Zachary H. Torgersen, MD

Zachary Torgersen, MD, became interested in medicine when a friend became seriously ill in high school.

"Being there with him while he battled through, that set me on the path I'm on today," he said.

Dr. Torgersen lived in Texas, Norway and England before attending Creighton University and calling Omaha home. The board-certified colon and rectal surgeon was drawn to his specialty as a resident because of the variety of diseases that colorectal surgeons treat. He has special interests in inflammatory bowel disease and familial cancers.

"As doctors, our job is to do as much good as we possibly can," he said. "And with familial cancers, if you identify a family that has a cancer syndrome, then you're not just treating one patient, but you're potentially saving all their family members as well."

His favorite part of his job is being able to give patients good news, and he values trust in a physician-patient relationship above everything else, especially when patients are at their most vulnerable. Dr. Torgersen enjoys that colorectal surgeons get to establish relationships with patients over long periods of time.

"I'll get to know them and find out what's important to them as we move forward together," he said. "We get to see our cancer patients over a period of five years, and oftentimes more. So we're able to meet with them not just through their initial operation and their recovery, but through their lives as they progress."

Dr. Torgersen sees patients at Methodist Physicians Clinic Colon and Rectal Surgery. When not working, he enjoys spending time with his wife, daughter and their very large Bernese Mountain Dog.