OUR DOCTORS

Gordon J. Iiams, MD
Board Certified Orthopaedic Surgeon

“Hand surgery is a 3-way combination of specialty skills: orthopaedics, neurosurgery, and plastic surgery. Cosmetics as well as function are critical aspects of hand surgery.”

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Dr. Gordon Iiams is a specialist in hand surgery. Why? “I had bad knees,” he said with a smile in his voice. “I needed to be able to sit down while I worked.”

A wrestler throughout high school and college, Dr. Iiams sustained a knee injury his freshman year at Oregon State University that almost knocked him out of further competition. He found a surgeon in town who not only helped him back on his feet, but the doctor helped Gordon Iiams improve his game enough to become a University All American his senior year.

From college Dr. Iiams became a line officer in the US Navy, driving ships for five years before going to medical school on a Navy scholarship. After 24 years of highly regarded service, he retired as a Navy Captain and Director of both the Hand Surgery Division and Sports Medicine Service at the Portsmouth Naval Hospital. In 1998, Dr. Iiams joined SMOC and today performs numerous highly technical procedures including arthroscopy of the wrist and elbow, microsurgical repair of nerves and blood vessels, and replantation of fingers. He’s passionate about his work, about the education of young doctors coming through medical school, and about the preservation of our environment.

Medical Degree
Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA
     
Residency
Orthopaedic Surgery, Naval Hospital, Portsmouth, VA      

Fellowship
Hand Surgery, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA
     
Distinctions
Navy Scholarship Program, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA
   
University Appointments
Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD
Assistant Professor of Clinical Orthopaedics, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA 
     
Affiliations
American Medical Association
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
American Society for Surgery of the Hand
Society of Military Orthopaedic Surgeons (SOMOS)
Tri County Medical Society, Past President

Areas of Specialty
Hand Surgery

Additional Credentials/Achievements
Certificate of Added Qualifications (CAQ) I Hand Surgery, 1994
Operating Room Committee, Chesapeake General Hospital and Obici Hospital
Orthopaedic Surgery Consultant to VA Medical Center, Hampton, VA
Chief of Surgery Department, Chesapeake General Hospital, Chesapeake, VA
Surgical Case Review Committee, Chesapeake General Hospital, Chesapeake, VA
Ethics Committee, Obici Hospital, Suffolk, VA
Admissions Committee, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA

Community Work
High School Athletic Teams
School physicals
Alumni Committee at EVMS
Raises Oysters for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Raises native trees for wildlife and habitat restoration

Resources & Links

Expected Rehabilitation Times for Common Upper Extremity Injuries