Newsroom Hospital for Special Surgery

12 recent orthopedic leadership moves

Mon, 26 Jan 2026 20:23:00 -0500

Becker’s Spine Review highlighted several orthopedic practices, hospitals and management service organizations that announced new leadership roles in January, including Austin T. Fragomen, MD, who was named chief of limb lengthening and complex reconstruction at HSS.

Read the full article at beckersspine.com.

Hospital for Special Surgery Names Dr. Austin Fragomen as Chief of the Limb Lengthening and Complex Reconstruction Service

Mon, 26 Jan 2026 10:00:00 -0500

Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) has named Austin T. Fragomen, MD, as Chief of the Limb Lengthening and Complex Reconstruction Service. Dr. Fragomen, who has devoted his entire medical career to HSS, began practicing in 2005 after completing a one-year fellowship in Limb Lengthening and Complex Reconstruction at HSS.

Dr. Fragomen succeeds S. Robert Rozbruch, MD, who founded the service in 2005 and has led it with distinction over the past 20 years. Dr. Rozbruch will continue practicing at HSS, focusing on his clinical work and research.

In his new role, Dr. Fragomen will oversee one of the foremost centers dedicated to limb lengthening and reconstruction worldwide—a highly specialized service providing treatment for a broad spectrum of conditions affecting the limbs. Patients from across the United States and around the world have come to HSS for the special expertise that the team offers.

“We are immensely grateful and thank Dr. Rozbruch for his many years of leadership as a clinician, researcher, and educator,” said Douglas E. Padgett, MD, HSS Surgeon-in-Chief and Medical Director. “Over the years, Dr. Fragomen has demonstrated his deep commitment to advancing the field of limb lengthening and complex reconstruction. He has played a key role at HSS and in the broader orthopedic community, often finding solutions for patients with the most complex conditions.”

Dr. Fragomen and colleagues provide expert care for patients with leg length discrepancies or deformities; limb malalignment and pain caused by bowlegs or knock knees; foot and ankle deformities; and complications related to bone healing, alignment or infection after trauma. Specialized practitioners also perform upper extremity lengthening and deformity correction; bone reconstruction or transport after tumor excision; limb salvage procedures; and osseointegration limb replacement for patients with an amputation.

“In addition to the skill and expertise of our highly specialized surgeons, our close collaboration with other services at HSS ensures coordinated and comprehensive care for patients with these complex medical problems,” Dr. Fragomen explains.

As Director of the Limb Lengthening and Complex Reconstruction Fellowship Program at HSS and a professor of clinical orthopedic surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College, Dr. Fragomen has a longstanding commitment to education and training. Over the years, he has served as a valued mentor to countless medical school students, orthopedic surgery residents and fellows.

He has also welcomed surgeons from across the United States and around the world who come to HSS for monthlong observerships to learn advanced techniques and approaches to complex orthopedic challenges.

Dr. Fragomen is also deeply engaged in research and has published nearly 200 scientific papers and book chapters. He has presented his work at medical meetings across the United States and abroad and has lectured extensively on topics related to residency training programs. He is an active member of numerous professional organizations, including the Limb Lengthening and Reconstruction Society-ASAMI North America, serving as the group’s president from 2019 to 2021.

In his new role, Dr. Fragomen includes among his goals maintaining and enhancing HSS’s reputation as a world leader in patient care, research and education in limb deformity, limb lengthening, limb reconstruction and replacement. “We will continue to train the next generation of highly specialized orthopedic surgeons so they can bring safe and effective treatments to populations around the globe,” Dr. Fragomen said. “At the same time, we remain committed to ensuring that patients here at home have access to the services and expertise they need.”

Ankle distraction arthroplasty: A regenerative solution for osteoarthritis

Fri, 15 Mar 2024 15:09:00 -0400

Austin T. Fragomen, MD, limb lengthening surgeon at HSS and S. Robert Rozbruch, MD, Chief of the Limb Lengthening and Complex Reconstruction Service and Director of the Limb Salvage and Amputation Reconstruction Center at HSS co-author an article for Orthopedics Today

Ankle distraction arthroplasty is a mechano-biological treatment for osteoarthritis of the ankle that serves as an alternative to ankle arthrodesis and prosthetic arthroplasty, or total ankle replacement.

The allure of ankle distraction is that the procedure can improve the condition of the ankle joint and reduce pain by harnessing the patient’s own healing potential. Ankle distraction arthroplasty was created for young people who were too active for ankle replacement surgery (where wearing out the components or the bone is a concern). Similarly problematic, ankle fusion in younger patients will inevitability lead to adjacent joint arthritis, making this treatment suboptimal. Ankle distraction arthroplasty has filled this gap in treatment options by providing a method that preserves foot and ankle motion without requiring resurfacing implants. Ankle distraction arthroplasty maintains bone stock and joint geometry. We like to say ankle distraction arthroplasty does not burn bridges for future treatments. With time, it was recognized that older patients could benefit from ankle distraction arthroplasty and enjoyed similar outcomes.

Read the full article at healio.com.

Magnetic limb-lengthening holds promise for Philly patients

Tue, 08 Nov 2022 09:38:00 -0500

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports how magnetic limb lengthening surgery is helping patients with imbalanced limbs.

Austin T. Fragomen, MD, limb lengthening surgeon at HSS said, “The magnetic internal rod device was a game changer for limb lengthening.”

Two weeks after surgery to implant the rod, the patient begins the lengthening process by holding an external magnet over the magnet within the rod to begin lengthening the rod. As space opens up between these two ends, new bone grows to fill in the gap.

Limb lengthening with magnetic implants, first introduced in 2012, is now gaining popularity among adults who simply want to be taller. Over the last 17 years, Dr. Fragomen’s practice has seen these types of surgeries increase from about a half-dozen a year to about 25. Patients typically need to be 5′5″ or shorter and must be cleared by a psychologist before surgery.

Both legs are done at the same time and can be lengthened up to three inches, the size of the rods. From having the initial surgery to walking independently takes six months.

Read the full article at https://www.inquirer.com/.

Knee joint distraction with marrow stimulation may improve outcomes for advanced knee OA

Fri, 04 Feb 2022 18:28:00 -0500

Orthopedics Today reports on study findings published in Knee showing knee joint distraction combined with marrow stimulating techniques significantly improved clinical and radiographic outcomes among patients with advanced knee osteoarthritis.

HSS limb lengthening surgeon Austin T. Fragomen, MD, who was not involved in the study, shared his perspective on the clinical implications.

Dr. Fragomen said, “I read this article by Nobuo Adachi, MD, PhD, and colleagues on knee joint distraction arthroplasty paired with stem cell therapy with great interest as our limb lengthening and complex reconstruction service at Hospital for Special Surgery has one of the largest experiences with ankle distraction arthroplasty. Joint distraction is a non-prosthetic arthroplasty, biologic solution for knee osteoarthritis that harnesses the body’s own ability to regenerate tissue.”

He underscored, “Joint distraction will find a more mainstream role in the management of osteoarthritic joints as articular cartilage restoration techniques evolve. The two methods will likely have a synergy greater than current bone marrow applications.”

Read the full article at Healio.com.

Internal nail with resorbable calcium sulfate may address limb reconstruction pathologies

Fri, 30 Apr 2021 17:15:00 -0400

Orthopedics Today highlights the findings of an HSS study by limb lengthening surgeon Austin T. Fragomen, MD and colleagues, which showed limb reconstruction with internal lengthening nails and antibiotic-loaded resorbable calcium sulfate may address infectious and length pathologies while avoiding the disadvantages of prolonged external fixation.

“The take-home message of this study is that internal implants can be used to treat bone fractures in the presence of infection if coated with antibiotics, and the use of antibiotic paste can prevent infection in high-risk surgeries,” said Dr. Fragomen. “The deeper message is one of the power of collaboration for posterity. A unified effort from three major orthopedic centers has produced a mini-consensus supporting this novel technique for infection control.”

Read the full article at Healio.com/news/orthopedics.

HSS Study Tackles Concomitant Limb Deformity, End-Stage Ankle OA

Wed, 07 Apr 2021 19:44:00 -0400

OrthoSpineNews reports on the findings of an HSS study co-authored by foot and ankle surgeon Scott J. Ellis, MD and published in Foot & Ankle International, evaluating eight patients who had a limb deformity and end-stage ankle osteoarthritis (OA) and underwent staged deformity correction and total ankle arthroplasty (TAA).

“It was fascinating to find that we could have Drs. S. Robert Rozbruch (chief of Limb Lengthening and Complex Reconstruction Service at HSS) and Austin Fragomen (limb lengthening surgeon at HSS) correct a wide variety of deformity in the tibia, as well as limb length discrepancy prior to total ankle replacement in patients with severe ankle arthritis,” said Dr. Ellis.

Dr. Ellis added, “Successful results in total ankle replacement can be achieved only when correct alignment is obtained at the time of surgery. Sometimes, however, when there are deformities of the tibia or femur (either from congenital problems or previous trauma), much more complex correction of the deformity is required above the level of the ankle before a total ankle replacement can even be considered.”

When asked why this is a new topic in the literature, Dr. Ellis noted, “This has not been studied before because this work can generally only occur at a center with expertise in both tibial osteotomy alignment and total ankle replacement. The study required collaboration between the two services. Also, these cases are not very common, making such a large number of cases not readily accessible.”

Read the full article at Orthospinenews.com.

Derotational distal femoral osteotomy for patellar dislocation yielded favorable outcomes

Fri, 08 Jan 2021 18:21:00 -0500

Orthopedics Today highlights the perspectives of Beth E. Shubin Stein, MD, sports medicine surgeon at HSS, and Austin T. Fragomen, MD, limb lengthening surgeon at HSS, on study findings showing medial patellofemoral (MPFL) reconstruction with derotational distal femoral osteotomy yielded favorable subjective and objective outcomes among patients with recurrent patellar dislocation and increased femoral anteversion.

Drs. Shubin Stein and Fragomen wrote, “We read the article by ZhiJun Zhang, MD, and colleagues with great enthusiasm as it revealed clinical insights into a surgical approach that has dominated our practices: combined distal femoral osteotomy and tibial tubercle osteotomy/MPFL reconstruction for patients with complex patellofemoral instability. Dedicated to patellofemoral pathology-surgical sports medicine and limb deformity surgery, we have brought our separate skills together to deliver comprehensive surgical plans where osteotomies for valgus and femoral anteversion often accompany surgery to address coronal plane malalignment through tibial tubercle transfer, address incompetent medial structures via MPFL reconstruction and address cartilage defects with cartilage restoration. Historically, femoral anteversion was corrected through a mid-diaphyseal osteotomy fixed with an antegrade intramedullary nail with minimal impact on the extensor mechanism tracking.”

They added, “We have been performing transverse distal femoral rotational osteotomy to externally rotate the femoral condyles toward the patella while addressing varus or valgus malalignment. This is done with simultaneous MPFL reconstruction, tibial tubercle osteotomy, knee arthroscopy and cartilage restoration work if indicated. Femoral plate position and screw lengths are modified to accommodate the MPFL graft tunnel on the medial femur.”

Drs. Shubin Stein and Fragomen concluded, “Zhang and colleagues provide a sound clinical comparison that echoes the amazing clinical results we have witnessed in our collaborative practice.”

Read the full article at Healio.com/news/orthopedics.

Collaborative, Multicenter Study Discovers New Method for Bone Infection Control

Mon, 28 Dec 2020 18:13:00 -0500

Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), the world's leading academic medical center focused on musculoskeletal health, has partnered with the Rubin Institute for Advanced Orthopedics at Sinai Hospital in Maryland and The University of Pennsylvania to present a multicenter study revealing the effectiveness of a new method to prevent and treat bone infection during limb reconstruction with the use of an internal lengthening-compression nail.

Until now, to perform limb reconstruction on patients suffering from an infection required external fixator-assisted surgery. The desire to improve the patient experience by using a magnetic internal lengthening-compression nail, instead of an external device, led to this study of a new, protective antibiotic therapy to control bone infection.

The technique pumps a dissolvable antibiotic-loaded paste into the bone at the time of nail insertion. The paste then hardens, preventing infection for 6 weeks. The authors of this study simultaneously discovered this novel method at their respective centers and, upon learning about each other's work, quickly and enthusiastically decided to collaborate. Together, each center contributed patient data using this novel technique, allowing the authors to clearly pinpoint adverse events and state their conclusions with increased confidence.

The multicenter study found the new method to be overwhelmingly successful, proving the technique’s safety and effectiveness in treating infection while not interfering with the mechanical functioning of the nail.

The results were published online first in the Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma on December 28, 2020.

“Collaborative studies like this help us ensure the safety of our procedures by increasing the volume of cases enrolled, permitting us to more easily spot complications,” said Austin T. Fragomen, MD, limb lengthening surgeon at HSS. “Working with the Rubin Institute for Advanced Orthopedics and The University of Pennsylvania is just one example of how communication and data-sharing between centers treating similar types of cases can raise the quality of healthcare in the field of orthopedics and throughout the world.”