The department is organized into sections or services which represent the major subspecialties of the discipline. There are over 26 faculty members that provide cases and contribute to the overall education of the residents.

Adult Reconstruction Program

Jorge O. Galante, MD, DMedSci
Joshua J. Jacobs, MD
Richard A. Berger, MD
Wayne G. Paprosky, MD
Aaron G. Rosenberg, MD
Mitchell B. Sheinkop, MD
Craig Della Valle, MD
Scott Sporer, MD

The adult reconstruction service is dedicated to the care of inflammatory, degenerative and post-traumatic arthritic disorders of the major joints of the lower extremity. It is a particularly active clinical service that has six full-time attendings.

Rush is a tertiary referral center for many complicated lower extremity reconstruction problems. In addition, a high volume of primary total-hip and total-knee arthroplasties are performed at Rush. The resident is actively involved in preoperative management of these patients and obtains considerable experience in the operative management of these disorders.

Residents on the serivce also rotate through the offices of the joint replacment attendings. Complementing the cubical service is a large full-time staff dedicated to the maintenance of a clinical database in which all joint-replacement patients are followed in a prospective fashion. Many residents participate in clinical research projects that utilize this extensive database.

A large portion of the research efforts of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery are dedicated to joint-replacement surgery, with subsections in biomechanics, biomaterials, and molecular and cell biology. The adult reconstruction service represents one of the preeminent programs in the Midwest and the nation.

Pediatric Orthopedic Program

The pediatric orthopedic program offers a broad inpatient and outpatient experience in all musculoskeletal diseases of childhood. The service manages a wide variety of congenital, metabolic endocrinologic and traumatic disorders through inpatient consultations, clinic referrals and emergency room admissions.

Residents are involved in all aspects of patient care from diagnosis to operative intervention. The service also performs reconstruction surgery in young adults with continuing pediatric problems, including various types of osteotomy. The Ilizarov apparatus is also commonly used for leg-length discrepancies, bone defects and angular deformities.

Fourth-year residents spend six months in a pediatric orthopedic rotation at Shriners Hospital for Children, Chicago.

Section of Orthopedic Oncology

Steven Gitelis, MD
Walter Virkus, MD

The Section of Orthopedic Oncology is responsible for the diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal neoplasms, which include soft-tissue tumors, primarily of the extremities and primary bone tumors. The section sees approximately 100 new tumor patients per year.

The management of primary bone and soft-tissue tumors emphasizes the concept of limb salvage. The approach is to remove the neoplasm and reconstruct the limb to provide return of function. Limb salvage requires extensive knowledge and experience in bone transplantation, prosthetic replacement and tumor biology.

In addition to the clinical care of patients with musculoskeletal tumors, the section has developed a broad-based research program. Clinical research is being performed in tumor biology and diagnosis. Basic-Science research is being done in the area of tumor biology, using tissue-culture methodology and animal models.

The section is comprised of a full-time orthopedic attending surgeon and an orthopedic oncology nurse clinician. Residents and medical students rotate throughout the service on a regular basis. A weekly pathology conference is held each Friday in the pathology department. A biweekly sarcoma management conference is also held.

Section of Sports Medicine

Bernard R. Bach, Jr., MD
Anthony Romeo, MD
Charles Bush-Joseph, MD
Brian Cole, MD
Gregory Nicholson, MD
Nikhil Verma, MD

The mission of the Section of Sports Medicine is to achieve regional and national recognition and leadership in the care of athletes at all levels of skill, in all sports and of all ages. Patient care, clinical and basic science research, and resident and fellow education comprise the foundation of the program.

Clinical problems are cared for by full-time orthopedic sports medicine surgeons, orthopedic fellows, primary care sports medicine fellows, nurse clinicians and certified athletic trainers. The major clinical problems encountered in our office practices include:

• meniscal tears
• anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and other ligament injuries
• patellofemoral disorders
• shoulder instability
• impingement syndrome
• rotator cuff tears
• shoulder arthritis

Stress fractures, overuse syndromes, foot and ankle pathology, and athletic trauma (fractures) are also treated. Our full-time orthopedists have over 6,000 office visits annually, and they perform more than 600 surgical cases yearly. State-of-the-art arthroscopic knee ligament cartilage transplant and shoulder reconstruction procedures are performed by members of the staff, who emphasize current principles of nonsurgical and post-surgical rehabilitation.

The section holds a weekly sports medicine conference for residents and fellows, along with a weekly reading club. The section also conducts continuing education sports medicine courses for primary care physicians, physical therapists and athletic trainers, and holds arthroscopy workshops. Rotations for visiting international fellows, visiting residents and medical students are available. Residents and fellows have the opportunity to provide event coverage for local high school and club sports, thus expanding their educational experience as well as providing much-needed preventive medicine.

Clinical research among knee and shoulder surgery patients is being conducted. Use of the KT1000 arthrometer to objectify pre- and postreconstruction knee laxity indices continues to be investigated. Biomechanical gait analysis studies are being conducted on ACL deficient and ACL reconstructed patients. Studies of keratin sulfate proteoglycan correlated with arthroscopic pathology and investigations of new models for arthritis are being evaluated.

Section of Hand Surgery

Mark Cohen, MD
John Fernandez, MD
Robert Goldberg, MD

The hand service is a busy clinical service involving outpatient clinics and surgery as well as inpatient care. Surgical procedures involve:

• care of the acutely traumatized upper extremity (fracture and joint injuries, tendon lacerations, etc.)
• arthroscopic procedures on the wrist and elbow
• reconstructive surgery for degenerative and rheumatoid arthritis (including joint replacement in the hand, wrist and elbow)
• nerve compressive syndromes
• congenital hand deformities

Microsurgery forms an integral part of the hand service not only in the acute setting (replantation and revascularization) but also in other orthopedic conditions requiring free muscle or free fibula transfer carried out on an elective basis.

A two-year lecture curriculum as part of the core curriculum on disorders of the upper extremity compliments the clinical experience of the resident.

Section of Spine Surgery

Gunnar G.J. Andersson, MD, PhD
Howard S. An, MD
Edward Goldberg, MD
Frank Phillips, MD
Kern Singh, MD
Christopher DeWald, MD
Kim Hammerberg, MD

The adult spine service provides outpatient spine care for over 6,000 visits and performs 400 major spinal surgical cases in a typical year. These include cervical, thoracic and lumbar surgical procedures. Degenerative diseases predominate, but cases involving tumor, deformity, fracture, metabolic disease and infection also are seen with relative frequency. The residents participate in all aspects of the care of these patients from diagnosis to definitive operative management. Weekly educational conferences review preoperative as well as the general management of spinal pathology.

Residents become part of the team and are expected to be active participants in patient care. Resident participation includes diagnostic evaluation in an office setting, pre- and postoperative care in the hospital and surgical responsibility in the operating room. Residents assume an increasing role in patient care commensurate with their ability and interests. Daily rounds are conducted by the attending staff to provide residents with exposure to bedside diagnostic skills and teaching.

Foot and Ankle Program

George Holmes, MD
Simon Lee, MD
Johnny Lin, MD

The foot and ankle service provides treatment of adult foot and ankle problems. Patient services and areas of research include:

• adult reconstruction
• rheumatoid arthritis
• industrial injuries
• sports medicine
• diabetes
• biomechanics

The foot and ankle service performed approximately 375 surgical procedures in 1998 with further growth projected in the future. Continuing education is centered around the residency training program. Residency participation includes in-house patient care, didactic conferences, participation in office-based practice and involvement with clinical and basic science research projects.

Section of Orthopedic Research

The research program is divided into four sections: biomechanics, biomaterials, bone biology and biochemistry. The common goal that links these diverse scientific disciplines is their association with the prevention, treatment and pathogenesis of musculoskeletal diseases.

Researchers in each of these basic science disciplines interact with clinicians to address both basic and clinically relevant research problems. More than 30 technical and professional staff members are involved in orthopedic research. Seminars and projects are carried out in close collaboration with the departments of anatomy, biochemistry, rheumatology and pathology, as well as several outside universities.