Dr. John S. Kennedy

Dr. John Kennedy is a graduate of Temple Medical School in Philadelphia. Notably, both his father and his daughter attended there as well. From there he came to Atlanta for a residency in surgery at Emory University, serving there as chief resident as well. He is board certified in surgery and is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He has been honored as one of Atlanta Magazines’ “Top Docs” repeatedly.

Dr. Kennedy began his surgical practice in Decatur, Georgia in 1987 and has remained in the same location ever since. When he first went into practice, there was no such thing as laparoscopic or robotic surgery. The use of mesh for most hernia repairs was still frowned upon. He was an early advocate of the use of mesh for hernia repairs almost routinely, but he has a wealth of experience with mesh free hernia repairs.

During his training, Dr. Kennedy studied the use of local anesthesia and sedation for hernia repairs, instead of “general anesthesia”. Many of the patients he operated on during his training had a variety of medical problems that made the use of general anesthesia riskier. With that experience as a foundation, he has expanded his use of local anesthesia and sedation for hernia repairs to nearly all his patients. This approach helps to minimize any risks associated with anesthesia, and also typically allows for quicker recovery, and less expense. He has considerable experience with laparoscopic hernia repairs as well, though he admits to a bias for “open repairs.”

Dr. Kennedy served as chief of surgery, and chief of staff at Emory Decatur (formerly DeKalb Medical), and has also served as president of the Georgia Surgical Society. He and his wife Kay live in the Stone Mountain area. She has a doctorate in nursing practice and is the creator and CEO of ULeadership, a business that provides education for nurse leaders across the nation. They have two children, Rachel, a child psychiatrist in Charleston, and Michael, an engineer with Boeing in Augusta.