022. This aspect of his practice evaluates and manages patients who carry genetic mutations that predispose to high risk for various cancers. He leads a monthly high-risk/genetics conference which focuses on management of patients at high-risk for a range of cancer types. Dr. Smith has received numerous commendations for quality and patient satisfaction over the course of his career. He is married to Dr. Charlotte H. Smith, who is a practicing Physiatrist, and has two grown children.
General Surgery
Matthew Abraham, MD is a board certified General Surgeon. Originally from Ohio, he graduated from Wright State University as a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha honor society. He completed his surgical training at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, TN including a fellowship in critical care medicine. After training, Dr Abraham worked in Concord, NC providing a broad range of general surgery care. To help found Veritas Surgery, Dr Abraham moved to Idaho in 2022 where he now lives with his wife and 3 boys.
Dr. Abraham is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He is dual board certified in general surgery and critical care by the American Board of Surgery as well as the National Board of Physicians and Surgeons. Dr Abraham performs surgery for the treatment of gallbladder disease, antireflux, parathyroid and thyroid disease, hernias, and colon using both conventional and advanced laparoscopic techniques.
Orthopedic Surgery
Dr. Tingstad has been practicing at Inland Orthopaedic Surgery & Sports Medicine Clinic since 2000. He is board certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery and the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery in Orthopaedic Sports Medicine. He graduated medical school and has a clinical fellowship in Sports Medicine from the University of Washington, and performed his residency in Orthopaedic Surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Dr. Tingstad is a devoted husband and father. He currently serves as the Team Physician and Orthopaedic Surgeon for Washington State University, as well as a Clinical Instructor for the WWAMI Program at the University of Washington School of Medicine. In addition, he is the Chairman of the Department of Surgery for Pullman Regional Hospital, an Assistant Professor at Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, a Principal Reviewer of the American Journal of Sports Medicine (AJSM), and a Washington State Delegate for the American Orthopaedic Society of Sports Medicine (AOSSM).
Dr. Hazelwood began practicing at Inland Orthopaedic Surgery & Sports Medicine Clinic in 2017. He is also the team physician and orthopaedic surgeon for the University of Idaho Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. He is board certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery including subspecialty certification in Orthopaedic Sports Medicine. He completed a fellowship at the San Diego Arthroscopy and Sports Medicine Fellowship, where he spent time covering the San Diego Chargers and San Diego State University athletic teams.
Dr. Hazelwood graduated from Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine and completed his internship and residency programs at the University of Chicago. Following his residency, he served four years Active Duty in the U.S. Air Force at Luke Air Force Base in AZ, earning the rank of Major. While in the Air Force, he practiced general orthopaedics with a focus in sports medicine, joint replacement and trauma surgery. Dr. Hazelwood enjoys traveling, golf, biking and other outdoor activities, and spending time with his wife Carolyn and two girls and one boy.
Dr. Vandenbos is a board certified Orthopaedic Surgeon that has recently separated from the US Army. He served for 5 years at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.
Dr. Vandenbos graduated from Boise State University with his Bachelor of Science degree. He then obtained his medical degree at the University Of Toledo College Of Medicine in Toledo, Ohio followed by his residency at San Antonio Uniformed ServicesHealth Education Consortium in Fort Sam Houston, TX.
Dr. Vandenbos enjoys hiking, climbing, camping, reading classic literature, enjoying high quality food and craft beer, participating in his Christian faith and spending quality time with his wife Summer and their children.
Dr. Taylor, is a board eligible Orthopaedic Surgeon that has recently completed a sports medicine fellowship with Orthopaedic Research of Virginia.
Prior to his fellowship in Virginia, Dr. Taylor graduated from Brigham Young University with his Bachelor of Science degree, followed by a Masters of Public Health at University of Utah. He then obtained his medical degree at the University of Kentucky, College of Medicine in Lexington, Kentucky followed by his residency at Summa Health System, in Akron, OH.
Dr. Taylor and his wife, Amanda, are making Moscow/Pullman their home with their 4 children.
Podiatry
Located in Seattle, WA, Dr. Lilja has served the Seattle area for over 20 years garnering praise as a personable, compassionate and skilled physician and surgeon. His expertise is reconstructive foot and ankle surgery including injury and trauma care as well as complex deformity management and reconstruction. He also maintains a strong interest in providing sports medicine care for the active population in Seattle.
Dr. Lilja received his doctoral degree in Manhattan, NY at the New York College of Podiatric Medicine. He then returned to the west coast for a highly sought after 3-year residency in Seattle, WA, at Swedish Medical Center. This training included several months at Harborview Medical Center, a nationally renowned Level-1 trauma center serving the northwest states of Washington, Idaho, Montana and Alaska. During this time, he also rotated extensively with Harborview foot & ankle surgery luminary, Ted Hansen, MD, gleaning much from this world-renowned surgeon.
Dr. Lilja’s avocations include church and family activities, outdoor recreation, playing music and teaching. He especially enjoys teaching junior high and high school science classes for a local home school co-op. His family actively participates in the co-op and other northwest activities including skiing, swimming and 5k runs.