BIO

Alexandra Kovar, MD, joined the Aspen Valley Surgical Specialists team in 2024. Dr. Kovar specializes in surgery using laparoscopic and robotic techniques. Her priority is keeping patients healthy by offering the tools to live their fullest, most active lives and utilizing minimally invasive techniques for quicker recoveries and reduced downtime after surgery. She is also a specialist in foregut surgery, which includes surgeries on the esophagus and stomach for conditions such as gastroesophageal reflux disease, achalasia and hiatal hernias. In 2024, she completed a fellowship in bariatric and endobariatric surgery at Stanford University. She is also certified in Advanced Trauma Life Support. Dr. Kovar began her education at Vanderbilt University, double majoring in Psychology and Medicine, Health & Society. She studied medicine at Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, graduating in 2016. Dr. Kovar completed her general surgery residency at the University of Colorado (UC) Anschutz Medical Campus and Denver Health in 2023. During her time at UC Anschutz, Dr. Kovar co-authored two dozen peer reviewed articles on a variety of topics related to her specialty and presented at more than 20 regional meetings and conferences across the country. In 2024, she was named as a videographer for the World Journal of Surgery. When she moved to Colorado in 2016 for her residency, Dr. Kovar fell in love with the mountains and the many activities they offer, including hiking, snowboarding, skiing, camping and fly fishing. Dr. Kovar was attracted to working at Aspen Valley Hospital because the organization is clearly committed to its team members and the community it serves. She embraces Aspen’s “work hard, play hard” lifestyle and residents who value health and wellness above all. She loves hiking and snowshoeing with Frankie, her goldendoodle.

Publications

1. Paton M, Kovar A, Colakoglu S, Iorio ML. An Evaluation of Safety and Patient Outcomes for Hand Surgery following Prior Breast Cancer Treatment: Establishing New Recommendations in Lymphedema. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2020 Feb;145(2):459-467. doi: 10.1097/PRS.0000000000006438. Erratum in: Plast Reconstr Surg. 2020 May;145(5):1341. PMID: 31985641.
2. Kovar A, Diamond S, Iorio M. Skin Grafting the Vascular Pedicle: A Useful Technique to Avoid Microvascular Collapse in Free Tissue Transfer for Limb Salvage. Plast Aesthet Res 2019. Accepted for publication.
3. Kovar A, Choi S, Iorio ML. Donor Site Morbidity in Phalloplasty Reconstructions: Outcomes of the Radial Forearm Free Flap. Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open. 2019 Sep 23;7(9):e2442. doi: 10.1097/GOX.0000000000002442. PMID: 31942400; PMCID: PMC6908408.
4. Kovar A, Carmichael H, McIntyre RC Jr, Mago J, Gladden AH, Peltz ED, Wright FL. The Extremity/Mechanism/Shock Index/GCS (EMS-G) score: A novel pre-hospital scoring system for early and appropriate MTP activation. Am J Surg. 2019 Dec;218(6):1195-1200. doi: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2019.08.019. Epub 2019 Sep 10. PMID: 31564406.
5. Kovar A, Colakoglu S, Iorio ML. Choosing between Muscle and Fasciocutaneous Free Flap Reconstruction in the Treatment of Lower Extremity Osteomyelitis: Available Evidence for a Function-Specific Approach. J Reconstr Microsurg. 2020 Mar;36(3):197-203. doi: 10.1055/s-0039-1698469. Epub 2019 Oct 7. PMID: 31590192.
6. Moskowitz EE, McIntyre RC, Burlew CC, Helmkamp LJ, Peltz ED, Coleman JR, Kovar A, Truitt M, Agrawal V, Onkendi E, Dev R, Diaz JJ, Eaton B, Campion EM. Evaluation of a water-soluble contrast protocol for small bowel obstruction: A southwestern surgical congress multicenter trial. Am J Surg. 2019 Dec;218(6):1046-1051. doi: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2019.09.031. Epub 2019 Sep 30. PMID: 31623878.
7. Kovar A, Moskowitz E, Sauaia A, Moore EE, Platnick KB, Coleman JJ, Campion EM, Lawless RA, Cohen MJ, Pieracci FM, Burlew CC. Trends in hematologic markers after blunt splenic trauma: Risk factor or Epiphenomenon? Am J Surg. 2020 Aug;220(2):489-494. doi: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2019.12.016. Epub 2019 Dec 20. PMID: 31879019.
8. Samuels JM, Carmichael H, Kovar A, Urban S, Vega S, Velopulos C, McIntyre RC Jr. Reevaluation of Hepatic Angioembolization for Trauma in Stable Patients: Weighing the Risk. J Am Coll Surg. 2020 Jul;231(1):123-131.e3. doi: 10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2020.05.006. Epub 2020 May 15. PMID: 32422347.
9. Kovar A, Bronsert M, Jaiswal K, Murphy C, Wolverton D, Ahrendt G, Tevis S. The Waiting Game: How Long Are Breast Cancer Patients Waiting for Definitive Diagnosis? Ann Surg Oncol. 2020 Oct;27(10):3641-3649. doi: 10.1245/s10434-020-08484-9. Epub 2020 Apr 20. PMID: 32314153.
10. Samuels JM, Carmichael H, Kovar A, Urban S, Vega S, Velopulos C, McIntyre RC Jr. Reevaluation of Hepatic Angioembolization for Trauma in Stable Patients: Weighing the Risk. J Am Coll Surg. 2020 Jul;231(1):123-131.e3. doi: 10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2020.05.006. Epub 2020 May 15. PMID: 32422347.
11. Robinson TN, Kovar A, Carmichael H, Overbey DM, Goode CM, Jones TS. Postoperative delirium is associated with decreased recovery of ambulation one-month after surgery. Am J Surg. 2021 Apr;221(4):856-861. doi: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2020.08.031. Epub 2020 Aug 27. PMID: 32933746; PMCID: PMC7910322.
12. Samuels JM, Carmichael H, Kovar A, Urban S, Vega S, Velopulos C, McIntyre RC Jr. Exercise Caution Using Hepatic Angioembolization in the Stable Trauma Patient: In reply to Clements and Colleagues. J Am Coll Surg. 2020 Dec;231(6):778. doi: 10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2020.08.739. Epub 2020 Sep 22. PMID: 32972833.
13. Kovar A, Carmichael H, Harms B, Nehler M, Tevis S. Over Worked and Under Paid: How Resident Finances Impact Perceived Stress, Career Choices, and Family Life. J Surg Res. 2021 Feb;258:82-87. doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2020.07.084. Epub 2020 Sep 28. PMID: 33002665.
14. Jones TS, Jones EL, Richardson V, Finley JB, Franklin JL, Gore DL, Horney CP, Kovar A, Morin TL, Robinson TN. Preliminary data demonstrate the Geriatric Surgery Verification program reduces postoperative length of stay. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2021 Jul;69(7):1993-1999. doi: 10.1111/jgs.17154. Epub 2021 Apr 7. PMID: 33826150.
15. Rivas L, Estroff J, Sparks A, Nahmias J, Allen R, Smith SR, Kutcher M, Carter K, Grigorian A, Albertson S, Turay D, Quispe JC, Luo-Owen X, Vella M, Pascual J, Tororello G, Quattrone M, Bernard A, Ratnasekera A, Lee A, Tamburrini D, Rodriguez C, Harrell K, Jeyamurugan K, Bugaev N, Warner A, Weinberger J, Hazelton JP, Selevany M, Wright F, Kovar A, Urban S, Hamrick A, Mount M, Carrick M, Cullinane DC, Chang G, Jain G, Spalding C, Sarani B. The incidence of venous thromboembolic events in trauma patients after tranexamic acid administration: an EAST multicenter study. Blood Coagul Fibrinolysis. 2021 Jan 1;32(1):37-43. doi: 10.1097/MBC.0000000000000983. PMID: 33196508.
16. Kovar A, Joiner K, Leonard LD, Cumbler E, Tevis S. Variability in Surgical Site Preparation Technique: An Opportunity for Improvement. AORN J. 2022 Apr;115(4):341-345. doi: 10.1002/aorn.13645. PMID: 35333395.
17. Kovar A, Carmichael H, Jones TS, Hosokawa P, Goode CM, Overbey DM, Jones EL, Robinson TN. Early identification of patients at risk for delayed recovery of ambulation after elective abdominal surgery. Surg Endosc. 2022 Jul;36(7):4828-4833. doi: 10.1007/s00464-021-08829-9. Epub 2021 Nov 9. PMID: 34755234.
18. Billings JD, Huynh V, Leonard LD, Kovar A, Jones TS, Cumbler E, Christian N, Rojas KE, Meacham R, Tevis SE. Addressing an epidemic: Improving guideline-concordant opioid prescribing in surgical patients. Surgery. 2022 Sep 7:S0039-6060(22)00502-5. doi: 10.1016/j.surg.2022.06.033. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36088172.
19. Barrett JR, Leonard LD, Kovar A, McCarthy DP, Harms B, Tevis S. Medically Smart, Fiscally Illiterate: Lack of Financial Education Leads to Poor Retirement Savings Strategies in Surgical Trainees. Am Surg. 2022 May 4:31348221096579. doi: 10.1177/00031348221096579. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35506914.
20. EG Campbell, A Alasmar, R Lawrence, M Kurpius-Brock, M DeCamp, A Kovar, J Schoen, T Inge, MM Kelsey, R Boles, S Engel, Barriers to Metabolic Bariatric Surgery in Adolescents: Results of a Qualitative Study, Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases, 2022, ISSN 1550-7289.
21. Driscoll B, Leonard LD, Kovar A, Billings J, Tevis SE, Kim SP, Cumbler E. Surgeon Perceptions of the Integration of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures into Clinical Practice, Journal of Surgical Research, Volume 280, 2022, Pages 486-494, ISSN 0022-4804.
22. Yang JH, Huynh V, Leonard LD, Kovar A, Bronsert M, Ludwigson A, Wolverton D, Hampanda K, Christian N, Kim SP, Ahrendt G, Mathes DW, Tevis SE. Are Diagnostic Delays Associated with Distress in Breast Cancer Patients?, Breast Care, Accepted for publication. Feb 2023.
23. Abbitt D, Netsanet A, Kovar A, Choy K, Jones TS, Cassell B, Hammad H, Reveille RM, Wikiel KJ, Jones EL. Losing weight to achieve joint or hernia surgery: is the intragastric balloon the answer? Surg Endosc. 2023 Jun 26. doi: 10.1007/s00464-023-10209-4. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37365392.
24. Choy K, Abbitt D, Kovar A, Jones TS, McCallum M, Thomas EA, Saxon DR, Wikiel KJ, Jones EL. Weighing your options-intragastric balloon versus semaglutide. Surg Endosc. 2024 Aug 13. doi: 10.1007/s00464-024-11169-z. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39138683.