Orthopedic surgeon Craig Tifford, M.D. is remembered for his dedication to his patients and his passion for music and his family. He passed away on December 19, 2021, after a valiant battle with esophageal cancer.
Remarkable Man of Medicine: Craig Tifford, M.D. Dies, Age 53
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Remembrances#craigtifford#sportsmedicine
His family, friends and colleagues remember him as a man who lived passionately. When not focused on his medical career, he played music (which he loved), cooked, traveled, and entertained.
Dr. Tifford was regional medical director Fairfield County for Yale Medicine and medical director of the Long Ridge Medical Center in Stamford, Connecticut. He was also an associate master instructor at the Orthopedic Learning Center in Rosemont, Illinois, where he helped teach arthroscopic surgery skills to surgeons from across the country and across the globe.
Dr. Tifford was board certified by the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery and sub-specialty board certified by the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine. He was also a board member of the Connecticut Orthopaedic Society as well as actively involved with the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgery, the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery, and the Arthroscopy Association of North America.
Dr. Tifford was the author of many scientific papers and book chapters and presented and lectured at meetings across the country on athletic injuries, arthroscopy and reconstruction of the knee and shoulder joints.
Dr. Tifford was born on March 12, 1968, in Queens, New York to Lois Turner and Alan Tifford. He spent his childhood in Dix Hills, New York. His passion for music almost rivaled his passion for medicine. As a child, he played keyboard and then later in life picked up the drums. He was the drummer of a band Suburban Chaos that played gigs in the tri-state area. He had recently bought a set of acrylic drums.
He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Emory University in Atlanta and his medical degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, New York. He then went on to complete his orthopedic surgical residency at Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine and a sports medicine fellowship at the Southern California Center for Sports Medicine in Long Beach, California.
Dr. Tifford is survived by his wife of 24 years Gail and their two children Kate and Jason.
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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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