Since beginning its residency program more than 50 years ago, the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation has trained some of the best and brightest surgeons in the field. The number of residents who have been part of the department now exceeds 200.
The orthopaedic residency program continues to be highly competitive, with five residents selected per year from an application pool of more than 600 medical students. Resident involvement in research has steadily increased over the past several years. Since 2013, department residents have been coauthors on nearly 40 articles. Several residents currently play an active role in department grants.
This summer, five interns joined the department.
Brandt Buckner, MD
Hometown: Mountain Home, ID
Medical School: University of Washington School of Medicine
What inspired your interest in orthopaedic surgery: I’m passionate about creative problem solving to improve the daily lives of others. Orthopaedic surgery uniquely combines the creativity of surgical and engineering problem solving to provide functional solutions for patients' musculoskeletal problems. The hands-on nature of these solutions also allows me the satisfaction that comes with the tangible results of hard work.
Three things people don't know about you:
- I have an amazing wife and 3 kids that do a really good job of taking care of me.
- I lived in Poland for two years. I love the people and loved learning their language.
- In my free time I do UI/UX design, especially mobile apps.
Dylan Fischer, MD
Hometown: Bloomington, IL
Medical School: Indiana University School of Medicine
What inspired your interest in orthopaedic surgery: I love that orthopaedic surgery gives me the chance to help patients at difficult times in their lives and make a measurable impact on their quality of life and mobility. It also affords the opportunity to be truly "hands-on" in caring for patients, which I think is incredibly important in the physician-patient relationship.
Three things people don't know about you:
- I love all sports, but especially soccer, which I've played my whole life.
- I lived in Oxford, UK for a year during my time as an undergraduate and was a student at the college where J.R.R Tolkien was a professor.
- I LOVE coffee, especially espresso. If you ever want to have a conversation about coffee, I can always find the time!
Keagan Gertz, MD
Hometown: Westerville, OH
Medical School: University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
What inspired your interest in orthopaedic surgery: The demand for craftiness and mechanical finesse as well as knowledge of anatomy is what drew me to orthopaedic surgery. However, what I love most about orthopaedic surgery is that it serves every segment of the population, from children to grandparents, and gives patients a regained quality of life.
Three things people don’t know about you:
- My wife and I are avid distance runners. We’ve done a handful of marathons and half marathons including competing in the Boston Marathon in 2018.
- When I was a child, I wanted to be a marine biologist because I love animals and I love being around water.
- I like to ski/snowboard, and hope to make a trip out west in the future.
Matthew Hays, MD
Hometown: Houston, TX
Medical School: McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center
What inspired your interest in orthopaedic surgery: Orthopaedic surgery is exciting and unique as interventions can rapidly restore function and dramatically improve quality of life. I enjoy the strong culture in orthopaedics and the combination of physics, mathematics, and biology.
Three things people don’t know about you:
- I was born in Des Moines, Iowa but I lived in Al Jubail, Saudi Arabia until I was 3 years old.
- I tore the ulnar collateral ligament in my elbow while pitching in a high school baseball game and received Tommy John Surgery.
- I love sports and music. I am an avid Houston sports fan and play guitar in my free time.
Carla Strohhofer, MD
Hometown: Hampton, VA
Medical School: McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center
What inspired your interest in orthopaedic surgery: The interventions in orthopaedic surgery, both operative and non-operative, have such a directly beneficial impact on patients' functionality and quality of life, and I relish the opportunity to spend my career helping my patients recover and get back to doing the things they love.
Three things people don’t know about you:
- I have been a competitive runner for over fifteen years now, and have been training for and competing in ultramarathons (races longer than marathon distance) for the past seven.
- In my free time, I compose music across a variety of genres, ranging from electronic dance music to classical.
- I studied Arabic for two years in high school, and can also speak some German, Spanish, and Swedish.