Donald Yarbrough, MD

Dr. Yarbrough was first exposed to open bariatric surgery techniques and the full breadth of general surgery during residency training at the Mayo Clinic. There, Dr. Yarbrough learned the principles of surgery that places “the needs of the patients first;” principles that continue to guide him today.

While in fellowship training, he learned advanced laparoscopic bariatric, gastrointestinal and esophagus surgery techniques from Ronald Clements, MD, and Mary Hawn, MD. During this time, Dr. Yarbrough published in many scientific journal articles and spoke at national surgery conferences on bariatric surgery and other topics such as robotic surgery.

Dr. Yarbrough co-founded the Oregon Bariatric Center in Eugene, which earned a Center of Excellence designation. He was then named the founding medical director of Samaritan Weight Management Institute at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center, where he helped the institute achieve a level one bariatric center of excellence status by the American College of Surgeons MBSAQIP quality program.

As a pioneer of bariatric surgery in Oregon, Dr. Yarbrough was one of the first surgeons on the West Coast to apply robotic techniques to bariatric procedures. He helped Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center earn a National Robotic Epicenter for Bariatric Surgery designation. As a result of this designation, surgeons from across the country come to Good Samaritan to observe and study his surgical technique and program. Dr. Yarbrough is also a faculty member and associate program director of the General Surgery Residency at Good Samaritan, the main teaching hospital of Western University of Health Sciences, College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific.

Born and raised on a farm in Alabama, Dr. Yarbrough appreciates the outdoors and splendor of the Pacific Northwest with his family. He and his spouse are nutrition and exercise enthusiasts, and active members of their church.