Surgeon Dr. Guy Peeples drew inspiration from his dad in deciding to pursue a career in health care.

Peeples said his father, the late Dr. Chester W. Peeples, had the calmest demeanor of any man he has known. “My father was an internal medicine doctor,” he said. “It was sometimes hard to tell when he was ruffled and excited, but I learned a lot from him in the way he interacted with people.”

With his dad’s background, Peeples said it was more like the field of health care choosing him than him choosing it. He was able to work in a hospital setting from the time he was 16 or 17. His first job was as an attendant (what was then called an orderly) in the operating room.

“I was able to see more of what took place back there than anything I knew of my dad’s practice. I stood sort of wowed by the work that was going on and really, from that moment, never contemplated doing anything else…Everything I’ve done since then is either training or working with the goal to be in an operating room.” 

Peeples received his medical degree from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Memphis and completed his residency in general surgery at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine’s Department of Surgery.

“As a product of my father’s teachings and the mentoring of countless educators, I strive to provide a level of surgical care that would warrant their approval,” Peeples said. “That includes providing every patient with compassion and respect, employing all that is available to bring healing and avoid harm, and remembering that every encounter with another is a chance to learn and grow.”

Peeples, who has 26 years of experience in medicine, sees patients at Baptist Health Surgical and Specialty Clinic-Conway. He enjoys most helping with patient transformation, “the chance to see people go from a point of illness and pain to a point of healing, and being able to help them so they can return to their life without that on their mind.

“The acute nature of the provision of surgical health care was so appealing to me. Some of my favorite people in this world do the other spectrum of health care, the chronic maintenance of primary care physicians. Like anybody who does well what I don’t want to do, I love those people because I need them and I like for them to need me.

“I think that’s a synergy that works really, really well.”

If he hadn’t become a surgeon, Peeples said he probably would’ve pursued being an engineer or architect because of the hands-on nature of the work, another aspect that he enjoys about being a surgeon.

Early on, he considered a surgical sub-specialty. “At that young age, you don’t think about where the money is. It wasn’t so much that, it was where’s the fun, excitement and the love of the work,” he said. “It seemed like surgical sub-specialties were committing to limiting the range of work you did.”

During his residency in general surgery in Alabama, Peeples said at that time the department provided coverage for everything and there were no surgical sub-specialty fellowships. “We had an experience that was very old school general surgery. You don’t get that today,” he said. While it wasn’t necessarily appreciated at the time, he said the broad training and experience have been invaluable.

Peeples said as a general surgeon he has a broad selection of services that he provides. He said the majority of his procedures involve the gallbladder, hernia, appendix, a full range of gastrointestinal surgeries and attending to trauma.

“We provide services here that extend beyond that, to some degree, to doing thyroid and parathyroid work, breast work including breast cancer diagnosis and procedures, and vascular access for dialysis.”

Peeples said the most challenging aspect of his work is dealing with the acute nature of illnesses that are encountered with severely ill patients. “There is a ton of work that we do where somebody has gone from a typical state of health to dramatic illnesses that are debilitating and life is about to change,” he said, adding that for some patients there will be no cure for some illnesses. “Getting people comfortable with the management for those patients is challenging. I wouldn’t trade it off for anything else, but it is challenging.”

Noting his “very strong Southern drawl,” Peeples recognizes the importance of connecting with his patients. He said it’s important that his patients know he is from Arkansas. “If people don’t feel comfortable with you, you will catch on real quick. They will stop tuning in and they won’t ask any questions,” he said. “You learn real quickly that the first thing I should do is go in and sit down, because the perception of our interaction if I’m standing in the doorway the whole time is going to be one thing, versus if I walk in, introduce myself and sit down.”

With a smile, he added that getting to know his patients helps him learn the best places where the crappie are biting. He added he enjoys fishing “all day long” but no one “has offered to pay me for it.”

Prior to joining the Baptist clinic in Conway, Peeples worked as a general surgeon at North Arkansas Regional Medical Center’s General and Specialty Surgical Clinic in Harrison. He also practiced medicine at Arkansas Methodist Medical Center in Paragould and Schoettle and Lanford Surgical Clinic in West Memphis.

Peeples, a native of West Memphis, is licensed with the Arkansas State Medical Board and certified with the American Board of Surgery. He is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and member of the Arkansas Medical Society.

Baptist Health Surgical and Specialty Clinic-Conway is located at 650 United Drive, Suite 240. It is open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday. Peeples and his wife, Theresa, have been married for 32 years. “She is the best thing that ever happened to me.” 

Health care runs in the genes in the Peeples Family. His daughter, Brooke, has also decided to join the health care field. She is in her last year of residency in internal medicine in Little Rock. His son, Houston, is an ICU nurse at Paragould.

Peeples works alongside general surgeon Dr. Bertrand Fonji at the clinic. “To get someone of Dr. Fonji’s disposition and training…he has been a real asset. He’s a smart fellow. I think he and I complement each other really well,” he said, adding that those he works with are top-notch.

Peeples added that he and his wife have been very happy with their transition to Central Arkansas, including his work at Baptist and a move to Vilonia. He said the community has been very inviting and they feel at home. “It’s been one of the most enjoyable changes in my life that we have done.”