We had the good fortune of connecting with Matthew and Mark Schultzel and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Matthew and Mark, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
We are originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, but spent a significant amount of our growing years traveling abroad. Our parents came from humble beginnings: our father served as a Green Beret during the Korean and Vietnam Wars, using the GI Bill to earn a college degree. Because of his efforts and determination, he became a very successful senior partner at a very famous international consulting firm. Our parents took us abroad when Dad had a work assignment or for family travel so that we could experience the world. It was the best gift our parents could have given us, as we gained so much perspective – the world truly is small, and despite many unique nuances within each culture, we have so many similarities that can be used to find common ground. Each trip, we’d return home with an appreciation for how lucky we are as Americans to have freedoms and opportunities, but also with fond memories of new friends we made and experiences we had. This upbringing, focused on gratitude for the opportunities we’ve had and for growing strong bonds of friendship with others has tremendous synergy with our paths in medicine. We do our best to show empathy and understanding for our patients, forge a strong doctor-patient relationship, and pay it forward with our students.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Matthew – I am a board-certified general surgeon specializing in minimally-invasive colorectal surgery and robotic surgery. The depth of my training and complexity of surgical care that I provide to San Diego patients sets me apart from others in my field. I have become the highest volume colorectal and robotic general surgeon in southern California, having performed nearly 1,300 robotic cases and over 1,000 anorectal cases in 6 years of practice, with the best outcomes in the community. I am excited to grow my division of general surgery with my new partner and close friend, Dr. Daniel Burgess. We are rapidly expanding throughout the San Diego and Riverside communities. The success of my practice came with hard work, perseverance, the loving support of my wife, Sarah, and my family. Unfortunately, the private practice world is fiercely competitive, and I learned that some well-established competitors would not think twice about disparaging or undermining their colleagues because they likely feel threatened by younger surgeons bringing modern techniques. My work is solely for the benefit of my patients, to provide them the best possible outcomes I can, as well as for mentoring future generations of physicians, so I focus on this and try to rise above the lack of professionalism of some of my peers. In my practice, we focus on empathy , cutting-edge surgical techniques, quality metrics, and results-driven outcomes to provide the best in surgical care.

Mark – I am a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon with fellowship training in shoulder and elbow surgery. What sets me apart in the community is that I am one of few surgeons in San Diego to be selected to the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) and one of very few elected to the American Orthopaedic Association (AOA), an honor society that selects only the top 6% of orthopaedic surgeons for membership. I am excited to have recently joined my twin brother, Matthew, at United Medical Doctors, where I will be growing our division of orthopaedic surgery. I recently became a volunteer clinical instructor for the UCSD Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and clinical professor at Touro College of Medicine, allowing me to pay it forward by mentoring medical students interested in orthopaedic surgery. I have also recently become the Chief Medical Officer of Modiv Health, a health tech startup based here in San Diego, allowing me to make use of my recent UCSD Rady School of Management MBA education. I believe it is vital to always look for opportunities at self-improvement and to be able to pivot to meet new challenges and responsibilities, even when things get difficult. My brand and story are that by day, I’m your friendly neighborhood orthopod, swinging my hammer for good and encouraging my students, and by night, I’m an entrepreneur trying to harness technology to make healthcare better for all of us.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Mark is a 10-year Yelp Elite, and both of us love San Diego for its diverse cuisine and fun places to visit, so our friends love coming for a tour of town! From picking our pals up at the airport, we’d take them immediately to Point Loma Seafood, for a view of the marina and a crab cake sandwich. From there, we’d check out the tide pools and lighthouse at Cabrillo Monument. Later on, we’d catch a sunset at Sunset Cliffs, and share a bottle of wine and some mussels at our favorite dinner spot, 3rd Corner, in Ocean Beach. Afterwards, we’d sneak off to Room 56 or Realm of the 52 Remedies for a fun speakeasy experience. The next morning, we’d head off to the Cottage in La Jolla for brunch, snorkel at Windansea and the La Jolla Cove, and check out the sea lions while enjoying some gelato at Bobboi. We’d head to the San Diego Zoo (we’re members!) to show it off, and play at the Coronado Shores beach, bringing back memories of “Top Gun”. Our friends likely love Japanese food as much as we do, so we’d head for ramen to BeShock or Santouka, for nabe at Oton, for tonkatsu at Ee Nami, izakaya food at Okan, or for sushi at Soichi, Himitsu, Tadokoro, or Ikiru. We’d probably drag them to kendo practice at San Diego Kendo Bu in Point Loma, or at the UCSD Kendo Rec class (Matt is the head Sensei, or instructor, at UCSD), followed by a trip to Mt. Soledad to get a 360 view of San Diego, in all its glory.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
We dedicate this shout-out to United Medical Doctors and CEO Dr. John Hong. We are proud to both serve patients as part of United Medical Doctors, Southern California’s largest private practice multi-specialty group, and are truly grateful for the steadfast support of Dr. Hong for our endeavors.

Website: https://unitedmd.com/united-medical-doctors-orthopedic-surgery/ (Mark); https://sdcolons.com/ (Matt) http://unitedmd.com (for both of us)

Instagram: @orthokendodoc (Mark); @matthewthesurgeon (Matt)

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markschultzelmd/ (Mark); https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-schultzel-do-58952b129/ (Matt)

Image Credits
Ariana Drehsler

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