Elizabeth W Tindal, MD

Care Philosophy

As a surgeon, my goal is to provide excellent patient care, starting from the first clinic visit to the operating room and beyond. I believe it is crucial that patients have a good understanding of exactly what is going on and how we are going to work together to get them feeling better.

Biographical Statement

Dr. Tindal is a general surgeon who joined the Henry Ford system in 2025. She completed her medical degree as well as a masters in public health at Drexel University in Philadelphia before moving on to Brown University for her general surgery residency. During this time, she was inducted to the only national medical honor society, Alpha Omega Alpha. In order to gain additional training and expertise in minimally invasive surgical techniques, Dr. Tindal completed a dedicated fellowship at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

She is dedicated to thorough and compassionate patient care. Her areas of focus include abdominal wall hernias, gallbladder disease, GERD/reflux and hiatal hernias in addition to the broad spectrum of general surgery. She also has a passion for educating medical and advanced practice students and surgical residents.

Dr. Tindal is a member of multiple medical societies including the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons where she serves on the hernia and resident/fellow training committees.

Research Interests

Dr. Tindal’s research interests focus on improving outcomes in general surgery through a combination of clinical outcomes research, surgical innovation, and translational investigation. Her early work examined the immunologic and physiologic consequences of trauma and sepsis, including studies exploring immune checkpoint pathways such as PD-L1 signaling and immune modulation following critical illness. This work contributed to a broader understanding of how immune dysregulation influences recovery after traumatic injury and severe infection. More recently, her research has expanded to include surgical quality improvement, minimally invasive and robotic surgery, and bariatric and abdominal wall surgery outcomes. Her work includes investigations into objective performance indicators in robotic surgery, surgical complexity metrics, enhanced recovery protocols, and outcomes in bariatric and conversion procedures. Through this work, she aims to develop data-driven approaches that improve operative decision-making, surgical training, and patient outcomes in minimally invasive gastrointestinal surgery.

Awards and Honors

Dr. Tindal has received numerous awards recognizing excellence in clinical care, education, professionalism, and research. During residency at Brown University, she was honored multiple times with the Dean’s Teaching Award and Positive Champion of the Learning Environment Award, reflecting her commitment to surgical education. She also received the Outstanding Intern Award, the Russel E. White Award for Professionalism and Ethics in Surgery, and the Michelle Lombardo Outstanding Resident Physician Award.

Her research accomplishments have been recognized nationally, including the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma Regional Resident Trauma Paper Competition Award, the Brian Dorman Surgical Education Award for Best Clinical Science Paper, and the Shock Society Chaudry International Travel Award. She was additionally recognized institutionally with the Haffenreffer House Staff Excellence Award for her contributions to patient care and the residency program.