Preparation
Relevant surgical history, medical risk, and available imaging inform the exposure plan.
About the practice
Surgical judgment built for coordinated care.
South Texas Access Surgeons was established to give spine surgeons and patients across the Rio Grande Valley dedicated access-surgery support backed by broad general surgical experience.
Jeffrey J. Skubic, DO, MSc, FACS
Experience where anatomy, preparation, and teamwork meet.
Dr. Skubic is double board certified by the American Board of Surgery in General Surgery and Surgical Critical Care. He is also a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.
Dr. Skubic completed his medical education at the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine, earning a Master of Science in Musculoskeletal Medicine and a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine between 2006 and 2011. He completed his General Surgery Residency at the University of Arizona College of Medicine–Phoenix and Banner University Medical Center from 2011 to 2016. From 2016 to 2018, he completed fellowship training in Acute Care Surgery and Surgical Critical Care at Brigham And Women’s Hospital (Harvard University) in Boston.
Dr. Skubic has lived and practiced surgery in South Texas since 2018. During that time, he developed the region’s first Level I trauma center, strengthening South Texas’ ability to care for its most critically injured patients. He also developed the region’s first Surgical Critical Care Fellowship to train the next generation of trauma surgeons for South Texas.
Years of performing complex trauma and emergency operations—including complex abdominal surgery and complex vascular repairs—gave Dr. Skubic extensive experience operating around critical anatomy under the most demanding circumstances. That experience laid the foundation for his work in anterior spinal access surgery.
Today, he applies that operative experience, preparation, and multidisciplinary teamwork to expanding access to advanced spinal surgery for patients across the region. He works closely with each patient’s spine surgeon to plan and safely create the operative pathway to the anterior lumbar spine.
Board certifiedGeneral Surgery
Board certifiedSurgical Critical Care
FACSFellow of the American College of Surgeons
South Texas since 2018Regional surgical leadership and patient care
Bilingual careEnglish and Spanish
Our mission
Bring specialized access close to home.
Our mission is to support thoughtful, coordinated surgical care for South Texas patients—from preoperative review through the hospital stay and recovery.
Anterior spine surgery requires careful work around the abdominal wall, pelvic structures, ureters, and the major vessels that lie in front of the lumbar spine. The access surgeon’s contribution begins before the incision, with an understanding of prior operations, medical risk, imaging, and the spine surgeon’s operative goals.
That same preparation continues in the operating room through clear roles, direct communication, and readiness to address the abdominal and vascular challenges specific to the exposure.
How we practice
Prepared. Precise. Accountable.
“The best operative plan is one the entire team understands before surgery begins.”
Coordination
The spine surgeon, access surgeon, anesthesia team, and hospital align around the planned procedure.
Communication
Patients receive a clear explanation of the access surgeon’s role and the risks specific to the approach.