Over the past six months, Dr. Bryan Robins has worked as a general surgeon at Methodist Hospitals, lending his expertise about colon and rectal cases to enhance patients’ health and overall quality of life through treatment and surgery. Robins has known from a young age that he wanted to work in medicine.
“I had some experiences in childhood where I had a rash of broken bones – some that required surgery, some that didn't – and I was in and out of my orthopedic surgeon's office a lot. That's where my interest in medicine was born,” Robins said.
Although his childhood experience with orthopedic surgery is what sparked his interest in the medical field, Robins quickly decided he did not want to specialize in orthopedics over the course of his college career.
“I went into medical school at first thinking that I was going to do orthopedic surgery, but in college, I was a physiology major, and I just really love physiology a lot. In orthopedics, it's more about kinetics and forces, and they don't practice as much physiology, whereas general surgery combines the best of both worlds. You have to know physiology, especially when it comes to treating malignancies like colon cancer, breast cancer, and things like that,” he said. “Being a surgeon, I also knew 100% I was going to do surgery, and I just like fixing things. I always liked building LEGOs, pipework toys, and stuff like that as a kid. I combined my love for surgery and physiology, which led me into general surgery.”
Prior to his role at Methodist Hospitals, Robins completed a fellowship in minimally invasive surgery with a multi-specialty group affiliated with a larger academic center. Through this fellowship, Robins had the opportunity to learn about various colon and rectal cases, including cancer and benign diseases such as diverticulitis, inflammatory bowel disease, and colostomy and ileostomy reversals.
Aside from learning about diverse colon and rectal cases during his fellowship, one of his biggest takeaways was recognizing that robotic surgery was rapidly becoming a staple of general surgery. At Methodist Hospitals, he found exactly what he was looking for: access to a robotics platform and the opportunity to work as a general surgeon.
Robins is grateful that he has been able to directly apply the knowledge he gained through his education and his fellowship to bolster and diversify the care Methodist Hospitals brings to its patients. He has even begun working with a partner to add a procedure called high-resolution endoscopy to Methodist Hospitals’ list of offerings.
“I think I've been able to add a little bit of expertise about treating advanced colon and rectal cancer cases to Methodist, which would have been shipped out to academic centers prior to my arrival,” Robins said. “In addition, I've been getting referrals for really difficult ostomy takedowns. I think restoring bowel continuity for those patients is really important. A permanent ostomy is a big thing and has a lot of negative impacts on mental as well as emotional health as far as wanting to do things, be out, things along those lines. In those regards, I've definitely had a positive impact.”
When he is not improving the lives of patients through surgery, Robins can often be found outside golfing, traveling, solo backpacking, and spending time on or in the water. He also enjoys staying active in the community through intramural sports and winding down with a good book.
To learn more about Methodist Hospitals, its expert staff, and its diverse services, visit methodisthospitals.org.