Hi, I’m Dr. Desmond Stutzman. I chose to go into medicine only because I’ve enjoyed helping people, trying to make people better, and the overall aspect of improving the quality of life for people that aren’t so fortunate.
I went to Bowling Green State University for my undergrad, and then I attended medical school at Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine. Then I did my residency here in Columbus, Ohio, at Doctors Hospital, and then went on to do a fellowship in hand and elbow surgery at the University of Louisville in Kentucky for a year and a half.
I went into hand and elbow surgery only because of the intricacy involved with the surgeries. Interestingly enough, I put small models together growing up, and that always fascinated me with dealing with small parts. That’s what hand and elbow surgery are all about—microsurgery and putting small vessels and nerves together.
Probably the thing that I like the most is just the ability to make a difference in someone’s life, to improve their hand function, and to give them something that they were missing or, if they were broken, put them back together essentially.
From a treatment standpoint, I do everything from the fingertip to the elbow. And I think that’s what’s the best thing about my specialty: from blood vessels to nerves to bone to joint, everything from the fingertip to the elbow, I pretty much take care of it all.
I think the most inspirational thing for me is just the ever-changing landscape of medicine and how it really drives you to stay on top and be the best that you can be. And you owe it to your patients and to your specialty to be as good as you can be. And so I think that’s my driving inspiration.
