UTHSC’S DEPARTMENT OF SURGERY ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

Shades Of Blue With A Touch Of Orange

Paxton V. Dickson, MD

Dr. Gray Hughes, Class of 2004, grew up on a tobacco farm in Tabor City, North Carolina. Looking back, he feels like farm life helped instill a good solid work ethic and provided several important life lessons. Like many kids in that part of the state he became indoctrinated, by default, as a diehard North Carolina Tarheel basketball fan. He notes that he grew up just an hour south of Wilmington, the home of Michael Jordan. Not surprisingly, he went on to get his undergraduate education at UNC-Chapel Hill, where he earned his degree in Chemistry.

Although he had grown up a Tarheel through and through, Gray deepened his shade of blue and attended medical school at Duke University. He was awarded the Air Force Health Professions Scholarship, which paid for his medical school tuition. During his second year at Duke, he made preparations to do research in orthopedic surgery and likely pursue a career in the field. However, his path was altered by the unexpected death of his father. He subsequently put medical school on hold and returned home for six months to help his mother with the family farm. When he returned to medical school, his first rotation was in general surgery with Dr. Steve Eubanks, who became a professional mentor and was very influential in his decision to become a general surgeon. Of note, while he was in medical school at Duke, he didn’t completely cut ties with UNC, where simultaneously he earned an MPH with a focus in Health Policy and Administration.

When reflecting on how he ended up in Memphis for residency, he recalls Dr. Eubanks recommending that he should strongly consider UTHSC based on its reputation for having solid, well-rounded training. He also remembers meeting Bill Harb and Suraj Menachery while on the interview trail; guys who became his good friends and coresidents and folks he continues to keep in touch with. He recalls feeling like he got excellent training at UTHSC. “It was not easy, it was intense, but we got through it and it was a lot of fun.”

Upon finishing residency at UTHSC, Gray began to fulfill his commitment to the Air Force and his first assignment was at Kirtland AFB in Albuquerque, NM. In 2006, he was deployed to Iraq for the first time. This first deployment was to Kirkuk, in northern Iraq where most of the work was to stabilize the injured for transfer to Balad.

Upon returning to the States and finishing out his two-year assignment at Kirtland, he had the opportunity to do a fellowship in thoracic surgery at Keesler AFB in Biloxi, MS. He then went on to Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, OH where he did both general and thoracic surgery. While in Dayton, Gray received his second deployment, this time to Balad at the main AFB in Iraq. There was a large surgical work force including general surgery, orthopedics, urology, and neurosurgery and they dealt with several mass casualty situations. He remembers operating “around the clock,” on several occasions while in Balad. The work there was continuous and intense given the volume of patients seen and the level of injuries encountered. He says there was no doubt that his training in Memphis was invaluable in handling the experience in Balad.

After completing his active duty service Gray decided to do a minimally invasive fellowship, which he completed at Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, NC. He then transitioned into private practice at Lexington Medical Center in West Columbia, SC where he does bariatric and general surgery. Gray and his wife Stephanie met while he was in medical school at Duke and got married in 2001, during his PGY2 year. They have three children; Charlotte who is a sophomore at Yale University, pursuing a degree in English and Creative Writing, Sophie who is a junior in high school, and now regularly beats Gray on the tennis court, and his son Julian, who is a freshman in high school, a basketball enthusiast and is now the biggest Tarheel fan in the family. Time outside off work is generally spent at the kids’ sporting events and at the beach in Charleston, SC.

Gray is thankful for the training he received and relationships he built while in residency at UTHSC. Certainly, he is a credit to our residency program and we are proud of his service to our country and the work he continues to do in his community.