Prominent Hand Surgeon Joins NYU Langone Health To Spearhead Orthopedic Innovation

Physician to Professional Athletes Named Director of Strategy and Innovation, and Associate Chief of the Division of Hand Surgery

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NYU Langone Health

Oct 02, 2018, 07:00 ET

NEW YORK , Oct. 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Thomas J. Graham, MD, one of the nation's most respected hand surgeons and health care innovators, recently joined the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at NYU Langone Health as Director of Strategy and Innovation. Dr. Graham also is serving as Associate Chief of the Division of Hand Surgery.

Thomas J. Graham, MD, been appointed Director of Strategy and Innovation, and Associate Chief of the Division of Hand Surgery, in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at NYU Langone Health.

Dr. Graham will see patients at NYU Langone's Hand Center, where he is moving his clinical practice -- which has treated thousands of professional athletes and performed hand and elbow surgeries of all complexities. Dr. Graham, who joined NYU Langone on September 1, has a national and international reputation as a hand and upper extremity surgeon, and a pioneer in orthopedic innovation.

"We are incredibly fortunate to recruit Dr. Graham to NYU Langone, and to bring his renowned skills as a hand surgeon, innovator and physician leader to our department," says Joseph D. Zuckerman, MD, the Walter A. L. Thompson Professor of Orthopedic Surgery and chair of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery. "Having a surgeon and visionary like Dr. Graham join our already outstanding hand surgery faculty further catapults our top-ranked program to an even higher level of excellence."

Sought-After Hand Surgeon to Athletes

Dr. Graham has extensive clinical expertise in surgery of the hand, wrist and elbow, with particular expertise in complicated reconstruction after trauma, complex elbow disorders, and congenital hand ailments. His practice also enjoys worldwide recognition for care of the hand and wrist of professional athletes. Notably, he has served as the hand surgery consultant, team physician or medical director for numerous professional sports teams in the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, and the PGA and LPGA Tours, and has personally cared for thousands of elite athletes.

An alumnus of Williams College, Dr. Graham received his medical degree at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. He completed his orthopedic surgery residency at the University of Michigan, followed by a fellowship in hand and upper extremity surgery at the Indiana Hand Center, and extended training in surgery of the elbow at the Mayo Clinic.

In addition, he completed a two-year executive management and healthcare administration program sponsored by Cleveland Clinic and Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.

Following his initial faculty appointment at Cleveland Clinic where he was director of the Hand and Upper Extremity Center, Dr. Graham relocated to Baltimore to serve as chief of the congressionally designated Curtis National Hand Center, the largest specialty practice in its field globally, and Vice- Chairman of Orthopedic Surgery at MedStar Union Memorial Hospital. Dr. Graham also was an Associate Professor of both orthopedic and plastic surgery at Johns Hopkins Medicine. While in Baltimore, he also established MedStar SportsHealth and was the founder and Surgeon-in-Chief of the Arnold Palmer Sports Health Center.

After his considerable contributions in Baltimore, Dr. Graham returned to Cleveland Clinic, where he served as its inaugural Chief Innovation Officer and Vice Chairman of Orthopedic Surgery.

An accomplished academician, Dr. Graham has lectured around the world and advanced his specialty by authoring more than 100 publications, numerous books and book chapters, including the best-seller, "Innovation the Cleveland Clinic Way."

Enhancing Orthopedic Innovation

Dr. Graham's history as a prolific innovator and inventor includes holding more than 50 patents for medical devices, primarily implants to treat fractures or replace joints of the upper extremity. He also is an entrepreneur in his own right, and has started several public and private medical device and artificial intelligence companies.

In his new role at NYU Langone, Dr. Graham will take his vast experience translating strategy and innovation into tangible advancements in techniques, technologies and the delivery of orthopedic care.

"NYU Langone has impressed me with its commitment to innovation and collaboration, where colleagues embrace the responsibilities and opportunities that come with clinical and academic leadership," Dr. Graham says. "I recognize championship organizations, and I'm honored to join yet another. NYU Langone's Department of Orthopedic Surgery remains at the vanguard of our specialty by optimizing outcomes and the patient experience."

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SOURCE NYU Langone Health