Adult Reconstructive Orthopedics Fellowship Curriculum

The Adult Reconstructive Orthopedic Surgery Fellowship provides clinical and research exposure to prepare fellows for a career as a sub-specialist in joint
replacement surgery. Fellows will have an extensive clinical experience with primary and revision total hip and total knee replacements. They are exposed to a wide variety of surgical techniques and problems, ranging from primary hip, knee arthroplasties to complex joint revision and reconstruction cases.

Fellows are responsible for staffing joint replacement cases at Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center and at the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The primary clinical responsibility for ward management falls to the residents on these services, or to the attending staff positions. Fellows are supervised by attending orthopedic surgeons who are either full-time or part-time faculty members in the Baylor College of Medicine Department of Orthopedic Surgery.

Fellows are expected to participate actively in the operating room either as first assistant or surgeon under direct faculty supervision. At the VA under the supervision of our staff, the fellows function as attending physicians and guide residents through cases to enhance their educational skills. They do not participate in the orthopedic call schedule and are not primarily responsible for managing the inpatient services.

The fellows’ clinical responsibilities include clinical evaluation, office management and the preoperative, operative and postoperative care of patients. It is anticipated
that each fellow will participate in the surgical care of more than 500 cases. Approximately one-third of the cases will be revisions. All fellows are expected to maintain a case log per ACGME requirements.

Fellows will have extensive exposure to the following cases:

• Total Knee Arthroplasty including primary TKA CR & PS, UKA, PFJ, robotic assisted surgery, gap balancing, measured resection, kinematic alignment, navigation techniques, multiple implant companies/designs, and minimally invasive techniques
• Total Hip Arthroplasty including primary THA, multiple implant companies/designs, robotic assisted surgery, navigation techniques, minimally invasive techniques and multiple surgical approaches, including direct anterior
• Revision TKA including multiple implant companies/designs, and surgical techniques
• Revision THA including multiple implant companies/designs, and surgical techniques
• Hip fractures, core decompression, periprosthetic fractures

The fellows also have the opportunity to spend a week in Guatemala with faculty members as part of the Faith in Practice medical mission. Faith In Practice is a non-profit, ecumenical Christian organization that seeks to improve the physical, spiritual, and economic conditions of the poor in Guatemala through short-term surgical, medical and dental mission trips and health-related educational programs.

During the week in Antigua, Guatemala, the fellow has the opportunity to participate in numerous complex hip, knee, revision and trauma cases. There is a large number of DDH cases that are performed providing an outstanding, unique, and extremely rewarding educational experience.