Dr. Christopher M. Bates

[00:00:03.560] My name is Dr. Christopher Bates. [00:00:08.760] I'm an Orthopedic Surgeon with subspecialty training in hand [00:00:12.080] and upper extremity surgery. And really, I found medicine by accident. [00:00:17.320] I grew up doing a lot of construction work with my dad and was looking for something [00:00:22.040] to do with my life and just found medicine and procedures by accident [00:00:26.800] and absolutely fell in love with it. When I was a kid and working with my dad [00:00:31.240] doing these things, putting in kitchen cabinets, [00:00:33.800] putting in tile work, I really learned that for myself [00:00:37.960] I get a lot of satisfaction out of making a difference in a day. [00:00:42.800] I get the opportunity to do that with patients as well. [00:00:45.440] When someone comes to me with a broken bone or a tendon [00:00:48.400] that's been cut in half, we get to go to surgery and be able [00:00:51.800] to put those pieces back together. Since hands are such a crucial part [00:00:56.280] of how we interact with everything we do all day, [00:01:00.360] I get the ability to help people with that, [00:01:02.240] and that's what really drives me to continue to help these patients. [00:01:05.600] One of the things I enjoy most about my job is when patients come back to me [00:01:10.560] after their surgery or after an injection and they get amazing relief. [00:01:15.200] When someone comes to me and I've been able to get rid [00:01:17.360] of their trigger finger or take away their numbness [00:01:20.320] and now they can actually sleep through the night, [00:01:23.000] those are the moments that... That's when I do it. [00:01:25.960] When patients come to our office here, I want them to feel welcomed and cared for. [00:01:31.560] My favorite part about actually being with patients is when they come to me [00:01:36.160] and we actually make progress. They come back and they feel better, [00:01:40.360] they can do more. They can go back to the activities [00:01:42.840] that they couldn't. Patients have come to me [00:01:45.320] with things like carpal tunnel, haven't slept through the night in months, [00:01:49.000] sometimes even years. Usually after surgery, [00:01:52.040] they'll come back and within a week, they say, "Dr. Bates, [00:01:54.440] thank you, I'm sleeping through the night." [00:01:57.560] I know how important sleep is because I went for many years without it, [00:02:00.720] and sometimes I still do now. But giving that back to patients is [00:02:04.400] honestly somewhat magical. When patients come back to me [00:02:08.360] and they're able to go back to the activities [00:02:10.120] that they enjoy doing, that's why I do it.