His future was written in concrete from the time he was 6 years old.

Steve McCarus saw it every day, on a corner of Charleston's East End, right there in the sidewalk

His uncle, Lester Yerrid, owned a building on the corner of Washington and Elizabeth streets. When he replaced the sidewalk, he wrote in the concrete: DR. STEVE MCCARUS.

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As a boy in Charleston, Steve McCarus (left) helped his father, Ramez, at the old Arcadia Restaurant on Virginia Street. The restaurant evolved from the McCarus Grill, owned by Ramez McCarus’ father.

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His friends started calling him "Doc Steve."

McCarus is a doctor, of course, just as his uncle predicted. But the intuitive Uncle Lester probably had no idea just how successful his smart little nephew would be.

For starters, he's chief of gynecological surgery and director of the Center for Pelvic Health at Florida Hospital Celebration Health in Orlando, Fla.

Last December, his photograph appeared on the cover of Orlando magazine to promote a special section on "Orlando's Best Doctors."

But his reputation reaches far beyond Orlando. "I go all over the country, all over the world, teaching people how to operate," he said.

It isn't just any operation. It's his operation. The McCarus Technique. Published and branded in 2006.

An early and fervent disciple of minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery, he developed a more efficient way to perform hysterectomies.

"The majority of hysterectomies are done abdominally," he said. "At our center, we don't open. We use the McCarus Technique. My mission is to teach people how to do it so we can stop large incisions on women who don't need it."

He doesn't slice through the belly to reach the uterus. Instead, through a tiny incision in the belly button, he inserts a laparoscope, a slim, lighted telescope with a camera on the end. Through two other incisions, he manipulates surgical instruments from outside the body, guided by video pictures projected by the camera.

To disengage the uterus, he perfected a laparoscopic cutting and coagulating refinement using ultrasonic harmonic energy.

"A lot of surgeons use bipolar electricity that burns tissue, so you have more post-op pain. The harmonic energy system doesn't burn tissue because it works at lower temperatures.

"I'm a pioneer in harmonic energy," he said. "People know me as 'Mr. Harmonic.'"

Patients go home the following day, and recuperate fully in two weeks, he said. "They used to be in the hospital four or five days and they were laid up for six weeks. So it's much better now."

In Orlando, he teaches the technique during monthly "preceptorships" that attract surgeons from across the country.

His future was written in concrete from the time he was 6 years old.

Steve McCarus saw it every day, on a corner of Charleston's East End, right there in the sidewalk

His uncle, Lester Yerrid, owned a building on the corner of Washington and Elizabeth streets. When he replaced the sidewalk, he wrote in the concrete: DR. STEVE MCCARUS.

"I was 6 years old," McCarus said. "Every day, I would walk to school from McClung Street to Kanawha Elementary and see my name in that sidewalk. I didn't know I wanted to be a doctor when I was 6, but that sidewalk inspired me."

His friends started calling him "Doc Steve."

McCarus is a doctor, of course, just as his uncle predicted. But the intuitive Uncle Lester probably had no idea just how successful his smart little nephew would be.

For starters, he's chief of gynecological surgery and director of the Center for Pelvic Health at Florida Hospital Celebration Health in Orlando, Fla.

Last December, his photograph appeared on the cover of Orlando magazine to promote a special section on "Orlando's Best Doctors."

But his reputation reaches far beyond Orlando. "I go all over the country, all over the world, teaching people how to operate," he said.

It isn't just any operation. It's his operation. The McCarus Technique. Published and branded in 2006.

An early and fervent disciple of minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery, he developed a more efficient way to perform hysterectomies.

"The majority of hysterectomies are done abdominally," he said. "At our center, we don't open. We use the McCarus Technique. My mission is to teach people how to do it so we can stop large incisions on women who don't need it."

He doesn't slice through the belly to reach the uterus. Instead, through a tiny incision in the belly button, he inserts a laparoscope, a slim, lighted telescope with a camera on the end. Through two other incisions, he manipulates surgical instruments from outside the body, guided by video pictures projected by the camera.

To disengage the uterus, he perfected a laparoscopic cutting and coagulating refinement using ultrasonic harmonic energy.

"A lot of surgeons use bipolar electricity that burns tissue, so you have more post-op pain. The harmonic energy system doesn't burn tissue because it works at lower temperatures.

"I'm a pioneer in harmonic energy," he said. "People know me as 'Mr. Harmonic.'"

Patients go home the following day, and recuperate fully in two weeks, he said. "They used to be in the hospital four or five days and they were laid up for six weeks. So it's much better now."

In Orlando, he teaches the technique during monthly "preceptorships" that attract surgeons from across the country.

On May 15, he returned home to lecture on his technique during an educational summit for local gynecologists. The following morning, he worked with gynecologists at CAMC Women and Children's Hospital.

Charleston surgeons don't perform full laparoscopic hysterectomies like the one McCarus perfected, said Dr. Stephen Bush, chairman of the obstetrics-gynecology Department for the West Virginia University School of Medicine in Charleston.

Bush performs the procedure with the aid of a robot. "Few surgeons across the country do laparoscopic hysterectomies unless they're assisted by a robot," he said. "He learned before the robot was available. It's more difficult to do a straight laparoscopy. He's technically better at it than most of us."

Charleston surgeons respect McCarus' expertise, Bush said. "He's highly regarded and well known nationally. We're happy to say he's from the area."

As he travels to demonstrate his technique, McCarus connects constantly with his West Virginia roots. "In California, in Chicago, wherever I go, it's amazing how many times I meet someone from WVU or with West Virginia ties," he said. "It always makes me feel proud."

Home for the 53-year-old surgeon was 1618 McClung St. His entire family, including Uncle Lester, lived no more than a block away.

His grandfather ran the landmark McCarus Grill in the old Arcade building on Virginia Street, near Dick Corey's newsstand. His parents, Ramez and Dee Yerrid McCarus, converted the restaurant into the Arcadia.

"I would work for my dad at lunchtime," he said. "I knew all the bankers and attorneys and business people who would come in for coffee or lunch.

"I have great memories of Charleston. I used to walk from the East End to the Kanawha City Bridge and stop at the Gold Dome Drive-In at the foot of the bridge. Every Saturday, I'd go to Watt Powell Park to play baseball and tennis. It was a secure, happy childhood."

His first job was ushering at the Virginian Theater. He passed papers for the Gazette and Daily Mail. "I was a kid who liked to do things. All those things I did there as a young boy built a high-spirited kid who wants to go to college and get an education."

In high school, he went to Boys County and Boys State camp. He was student body president at Charleston High, graduating in 1973. A high school biology class sparked his interest in medical school.

He graduated from WVU in 1977, enrolled in the new Marshall University School of Medicine and graduated with the first class.

It didn't take long to decide on a specialty.

"My brother was at WVU and he was going into ob-gyn. David Charles, chairman of ob-gyn at Marshall was one of my mentors. They both inspired me to go into ob-gyn."

He completed his residency in Baltimore in 1986 and practiced there privately with his brother. His wife, Tamberly, also a board certified ob-gyn, joined the practice.

"I met her when I was in Miami to give a lecture," he said. "Her mother was a nurse from Bluefield. Her father was from Clarksburg, a cancer specialist."

He gets home for family visits three or four times a year. "My dad's in Baltimore, and my mom died in 1985, but I visit Uncle Lester and cousins and aunts and uncles. This summer, I look forward to bringing my wife and kids. I love Charleston."

To contact staff writer Sandy Wells, use e-mail or call 348-5173.