Veteran journalist Grace Simmons Fisher has joined the Mississippi Department of Corrections as communications director.

"I’m very happy Ms. Fisher accepted my appointment of her as communications director.  She brings to the table a wealth of knowledge and expertise and will be a welcome addition to the MDOC family,” said MDOC Commissioner Christopher Epps.

Dr. Wesley Girod, a general surgeon at Southern Surgical Associates, recently removed a patient’s gall bladder using only a single, inch-long incision camouflaged by the belly button. The advanced robotics-assisted procedure, which was performed at Wesley Medical Center using the da Vinci Si Surgical System, is the first of its kind in south Mississippi.

Dr. Wesley Girod, a general surgeon at Southern Surgical Associates, is taking minimally invasive surgery to the next level with the da Vinci Si Surgical System at Wesley Medical Center. As the area’s first and only da Vinci-trained general surgeon, Dr. Girod is offering his patients robotics-assisted surgical procedures which may result in less pain and scarring, shorter hospital stays and fewer complications.