Founded
Dr. Playfair establishes WAG in Austin with a clear vision: independent, patient-centered anesthesia care.
ASC Focus
WAG builds its model exclusively around ambulatory surgery centers — high quality, no call, predictable schedules.
Copractica Partnership
WAG joins the Copractica, strengthening its position as a physician-focused organization.
Eleven Sites
WAG now serves eleven ambulatory surgery center sites across the Austin metro — from Westlake Hills to Hays County.
Still Growing
Austin keeps growing. WAG keeps growing with it — while keeping the practice culture that started it all intact.
"We founded WAG to focus on what we value most about practicing medicine — forging genuine connections and providing compassionate, patient-centered care."
Westlake Anesthesia Group was founded in 2005 by Dr. Paul Playfair with a straightforward conviction: that the best anesthesia care happens when providers genuinely want to be there. That means building a practice with a sustainable lifestyle, real professional investment, and freedom from the hospital call burden that burns out so many talented clinicians.
As a small, independent, physician-owned group, WAG has always had the freedom to make decisions in the best interests of patients and providers — not shareholders or hospital administrators. That independence is a feature, not a footnote.
Today WAG serves eleven ambulatory surgery centers across the greater Austin area, with a team of six partner physicians, associate physicians, and more than thirteen CRNAs and CAAs. The practice model that started it all — no call, no nights, no weekends, real investment in the people who show up — hasn't changed.
Austin is one of the fastest-growing cities in the country. The surgical volume follows. WAG is positioned to grow with it, thoughtfully and on its own terms.