Words by Lindsay Brewer | Image by Blakeney CoxGeneral Surgery may be the words on the building housing KC Surgical Associates PC, but what goes on within the walls of the facility is anything but general. Drs. Matthew Knight and Ryan Cowley have found a home in Jasper.“When we started, there were a couple of surgeons close to retirement age,” Cowley said. “We really felt there was going to be a need for surgeons. We felt like we could fill that void, and provide great care for people here without them having to go to Birmingham.”KC Surgical, located on the Walker Medical Diagnostics campus on Jones Dairy Road, provides excellent medical care for its patients right here in Jasper. Knight and Cowley use state-of-the-art equipment to perform gallbladder, colon, breast, thyroid, hernia and intestinal surgeries, as well as endoscopy. They meet the needs of the people requiring its services upon the first phone call. Patients can usually be seen within a week of initial contact. No long wait to be seen, no commute to Birmingham, and no sacrifice in the level of care.“We strive to give patients the best quality care when they come in,” said Knight, a graduate of the University of Texas at Houston. “This [surgery] is the best way that I can help people,” said Cowley, a University of South Alabama graduate.For Dr. Knight and Dr. Cowley, the people who walk through the doors of KC Surgical are not simply patients, they are neighbors. “We live in this community,” Cowley said. “This community is our home. We love being here.”In addition to building their business, the married couple appreciates the amenities of Jasper and surrounding areas. They enjoy kayaking on the Black Water and Sipsey Rivers, camping, and hanging out with family and friends on the lake. Jasper’s close proximity to Tuscaloosa offers them the opportunity to enjoy college football.Dr. Knight said he was drawn to surgery in medical school, and he cannot imagine doing anything else. His interest in medicine was sparked after watching the repair of his thumb, which was partially amputated in an accident as a child.Cowley, a Birmingham native, said she was “kind of already indoctrinated into medicine” because of her surgeon father. “Growing up, there was really never anything else I wanted to do. I’m drawn to help people,” she said.“We’re accepting new patients,” Cowley said. 78