Clinic celebrates 15th birthday

Dr. Peter Lawrence, the clinic's newest physician, talks to patient Danny Parsons.

Dr. Scott Yarbro decided to come home to practice medicine.

“I knew that there was a need for another urological practice in Jackson,” says Dr. Yarbro, who was born and raised in Jackson. “I knew I could better serve my patients in a clinic of my own.”

Jackson Urological Associates has grown tremendously in the 15 years since Dr. Scott Yarbro began the practice in 1989.

When it opened on West Forest, the clinic had three small examining rooms and was partly furnished with pieces from Dr. Yarbro’s family. Now the clinic is strapped for space again, but this time it is in a newer, much larger building at Highland and Skyline, with six physicians. It is the area’s largest urological practice.

Dr. Yarbro first opened the doors of his new practice on November 1, 1989. Within a short time, he already knew he needed a partner and he also was making plans to renovate a larger clinic building down the street on Forest Avenue.

Dr. David Burleson joined Jackson Urological Associates in 1990. Dr. Donald McKnight joined in 1992, followed by Dr. Raymond Howard in 1996, Dr. John Carraher in 2003, and Dr. Peter Lawrence this past summer.

In 1995, the practice moved to its current site on Skyline. “We built the new clinic bigger than we thought we needed, but we are already out of room,” Dr. Yarbro says.

All of the clinic’s physicians have a general urology practice, treating such conditions as kidney stones, urinary tract infections, incontinence, male infertility, erectile dysfuntion, cancers, and enlarged prostates, and doing vasectomy procedures.

Dr. Scott Yarbro

Like other medical specialties, they’ve seen their practice change in the last 15 years. “The trend is for more outpatient procedures and shorter stays in the hospital,” says Dr. Yarbro. “For example, we can now crush kidney stones here at our clinic with our lithotripter machine, which used to require an overnight stay at the hospital.”

Dr. McKnight and Dr. Burleson have a special interest in laparoscopic procedures. Laparoscopy replaces major surgery for treating many conditions by using smaller incisions and special instruments that allow the physician to see what he is doing inside the body. For example, laparoscopy can be used to remove a diseased kidney, resulting in a quicker recovery for the patient.

“I enjoy what I do because there is a lot of variety,” says Dr. Yarbro. “I see young and old, male and female. Half of my job is medicine and diagnosis, the other half is surgery.” Every day brings something new for the clinic.

“The fun part is taking care of patients,” he says. “Some have become dear friends of mine.”

Dr. Yarbro also enjoys the people he works with at the clinic. “There are a lot of energetic people here,” he says. “They make my life a lot easier. They make my day enjoyable.”