Some of the most passionate and dedicated doctors don't necessarily come from a long line of medical professionals or know at a very early age that they want to become a doctor. The latest member of Chesapeake Regional Healthcare's surgical family, board-certified bariatric surgeon Dr. Adam Meyers, is no exception.

"Did I grow up wanting to hold a scalpel? No. I grew up wanting to hold a pole vault pole," Dr. Meyers says, laughing warmly. A pole vaulter in high school, he dreamed of becoming a world champion. Sidelined by a torn ACL during his senior year in high school, Dr. Meyers's dreams of becoming a professional athlete were dashed, and he proceeded to college in search of a new career.

With his naturally competitive nature and love of a challenge, Dr. Meyers found himself drawn to the sciences and discovered an opportunity for intellectual competition in the pre-med field. His fate as a surgeon was sealed one summer by an innocent question while in his second year at Colorado State. "During an undergraduate research fellowship, one of my colleagues asked me if I wanted to see a surgery. By the time it was over, I knew exactly what I wanted to do!"

Initially, his passion was not bariatric surgery, but kidney transplant surgery. "At the time, I had a real passion for being a transplant surgeon because you cure medical disease with surgery instead of just treating with medicine," he recalls. "Kidney transplant surgeries can actually be curative. That's what I loved about it."

But the work of a transplant surgeon is not particularly family-friendly, and Dr. Meyers found it impacting his family life with his wife, Casey, a nurse he met in residency. After much thought, he decided instead to pursue general surgery...until his bariatric surgery rotation.

"It was the greatest thing ever!" he enthuses. "It was the best of both worlds. I get to radically change lives, help cure comorbid conditions, and still have time for my family. Family is my top priority outside of work."

At work, Dr. Meyers's priority is improving the lives of patients through his comprehensive bariatric weight-loss surgery program, which enables patients to achieve a healthy weight in conjunction with a program that enhances healthy living.

Using up-to-date advancements in bariatric surgery, Dr. Meyers performs laparoscopic gastric bypasses and laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomies. "These operations are tried and true and have the highest success rates," he explains. "Since surgical technologies haven't changed much, my focus is on enhancing recovery and minimizing hospitalization times. My patients are in the hospital for less than 24 hours and don't even require narcotics when they go home. Patients simply have better outcomes when they spend less time in the hospital. Recovering at home enhances mobility and allows patients to get back to every day life faster."

So, are these surgeries successful? "Yes!" Dr. Meyers beams emphatically. "All of my patients lose so much weight and do so much better after surgery. It's really remarkable. For instance, one patient was on three diabetes medications, two hypertension medications, and had sleep apnea. Within a year, they were off all diabetes medications, down to one hypertension medication, and no longer needed a CPAP machine. Now they can play softball with their kids, which wasn't possible before. It's truly life-changing, and that's a typical story."

Dr. Meyers is quick to point out that success is dependent on more than just the surgery. "Surgery is just a small part of what I do. There's more to the program than just the surgery itself. Success depends on post-surgical lifestyle changes."

Dr. Meyers's MBS-QIP accredited and award-winning program closely follows his patients' post-surgery and has many moving parts that help to ensure patient success with follow-up visits, dietetic nutritionists, clinical psychologists, and support groups.

"Keeping people connected to the program long-term ensures their success," Dr. Meyers stresses. "Whether they come in for their annual visit, to follow up on nutrition, are attending our support groups, or becoming a support group mentor to help others, being a part of the post-operative community increases a patient's chance of success."

His entire team of professionals is dedicated to bariatrics, and Dr. Meyers is very proud of his knowledgeable staff. "Everyone in our office is committed to doing work in bariatrics. They know the field. We offer a comprehensive bariatric program from start to finish, and patients can be confident that questions or concerns can be addressed by knowledgeable staff. Most importantly, everyone here loves what they do, and patients always get personalized care."

That personalized care begins even before patients step foot in the office through the required pre-surgical seminars on bariatric weight loss surgery, which are presented free of charge by Dr. Meyers himself. "We're lifelong educators in this program, and it starts with our seminars," he explains. "They give patients a chance to get to know us, understand what bariatric surgery is, and allow them to engage with us, ask questions, and make an informed decision."

Dr. Meyers's program is about commitments- his patients' lifelong commitments to the program, but most importantly, his dedication and commitment to his patients. "The most important part of this whole practice is that it's a lifelong partnership between us and the patient with the intent of improving their quality of life, their wellbeing, and their longevity. It's so fulfilling to be a part of changing, enhancing, and lengthening people's lives. It's what I was meant to do."

Down-to-earth, friendly, approachable, and accessible, Dr. Meyers is passionate about successfully improving the lives of his patients through his dedicated work. The patients whose lives he's changed will agree that they're grateful he replaced his pole vault pole with a scalpel.