Premier Surgical Associates

What Premier Surgical Associates does

Premier Surgical Associates is the largest general and vascular surgical group in East Tennessee, founded in 1995 through the consolidation of 15 surgeons from five Knoxville-area offices into a single 36-surgeon, multi-specialty practice. Headquartered at 6408 Papermill Drive in Knoxville, the practice delivers general, vascular, bariatric, surgical oncology, colon and rectal, plastic, and breast surgery across eight or more office locations, an outpatient surgery center, and satellite clinics in Powell, Oak Ridge, Jefferson City, Harriman, Maryville, Sevierville, Lenoir City, Cleveland, and Johnson City. Surgical services leverage minimally invasive and robotic-assisted techniques, including the da Vinci Surgical System, LINX reflux management, TransCarotid Artery Revascularization (TCAR), Transoral Incisionless Fundoplication (TIF), and Enterra gastric stimulation.

The business model is fee-for-service professional and facility revenue from surgical consultations, hospital-based procedures performed under privileges at Covenant Health facilities (Fort Sanders Regional, Parkwest, Turkey Creek, Fort Loudoun), and outpatient cases at the Premier Surgery Center ASC. Revenue is generated across multiple sub-brands — Foothills Weight Loss Surgeons, New Life Center for Bariatric Surgery, Premier Vascular & Vein Center, Premier Hemorrhoid Treatment Center, Premier Plastic Surgery, Premier Prosthetic Center, and Premier Lawson Group — plus ancillary services such as vascular ultrasound (with ARDMS-accredited sonographers) and prosthetic limb fabrication. The MDsave partnership extends financing to self-pay and high-deductible patients.

Commercially, Premier Surgical operates as an independent, physician-owned private practice without external private equity ownership, led by CEO Timothy S. Dykema, MHSA, and COO Steve Cruze. Patient acquisition is driven by physician referrals, hospital affiliations, and direct self-referral supported by a content-rich website, surgeon-specific landing pages, Google Reviews, Instagram presence (@premiersurgical_tn), and media appearances (WATE TV, Knoxville Academy of Medicine Doc Talk). The practice is accredited for robotic and bariatric excellence (SRC Master Surgeon designation, MBSAQIP Comprehensive Center, Newsweek 2025 America's Best Weight Loss Clinics) and has received consecutive Knoxville Cityview Top Docs recognition across multiple specialties.

Name

Premier Surgical Associates

Legal name

Premier Surgical Associates

Website

https://premiersurgical.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Premier Surgical Associates is the largest general and vascular surgical group in East Tennessee, operating as a physician-owned private practice with 36 board-certified surgeons across general, vascular, bariatric, surgical oncology, and plastic surgery, serving patients in Knoxville, Cleveland, Johnson City, and surrounding East Tennessee communities through eight-plus offices and Covenant Health hospital affiliations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Knoxville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices17 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Surgical Services Revenue: Fee-for-service surgical care including consultations, diagnostic procedures, and surgical interventions across multiple specialties (general, vascular, bariatric, oncologic, plastic surgery). Revenue generated through patient visits, surgical procedures, hospital privileges, and affiliated medical center partnerships.
2. MDsave Financing Partnership: Partnership with MDsave to provide financing options for self-pay patients and those with high deductibles, enabling payment plans for surgical procedures.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Premier Surgical Associates is the largest general and vascular surgical practice in East Tennessee, performing board-certified surgical procedures across multiple specialties including general, vascular, bariatric, surgical oncology, and plastic surgery. The practice delivers care through 36 surgeons across 8+ office locations and 6 affiliated medical centers, using advanced techniques such as the da Vinci Robotic Surgery System, laparoscopic procedures, and specialized treatments (LINX for GERD, TCAR for stroke prevention, Enterra Therapy for gastroparesis).

Product overview

Premier Surgical Associates is the largest General and Vascular Surgery group in East Tennessee, founded in 1995. The practice operates as a multi-specialty surgical group offering a comprehensive portfolio of surgical services through various divisions and specialized centers. Core surgical services include General Surgery, Vascular Surgery, Bariatric Surgery, Surgical Oncology, Plastic Surgery, and Colon/Rectal Surgery. Specialized offerings include the Premier Hemorrhoid Treatment Center, Premier Prosthetic Center, Premier Vascular & Vein Center, Foothills Weight Loss Surgeons, and New Life Center for Bariatric Surgery. The practice performs procedures ranging from routine general surgery to advanced minimally invasive and robotic-assisted surgeries using the da Vinci Robotic Surgery System. Premier Surgical also offers specialized procedures including LINX Reflux Management System, TCAR for stroke prevention, and Enterra Therapy for gastroparesis. Services are provided across multiple locations in Knoxville, Cleveland, and Johnson City, TN, with satellite offices throughout East Tennessee.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Premier Surgical Vascular and Vein Center: Specialized vascular surgery and vein treatment center offering endovascular procedures, varicose vein treatments, and limb preservation services.
• Foothills Weight Loss Surgeons
• New Life Center for Bariatric Surgery
• Premier Surgery Center
• Premier Hemorrhoid Treatment Center
• Premier Plastic Surgery
• Premier Prosthetic Center
• Premier Lawson Group

Products and services

• General Surgery
• Vascular Surgery
• Bariatric Surgery
• Surgical Oncology
• Plastic Surgery
• Acid Reflux / GERD Surgery
• Colon and Rectal Surgery
• Breast Cancer Surgery
• Hernia Repair
• Thyroid & Endocrine Surgery
• Vascular Access
• Vein Treatment
• Minimally Invasive / Robotic Surgery
• Premier Hemorrhoid Treatment Center
• Premier Prosthetic Center
• Premier Vascular & Vein Center
• Foothills Weight Loss Surgeons
• New Life Center for Bariatric Surgery

Named customers5 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Covenant Health (Hospital System)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPremier Surgical has hospital privileges and operates within multiple Covenant Health hospitals including Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center, Parkwest Medical Center, Turkey Creek Medical Center, and Fort Loudoun Medical Center. This partnership is central to the practice's ability to serve East Tennessee patients.
• MDsavesupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership with MDsave provides financing options for self-pay patients or those with high deductibles undergoing surgical procedures. Helps make healthcare more affordable and accessible while enabling the practice to serve uninsured/underinsured patients.
• Intuitive Surgical (da Vinci)supportingTechnology or IntegrationPremier Surgical utilizes da Vinci Robotic Surgery Systems for advanced minimally invasive surgical procedures. Multiple surgeons have completed 1000+ robotic surgery cases using the platform.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• HCA Healthcare: HCA Healthcare is the largest hospital operator in the U.S. and a major acquirer of surgical practices and ASC platforms. It directly competes with Premier Surgical for vascular, bariatric, and general surgery volumes in markets where HCA operates facilities adjacent to East Tennessee.
• Tenet Healthcare: Tenet Healthcare owns United Surgical Partners International (USPI), the largest ASC platform in the country, as well as acute care hospitals. Its USPI subsidiary makes Tenet the closest broad-incumbent competitor with an integrated ASC-plus-physician strategy.

Regional players

• Covenant Health: Covenant Health is the East Tennessee hospital system that partners with Premier Surgical for inpatient surgical privileges at six affiliated medical centers including Fort Sanders and Parkwest. As their primary hospital partner and Eastern Tennessee's largest non-profit system, it is the most operationally tied regional counterparty.
• Ballad Health: Ballad Health is a regional health system spanning Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. It operates competing hospitals in the Tri-Cities region that Premier Surgical's Johnson City office (Premier Lawson Group) interacts with, making it a relevant regional competitive peer in the East Tennessee surgical market.
• University of Tennessee Medical Center (Knoxville): University of Tennessee Medical Center is the academic medical center in Knoxville and operates a competing surgical referral infrastructure in the same East Tennessee primary market. Comparable as a Knoxville-based tertiary care provider competing for the same high-acuity surgical cases.

Others

• Envision Healthcare: Envision Healthcare is a national medical group with a large ambulatory surgery center footprint (formerly AMSURG) and anesthesia services supporting surgical practices. Relevant as an adjacent enabler that provides anesthesia staffing to ASCs and surgical groups like Premier Surgical.

Direct peers

• United Surgical Partners International (USPI): USPI is one of the largest ambulatory surgery platform companies in the U.S., partnering with physicians and health systems to operate outpatient surgery centers. Directly comparable to Premier Surgical's Premier Surgery Center model and its hospital-affiliated surgical group structure.
• Surgery Partners: Surgery Partners is a leading operator of short-stay surgical facilities and provider of surgical services across the U.S. It is the closest direct analog to Premier Surgical because it combines ambulatory surgery center operations with affiliated surgical practices, though at much larger national scale.
• AMSURG (Envision ASCs): AMSURG operates a national network of ambulatory surgery centers in partnership with physician practices. Like Premier Surgical, the company generates revenue from surgical and endoscopic procedures delivered through a mix of owned and partnered centers, making business-model mechanics highly comparable.

Emerging players

• Surgical Affiliates Management Group: Surgical Affiliates Management Group builds and operates hospital-based surgicalist programs for emergency and acute-care surgery. Although focused on emergency surgery rather than elective multi-specialty, it represents the same shift toward professionally organized surgical group practices operating as integrated teams.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/premiersurgical_tn
• Xx.com/premiersurgical
• Facebookfacebook.com/premiersurgical

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Premier Surgical Associates