S. Robert Rozbruch, MD

Dr. S. Robert Rozbruch, after graduating Magna Cum Laude from the University of Pennsylvania, attended Weill Cornell Medical College, from which he graduated with honors in research. Residency training in Orthopaedic Surgery was followed by two fellowships. He did specialized training in Trauma as an AO fellow at the University of Bern in Switzerland. Additional training in adult and pediatric limb lengthening followed at the Maryland Center for Limb Lengthening & Reconstruction.

Dr. Rozbruch is the Chief of the Limb Lengthening and Complex Reconstruction Service. He is a Professor of Clinical Orthopaedic Surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College. He is a member of several national medical societies including fellowship in the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Orthopaedic Trauma Association, and ASAMI - The Limb Lengthening & Reconstruction Society. He has presented his clinical and research works at national medical meetings and has authored numerous articles in medical journals and chapters in Orthopaedic textbooks. He edited "Limb Lengthening and Reconstruction Surgery," a comprehensive textbook on the subject.

Appointments

Chief, Limb Lengthening and Complex Reconstruction Service, Hospital for Special Surgery
Attending Orthopaedic Surgeon, Hospital for Special Surgery
Professor of Clinical Orthopaedic Surgery, Weill Cornell Medical College
President, Limb Lengthening & Reconstruction Society (LLRS.org)

Specialty

Orthopedic Surgery

Subspecialty

Limb Lengthening

Special Expertise

Limb Lengthening (adult & pediatric)
Ilizarov Reconstruction Surgery
Limb Deformity Correction
Fracture Surgery
Nonunions, Malunions, Bone Defects

Awards

Dean’s Honor List, University of Pennsylvania, 1982-1986
Magna Cum Laude, University of Pennsylvania, 1985
David P. Barr Summer Research Fellowship, Cornell University Medical College, 1986
NIH Summer Research Fellowship, Cornell University Medical College - A Synthetic Matrix for Cartilage Repair, 1987
Research Thesis Honors Award, Cornell University Medical College - A Synthetic Matrix for Cartilage Repair, 1988
"Best Doctors in New York," New York magazine, 2006-2012
Castle Connolly "Best Doctors in New York", 2012

Affiliations

American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery, 1998, Diplomat
Orthopaedic Trauma Association, 1998, Active Member
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, 1999, Fellow
Limb Lengthening and Reconstruction Society (ASAMI), June 2002 - present, member and Vice President
Eastern Orthopaedic Association, 2006 - present, member
Weill Cornell Medical College Alumni Association, Member, 1990 to present
Diplomat of the National Board of Medical Examiners, 1991
New York State Society of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Member, 1995 to present
AO Alumni Association, Member, 1996 to present

Education

MD, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York

Internship

General Surgery, North Shore University Hospital, Manhasset, NY

Residency

Orthopaedic Sugery, Hospital for Special Surgery, Cornell University, New York

Fellowship

Limb Lengthenng and Deformity Correction, Maryland Center for Limb Lengthening & Reconstruction, Baltimore, MD (currently known as the International Center for Limb Lengthening, Robin Institute, Sinai Hospital, Batimore, MD)
AO/ASIF Orthopaedic Trauma, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland

Certification

American Board of Orthopedic Surgery

State Licensure

New York  

S. Robert Rozbruch, MD has contributed to the following articles on HSS.edu:

Selected Publications

Seah KT, Shafi R, Fragomen AT, Rozbruch SR: Distal Femoral Osteotomy: Is Internal Fixation Better than External? Clin Orthop Rel Res. 2011, 469: 2003-2011.

Kim HJ, Fragomen AT, Reinhardt K, Hutson JJ,  Rozbruch SR: Lengthening of the femur over an existing intramedullary nail. J Orthop Trauma,  25(11): 681-684.

Horn D, Fragomen AT, Rozbruch SR: Supramalleolar osteotomy using the Taylor spatial frame. Foot Ankle Int. 2011, 32: 986-993.

Rozbruch SR, Schachter L, Bigman D, Marx R: Growth Arrest of the Tibia after ACL Reconstruction: Lengthening and Deformity Correction with the Taylor Spatial Frame. Accepted for publication.  Am. J Sports Med. (in press)

Ashfaq K, Fragomen AT, Rozbruch SR: Correction of proximal Tibia Varus with External Fixation. Accepted for publication.  J Knee Surgery. (in press)

Lesiak AC, Voseller JT, Rozbruch SR: Osteotomy, Athrodesis, and Arthroplasty for Complex Multiapical Deformity of the Leg. Accepted for publication. HSS J. (in press)

Harbechuski R, Fragomen AT, Rozbruch SR: Lengthening and Then Plating (LAP) of the Lower Limb -A Case-matched Comparison.  Clin Orthop Rel Res. (Decemeber 2011)

Mahboubian S, Seah M, Schachter L, Fragomen AT, Rozbruch SR: Lengthening Over Nail (LON) versus Intramedullary Skeletal Kinetic Distraction (ISKD) for femoral lengthening. Clin Orthop Rel Res. (December 2011)

For more publications, please see the PubMed listing.

Selected Books/Chapters

Fragomen AT, Rozbruch SR: Supramalleolar Osteotomy with External Fixation: Perspective 1. In: Mark E. Easley (Editor), Sam W. Wiesel (Editor-in Chief):  Operative Techniques in Foot and Ankle Surgery; Lippincott Williams Wilkins, Philadelphia 2010

Palatnik Y, Rozbruch SR: Femoral Reconstruction Using External Fixation.  Advances in Orthopedics, vol. 2011, Article ID 967186, 10 pages, 2011. doi:10.4061/2011/967186. 

Rozbruch SR: Limb Lengthening in Skeletally Mature Patients. In: Hamdy RC, McCarthy JJ: Management of Limb-Length Discrepancies; American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Monograph Series 2011.

Rozbruch SR: Fixator assisted plating of limb deformities. Operative Techniques in Orthopaedics. 2011, 21:174-179.

Hamdy R, Rozbruch SR, Sabharwal S: Advances in Distraction Osteogenesis. J Orthop Res virtual issue, July 2011

Rozbruch SR, Fragomen AT: Hybrid Lengthening Techniques: Lengthening and then Nailing (LATN), Lengthening and then Plating (LAP) In: Tsuchiya, Kocaoglu, Eralp (Eds.): Advanced Techniques in Limb Reconstruction Surgery, Springer (in press 2011)

Fragomen AT, Rozbruch SR: Distraction Arthroplasty for Ankle Osteoarthritis.  In: Tsuchiya, Kocaoglu, Eralp (Eds.): Advanced Techniques in Limb Reconstruction Surgery, Springer (in press 2011)

Sabharwal S, Rozbruch SR: What New in Limb Lengthening and Reconstruction Surgery? Invited review article in J Bone Joint Surg- Am 2011. 93-A(24): 2324-2332.

Selected Presentations

Special Award:
Best Foot and Ankle Poster, American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons Annual Meeting
Invited Poster to Orthopedic Research Society
Ankle Distraction Arthroplasty: How Much is Enough?
San Francisco, CA; February 2012

Limb Lengthening and Reconstruction Society Specialty Day
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting
San Francisco, CA; Feb. 11, 2012
The Top 5 Research Questions I want LLRS to Answer

For a full list of books, articles, presentations, and other publications, download Dr. Rozbruch's CV (pdf).

 

Research Interests

My research interests relate to limb lengthening, deformity correction, and the Ilizarov method. While my main focus has been on clinical research, I have participated in basic science research to answer relevant clinical questions. My clinical research began with retrospective level 4 studies reviewing my experience. This has evolved with the growth of our service and clinical experience. Research quality has substantially improved to retrospective comparison and prospective comparison studies. I plan to continue to ask clinical questions and implement new treatment modalities within a responsible and organized clinical research program. As the service chief, I plan to mentor, support, and help my colleagues, fellows, residents, and students to follow in this path. As upcoming president of the Limb Lengthening and Reconstruction Society (LLRS), I plan to lead our national organization in the same direction. I plan to deliver an invited lecture at the upcoming LLRS specialty day of the AAOS entitled, “What are the 5 most important research questions that we should try to answer?” Through this, I hope to inspire and motivate others in the same direction. This may also be a springboard for organizing multi-center research projects.

Ongoing Research Projects:

• Prospective evaluation of limb lengthening and reconstruction outcomes (Data Registry)
• Changes in gait following surgical correction of genu varum in children and young adults (Prospective study in conjunction with gait lab at HSS)
• Biomechanical effects of gradual correction of limb malalignment using external fixation: gait analysis (Prospective study in conjunction with gait lab at HSS)
• MRI changes in ankles undergoing distraction arthroplasty
• Oral antibiotics for prevention of pin tract infection: a prospective randomized study
• Tibio-calcaneal fusion vs. below knee amputation: analysis of gait and function (prospective study)
• The effect of platelet rich plasma (PRP) injection into bone regenerate during distraction osteogenesis (prospective randomized study)
• Cell count retrieval with bone marrow aspirate concentration- a prospective comparison of two systems
• Complex ankle fusion using the Ilizarov method
• Humerus lengthening using monolateral external fixation- functional outcome
• Use of antibiotic coated intramedullary rod for ankle fusion
• Knee arthrodesis and limb lengthening after failed infected knee arthroplasty
• Tibia lengthening and the role for gastrocnemius recession
• Treatment of severe hip arthrosis and massive apparent leg length inequality with total hip replacement.

Clinical Trials

• Effect of PRP Injection vs. Standard of Care Treatment on Regenerate Formation
• Effect of Limb Lengthening on Nerve Neurophysiology in Human Model