Dr. Charles T. Huddleston Completes 1,000 Robotic Surgery Case

Dr. Charles Huddletson, a general surgeon at Cookeville Regional Medical Center, has completed his 1,000th DaVinci Robotic surgery case, making him the second surgeon in our region to complete over 1,000 surgeries.

Dr. Huddleston’s 1,000 robotic case was a robotic vertical sleeve gastrectomy. This minimally invasive procedure reduces the size of the stomach to three or four ounces and is one Dr. Huddleston performs often.

Born in Idaho Falls, Indiana, and raised in Livingston, Tenn., Dr. Huddleston graduated valedictorian of the class of 1993 from Livingston Academy. He then pursued an undergraduate degree from Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, Tenn. He graduated cum laude, with the class of 1997, with a bachelor of science in chemistry. Receiving an invitation to matriculate in the early decision program, he attended the James H. Quillen College of Medicine at East Tennessee State University (ETSU) in the fall of 1997. He was selected to the prestigious Alpha Omega Alpha National Medical Honor Society as a junior medical student in 2000, so he graduated from the Quillen College of Medicine in 2001. Although he was invited to interview for residency at institutions such as Emory, Wake Forrest, and Vanderbilt, he chose to stay at ETSU for his surgical residency, picking them first on his rank list. This decision was based on the breadth and depth of the training that was available at ETSU. Also, given the fact that there were no other surgical subspecialty residencies at ETSU, he had greater exposure in the operating room to subspecialty cases.

Following his research year, with the consent of the program chairman, Dr. Huddleston took a short sabbatical to spend time with his wife, Ammie, and their two young sons. During his time out of residency, he was also called to active duty to serve as a medical officer in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2006-2008. Upon returning from active duty, he resumed his surgical training in the spring of 2007, finishing in June 2009 with more than 1,200 surgical cases.

Dr. Huddleston enjoys practicing the full spectrum of general surgery, with a special interest in advanced laparoscopic cases and bariatric and metabolic surgery.