by John Dowd
There is a new orthopedic trauma surgeon at Missoula Bone, Joint and Surgery Center that changes the game for trauma in Montana, including for communities like the Bitterroot Valley. Dr. Richard Myers started seeing patients in Missoula on Monday, and brings with him years of experience.
Previous to Myers, any serious and difficult to treat injuries, such as severe pelvic and multiple severe injury patients, needed to be flown to Seattle for surgery. This meant added hours between accident and treatment that patients may not have had. It also, according to Myers, meant the patient being sent hundreds of miles away from their support network of family and friends during “what is very possibly the worst day of their life.” According to Myers, “We really want to become the primary referral site. We want to keep Montanans in Montana!”
Myers already has a line out the door of patients and is excited to get started. His hopes are that they will get more referrals from across the state, and even from as far as Idaho and Wyoming. His services mean that locals, especially those near Missoula and in the Bitterroot, can get surgery within their own state and in a timely manner.
Myers has a broad skill set that includes complex joint replacement, limb salvage, bone infection treatment, tendon repairs/reconstruction and a lot of fracture work. He comes to Missoula from coastal Virginia, where he worked high paced positions at hospitals in Norfolk and Virginia Beach. Prior to that, he did his residency at Oregon Health and Science University, in Portland, and his fellowship at the famous R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland. The Shock Center is well known for the severity and overwhelming nature of the cases, so much so that there was a television show based on it called “Shock Trauma: Edge of Life.”
Myers believes in a very hands-on approach to patient recovery and often enlists the help of the patient’s family and friends to support the process. He likes to be involved in every step of the process of recovery, from first meetings to full recovery.
“I love ushering people through that process,” said Myers.
To him, the job is extremely rewarding because of the success stories. He told one about a young baseball player who was in a boating prop accident. Myers explained that both the patient’s legs were badly mangled, but he saw the patient up to the point where he was able to pitch again. Myers also loves meeting people from all walks of life, saying “trauma affects everyone.” He said that his patients come from everywhere, and that trauma can happen at any time.
Myers said he was drawn to the West by a friend from residency, Dr. Brent Roster, who also works at Missoula Bone and Joint. Myers came out to visit and fell in love with the community, the outdoors and the kind-hearted people. In his spare time, he is excited for winter sports as well as all the traditional outdoor activities like hiking, camping and more. He is also excited to get into hunting and has a great love for travel and scuba diving.