Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Anna Toker
Hi Dr. Toker, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I am a ColoRectal Surgeon in practice in the South Dallas area and Arlington since 2004. I have only wanted one career in my lifetime – that is to be a doctor. I grew up in South Louisiana. So I went to college, graduate school, and medical school in the LSU system (graduated with honors from LSU Medical School in Shreveport in 1997). Along the way, I played tennis in college and became a USPTA teaching professional. While on a semester break in medical school, I had a summer coaching job in Boston, and I met an Army soldier who I ultimately married. We have been married for 23 years and have two children who are our pride and joy.
I trained in general surgery at Methodist Hospital in Dallas, and when my husband left the Army and went to medical school in Houston, I chose to subspecialize in ColoRectal Surgery and trained in Houston as well. We always liked the DFW area and in particular the community of Methodist Hospital and so we moved back to the area in 2004 and I started my practice in Oak Cliff. In 2007 I moved my family to a small farm in Waxahachie and my surgical practice to Mansfield. I have been a full-service colorectal surgeon since that time. I have always loved being on the cutting edge of surgical technology and was among the first Colorectal Surgeons in North Texas to embrace robotic surgery. I continue to fold in minimally invasive surgical techniques into my practice to help patients with the least amount of recovery time possible. Within the last two years, I have branched out into diet and wellness and have opened the Skandia MedSpa in Mansfield, Texas. With the help of a fantastic Nurse (Tonya Liner, BSN) and Esthetician (Will Wright), we have brought energy, beauty and wellness to the area. We have a full range of offerings, including weight loss, body sculpting, esthetic injections, nanofractioning resurfacing, chemical peels, and individualized facials. Our office space is like two sides of a coin- one side is “heads” the other “tails”- most patients love the open space of our spa-like environment. It is definitely not your average surgical practice.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
No road is ever smooth. When I was in high school – I was told I should join the Army… I just was never going to be a professional. In college, I had to switch advisors to graduate with my double major (biology and Chemistry) because the advisor assigned to me did not want to give an athlete the clearance for a degree in the science department much less 2 degrees. I started to pursue an MD Ph.D. but my major professor in graduate school said I should stick to tennis because I would never make it in medical school. I had to apply two times to medical school to get in but graduated with a 3.97 GPA and Alpha Omega Alpha honors. I truly wanted to be a surgeon, but the chief of surgery told me that women are not surgeons unless they are gynecologists. The surgery department only gave A’s to surgeons- so I was given a B. My only B in Medical School. I had to scramble into my surgery internship, but once there, I published over ten papers and won the ABSITE award for academic achievement three times.
After my ColoRectal training, I was an employee of an established Colorectal surgeon who fired me when he found out I was pregnant. I was six months pregnant with a two year old at home and a husband in school and had to start out on my own. Then came the financial collapse followed by the affordable care act that increased my costs while simultaneously gutting my reimbursement by nearly half. I eventually joined a multi-specialty group in Arlington, but when that group was bought out by a primary care driven company, I found myself on my own one more time- my first day in this new practice was April 1, 2020. A Covid cruel April fools joke that had us unable to practice for months. Through it all, I have had the support of my family, my peers, and my patients. I have been awarded Best Doctor accolades by D Magazine 9 times, Living magazine, and People choice magazines. I am a lucky girl, not despite of the challenges, but because of the challenges. It takes stress to make a diamond and I have definitely seen some stress.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Skandii MedSpa?
SKandii MedSPa in Mansfield, Texas is committed to improving your personal health and wellness. It is no coincidence that people who feel good about themselves also tend to look amazing and have confidence. This just shows that taking care of your overall health and appearance is imperative for a happier and more fulfilling life. We believe that every individual has a natural beauty and dignity that should not be caked-on, baked-on, or faked on by other people and most especially not by you. Let our medical director design a personalized nutrition and skincare program that can enhance your inherent beauty from inside and out. All members of our staff are dedicated to helping clients address their beauty and wellness needs. While we promote the use of natural methods for enhancing one’s beauty, we do understand that some approaches require medical solutions.
In this regard, our medical director and the rest of the team is more than willing to help you. We offer medical directed weight loss, injectable filler and botox, laser hair removal, photo facials, chemical peels, skin resurfacing, Emsculpt and Vanquish ME body sculpting and personalized facials. It is Hollywood Bougie on a Mansfield budget. Anna M. Toker, MD, PA I have been offering full-service surgical procedures for over 16 years in Mansfield, Texas. I am a board-certified colorectal surgeon specializing in minimally invasive robotic surgery. I also offer sacral nerve stimulation, colonoscopies, and hemorrhoid procedures. Moreover, I have been selected as one of the best doctors in Dallas by my peers, as published in D Magazine.
What are your plans for the future?
I am very excited to see a major medical center (Methodist Midlothian Medical Center) move into Midlothian, Texas. I do plan on moving my office (both Skandia MedSpa and the colorectal surgery practice) closer to the Waxahachie and Midlothian area. This move will take a few years but is definitely in the works. I certainly hope to continue to serve the South Dallas area, I just plan on doing so closer to my little farm in Waxahachie.
Pricing:
- HCG weight loss $500 for 26 days (average 12-15 pounds weight loss)
- Vanquish Me non-invasive fat reduction $2000 for series of 4 but will bundle with Hcg and Emsculpt for more savings
Contact Info:
- Email: booking@skandiimedspa.com
- Website: www.skandiimedspa.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/skandiilicious
- Facebook: facebook.com/skandiilicious
- Youtube: skandii medspa
Image Credits
Michael Myers Photography
Mansfield Living Magazine
