Dr. Robert Obermeyer

Pediatric Surgery

Nuss Center for Chest Wall Reconstruction

Trauma Care

American Board of Surgery

Pediatric Surgery

Medical School: University of Cincinnati College of Medicine

Residency: Western Reserve Care Forum Hospital

Residency: University of Arkansas Children's Hospital

Fellowship: Baylor College of Medicine

Dr. Obermeyer has worked at CHKD for over 12 years and has a special interest in neonatal surgery and chest wall deformities including pectus excavatum and pectus carinatum. He collaborated with surgeons from Switzerland and was instrumental in bringing a non-surgical Vacuum Bell option for select pectus excavatum patients to CHKD. He is the lead investigator studying Vacuum Bell therapy at CHKD's Nuss Center, where he and his partners have treated over 150 patients.

Prior to CHKD, Dr. Obermeyer completed training in adult general surgery at Western Reserve Care System and then completed a fellowship in minimally invasive advanced laparoscopic surgery at Baylor College of Medicine. He completed his pediatric surgery training at University of Arkansas Children’s Hospital.

He holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and has completed engineering projects involving motion analysis of the chest wall of pectus patients. He also collaborated with Old Dominion University’s engineering department and designed a surgical tool for pectus surgery with a U.S. registered patent.

Dr. Obermeyer, who serves in a variety of leadership positions at CHKD focusing on surgical services, is also an associate professor of clinical surgery and pediatrics at Eastern Virginia Medical School and is the principal investigator on eight pectus excavatum research studies at EVMS in collaboration with CHKD's Nuss Center. He has multiple publications and has been a guest lecturer for numerous surgical meetings in the U.S. and abroad.

In his free time he serves as a volunteer youth hockey coach and has twice been named Hampton Roads Youth Hockey Association coach of the year. He and his wife have two children and have made Norfolk their home since 2005.

• Pectus excavatum
• Pectus carinatum
• Neonatal surgery
• Thoracic surgery
• Surgical oncology
• Trauma
• Minimally invasive surgery

• American Pediatric Surgical Association
• American Academy of Pediatrics – Surgical Section
• American College of Surgeons
• Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons
• British Association of Paediatric Surgeons
• International Pediatric Endosurgery Group
• Chest Wall International Group
• Tidewater Pediatric Society

• Coastal Virginia Magazine "Top Doc" 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021
• Best Doctors of Virginia 2012, Williamsburg & Tidewater, Virginia Living 2012

• Top Level 5 USA Hockey Coach, Hampton Roads Youth Hockey Association, Icelands Arena, Virginia Beach

• Regional Chest Wall Motion Dysfunction in Patients with Pectus Excavatum Demonstrated via Optoelectronic Plethysmography, Redlinger RE, Obermeyer RJ, J Pediatr Surg 2011; 46(6):1172-1176.
• Optoelectronic Plethysmography demonstrates abrogation of Regional Chest Wall Motion Dysfunction in Patients with Pectus Excavatum after Nuss Repair, Redlinger RE, Obermeyer RJ, J Pediatr Surg 2012; 47(1):160-164.
• Chest Wall Deformities in Pediatric Surgery, Obermeyer RJ and Goretsky MJ, Surgical Clinics of North America, June 2012, 92(3), 669-684.
• Risk Factors and Management of Nuss Bar Infections in 1717 Patients Over 25 Years, Obermeyer RJ, Godbout E, Goretsky MJ, J Ped Surg 51 (2016), 154-158.
• Incorporating Vacuum Bell Therapy into Pectus Excavatum Treatment, Obermeyer RJ, Editorial in Thoracic Surgery, J Vis Surg DOI: 10.21037/jovs.2016.05.01; http://jovs.amegroups.com/article/view/10442/11087; 2016; 2. 
• Pectus excavatum from a pediatric surgeon's perspective. Nuss D, Obermeyer RJ, Kelly RE Jr., Ann Cardiothorac Surg. 2016 Sep;5(5):493-500.
• Nuss bar procedure: past, present and future. Nuss D, Obermeyer RJ, Kelly RE., Ann Cardiothorac Surg. 2016 Sep;5(5):422-433.
• Selective versus Routine Patch Metal Allergy Testing to Select Bar Material for the Nuss Procedure in 932 Patients over 10 Years, Robert Obermeyer, Sheema Gaffar, Robert Kelly, Ann Kuhn, Frazier Frantz, Margaret McGuire, Cynthia Kelly; Journal of Pediatric Surgery 53 (2018), 206-264.
• Multivariate Analysis of Risk Factors for Nuss Bar Infections: A Single Center Study, Obermeyer RJ, Cohen NS, Kelly RE Jr, Ann Kuhn M, Frantz FW, McGuire MM; Journal of Pediatric Surgery 53 (2018), 1226-1229.
• Non-operative Management of Pectus Excavatum with Vacuum Bell Therapy: A Single Center Study, Obermeyer RJ, Cohen NS, Kelly RE Jr, Ann Kuhn M, Frantz FW, McGuire MM, Paulson JF; Journal of Pediatric Surgery 53 (2018), 1221-1225.
• The Physiologic Impact of Pectus Excavatum Repair, Obermeyer RJ, Cohen N, Jaroszewski DE, Seminars in Pediatric Surgery, 2018.05.005.
• Bleeding at removal of Nuss bar: rare but sometimes significant, Obermeyer RJ, Cohen NS, Goretsky, MJ; Journal of Laparoendoscopic & Advanced Surgical Techniques. (Accepted; LAP-2018-0175.R1).

• Cardiopulmonary Function in Thoracic Wall Deformities: What Do We Really Know?, Jaroszewski DE, Velazco CS, Pulivarthi K, Arsanjani R, Obermeyer RJ, Eur J Pediatr Surg, August 2018.

"CHKD is great because we are always looking for ways to improve patient care."