James S. Raphael, M.D., formerly associate chairman of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Einstein Medical Center Philadelphia, has now moved into the position of chair of orthopedics at that institution. Dr. Raphael is also now director of Einstein’s Hand and Upper Extremity Surgery Program.
James S. Raphael, M.D. New Head of Orthopedics at Einstein
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Dr. Raphael, co-chair of Einstein’s research program in the Department of Orthopedics, specializes in the treatment of chronic and traumatic conditions of the hand, wrist, elbow and shoulder. He also has expertise in joint replacement surgery, rotator cuff repair and complex fractures from the shoulder to the finger tip.
According to the June 30, 2014 news release, Dr. Raphael is a graduate of New York University and earned his medical degree at SUNY Health Science Center at Syracuse. He completed a residency in orthopedic surgery at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York City and a hand surgery fellowship at the Philadelphia Hand Center at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. Dr. Raphael joined Einstein Medical Center Philadelphia in 1999.
Dr. Raphael told OTW, “My priorities are providing the best opportunity for education and research for my residents and to continue to provide superior patient care. We are committed to growing our department and to supporting Einstein’s mission of educating and caring for as many people as we can. Our first steps will be adding an additional upper extremity specialist, Dr. Kate Criner, and to build partnerships with the community orthopedic surgeons in the new market at Einstein Medical Center Montgomery.”
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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