Members in the News

2019 Haiti Reflections

By Fred McGlynn, MD

Haiti is always a re-baptism for me — the reason I went into medicine in the first place. Patients there bless you for sharing your gifts and caring (How often do patients say "God Bless You" as you start your day?). It is a chance to recharge priorities in my life and give thanks for all we have.

We had a wonderful ‘family’ of 11; three nurses, two pediatric orthopaedists, one adult orthopaedist, two anesthesiologists, one CRNA and one high school student. Our team is seasoned and has been travelling to Haiti for many years. We were so impressed with the new Community Coalition for Haiti (CCH) facility. The three new operating rooms are spacious, bright (looking out at the beautiful mountains in the distance), and have a great flow with a holding/recovery area for patient care.

We are always so humbled by the staff at CCH for their spirit, energies and love for those in need in Jacmel and Haiti. To have sustainable care despite the forever ongoing political and physical disasters is amazing. We are so moved by their endless smiles and desire to be a beacon of hope and a resource for the patients and their families that would have none if CCH was not in Jacmel. We give special thanks to Melissa and Rubinste for coordinating preoperative and postoperative care of all the patients that we touched and for allowing us safe passage. To quote Rubinste, "‘There are no tire fires in the air." (Dye mon gen mon — one mountain after another — Creole for "If it is not one thing it is another.")

The surgical team did amazing work. At home, we are always asked "how many cases did you do?" Even though we did over 30+ cases, it is the individual person and their family that we touched that truly matters — each and every one.

We have been blessed to work side by side with the Haitian nurses and physicians. Dr. Francois is doing wonderful work on the medical care side, and we worked with Haitian Orthopaedists, Dr. Oda and Dr. Jacques (Pediatric Orthopaedist). They provide incredible care with limited resources and continue to teach us. Drs. Oda and Jacques will coordinate post-op care and keep us informed of surgery recoveries.

We are now back home, missing the warm weather, and rejoined with our families. But our thoughts and prayers are with those in Haiti, the beautiful staff at CCH, and the patients and families that have touched our lives.

BON DYE BON (God is Good).
Peace be within us.

Senye, Si n’as viv joid a, malgre siklon, granngo u, ak malady, nou dew di. “Mesi Senye. Nou genle la pou yon. “Lord, if we are alive today in spite of hurricanes, hunger, sickness, we should say, “Thank you Lord. We must be here for a purpose.”

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Atlantic Orthopaedic Specialists Celebrates Its 100th Birthday:
Retracing a Century of Orthopaedic Medicine in Hampton Roads

One hundred years ago Hampton Roads’ first orthopaedic surgeon, Foy Vann, MD, arrived in Norfolk. The largest city in Virginia at the time, Norfolk had 115,000 residents in a state that had about 1.5 million people. In 1919, he began treating people suffering from musculoskeletal injuries and deformities. At that time, Dr. Vann was one of only nine orthopaedic surgeons covering the entire state of Virginia. He could not have known then that his practice would eventually become the region’s largest orthopaedic group, Atlantic Orthopaedic Specialists.

Dr. Vann received his medical degree from the Medical College of Virginia in 1905, interned at Norfolk General Hospital and practiced medicine in Whaleyville, Virginia. After which, he studied Orthopaedic Surgery at New York Orthopaedic Hospital. Returning to Norfolk in 1919, he opened his orthopaedic practice downtown, on York Street. In addition to seeing his regular patients, Dr. Vann volunteered to treat the indigent and the poor at Hampton Roads hospitals’ free clinics and the Kiwanis Crippled Children’s Clinic of Newport News.

In early 1900’s Virginia, orthopaedics was just beginning to develop as a medical specialty. Virginians faced several outbreaks of polio, which left thousands of children deformed and disabled. At that time there were only nine surgeons to cover the entire state and one to cover Tidewater, Foy Vann.

In Hampton Roads, Dr. Vann had an additional, unique set of patients with serious orthopaedic injuries. Soldiers and sailors were returning from World War I, and the growing shipbuilding industry produced many with serious orthopaedic injuries.

Dr. Vann met regularly with the other eight orthopaedic surgeons at different Virginia cities. They worked together to steadily improve the state’s orthopaedic care. In 1933, that group of nine men formed the Virginia Orthopaedic Society. The Society has continuously met uninterrupted since that time.

Help finally arrived for Dr. Foy Vann when his son, John Vann, joined the practice in 1947. They moved their office to Ward’s Corner, an area that had become the new hub of Norfolk. Since 1947, many other orthopaedic surgeons have arrived in Hampton Roads from medical schools throughout the United States. Some joined with Dr. Vann’s group, while others formed new orthopaedic practices in Hampton Roads.

In 1998 there was a merger between the two premier Hampton Roads orthopaedic groups. Vann-Atlantic and Virginia Center for Orthopaedics combined to form Vann-Virginia Center for Orthopaedics.

Today called Atlantic Orthopaedic Specialists, Vann Atlantic is still the largest orthopaedic practice in the region. The group has 23 physicians and surgeons and offers Hampton Roads residents the area’s most comprehensive and specialized orthopaedic care.

AOS also has 14 Physician Assistants and Nurse Practitioners and 36 Physical Therapists. They see patients at five locations in Chesapeake, Norfolk and Virginia Beach. Physical therapy is available at each of the five sites. Three sites also offer walk-in orthopaedic care through AOS’ OrthoNow. Each year, AOS physicians see more than 100,000 patients and perform approximately 8,000 surgeries.

All AOS physicians are board certified, either by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery or the American Board of Pain Management. AOS Physicians are trained in seven orthopaedic specialty areas which include Spine and Scoliosis, Sports Medicine, Hand and Upper Extremity, Joint Replacement, Foot and Ankle, Pain Management and Orthopaedic Oncology. Many are state, national and international leaders in their respective specialties.

As orthopaedics evolved in Norfolk and Virginia, the organization founded by Foy Vann was there to lead the way. Atlantic Orthopaedic Specialists still leads Hampton Roads’ orthopaedic care today.

Atlantic Ortho

Atlantic Orthopaedic Specialists (AOS) will observe a year-long centennial celebration of the founding of the practice. The group has 23 physicians and surgeons, 14 Physician Assistants and Nurse Practitioners, and 36 Physical Therapists offering Hampton Roads residents the area’s most comprehensive and specialized orthopaedic care. AOS sees patients at five locations in Chesapeake, Norfolk and Virginia Beach. Visit www.atlanticortho.com.

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VCU Health MCV Physicians Joins With Colonial Orthopaedics

Stephen L. Kates, MD
Professor and Chairman of Orthopaedic Surgery
Virginia Commonwealth University

We are pleased to announce that VCU Health MCV Physicians and Colonial Orthopaedics will join operations. This affiliation becomes effective March 15, 2019 and significantly strengthens our ability to deliver high quality care across the region.

By combining forces with Colonial Orthopaedics, not only will VCU Orthopaedics grow our talented team of physicians and staff, but we will expand the number of locations from which we operate.This expansion will empower us to provide orthopaedic care in addition to our other services offered in Colonial Heights.

We hope you share in our excitement as we welcome Colonial Orthopaedics to our family. Colonial Orthopaedics has been serving the residents of the Tri-Cities area and surrounding counties for more than 35 years. Like VCU Health, Colonial Orthopaedics deeply values operational and care excellence and is driven by helping patients based on individual need to achieve a healthy, productive lifestyle.

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UVA Health Systems Members in the News

Please see this great article on Dr. Eric Carson and his contributions to USA Olympic Rowing. This is incredible recognition at the national level for Dr. Carson makes it even more difficult for UVA to move on without him as a faculty member. After 15 years with UVA School of Medicine in the Orthopaedic department, Dr. Eric Carson is on his way to St. Louis – a huge loss for UVA Orthopaedics.

Congratulations to Dr. Mark D. Miller for publication of his recent discussion on Stem Cell therapy in Orthopaedics. The story has been picked up across the country!