Right at Home
General Surgeon // Conway Regional Medical Center
Dr. Brock King, general surgeon at Conway Regional Medical Center, is Conway to the core.
He grew up in town, graduating from Conway High School and Hendrix College. Following graduation from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock and completion of his residency at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, King returned home to launch his practice in 2000.
King said he knew things were going to plan from the moment he started his first surgery rotation.
“I always excelled in science and had this idea that meant I should become a doctor and spend my life helping people,” King said. “I really enjoyed every clinical rotation that I worked on until I started my surgery rotation. That was when I realized that I had found my place. I love the fast pace and the variety of pathology encountered daily. At the end of the day, it is all about using what God gave me to help others.”
King said the most common surgeries he performs are gall bladder removal, hernia repair, anti-reflux surgery, colon resections and gastric sleeve resections for weight loss.
“I have been doing laparoscopic surgery since most general surgeons started performing it in the 1990s,” he said. “More recently, everything laparoscopic is now performed robotic. Over the last few years, I have performed over 1,100 robotic surgeries.”
He also performs bariatric surgeries.
“Our program at Conway Regional Medical Center was the first bariatric program to perform our sleeve gastrostomies robotically,” he said. “My two partners and I have performed over 500 cases with great clinical results.”
Robotics has indeed changed the game when it comes to surgery. King said it has made the biggest impact on health care since he has been practicing.
“The next big technological advancement will most likely come from using [artificial intelligence] to help create patient care models by reviewing computerized data points, analyzing those data points, then creating patient care protocols that improve outcomes for at-risk patients,” he said. “I expect that someday, when AI has learned thousands of surgeries, that care may eventually transition to an AI robotic-supported model of care.”
King likes where he is at Conway Regional, at the heart of one of the state’s fastest-growing cities. Why go anywhere else?
“We use state-of-the-art technology, working with physicians and surgeons that have been trained in top-tier university medical centers, bringing that knowledge back to a small-town atmosphere,” he said. “My favorite thing about what I do is getting to use my knowledge, judgement and physical skills to help people through the health trials in their life.
“My goal is simple: I want to continue helping people until I am too old to practice anymore.”
