David Stuart Babin, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon who served patients at Falmouth Hospital for more than 50 years, and patients at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital for 30 years, died July 3, 2023 at the age of 89.
Martha Vineyard’s David Stuart Babin Remembered

He was always willing to fix the broken bones or aches and pain of anyone who asked him for help. He also believed in serving his community in other ways.
Besides his work at the hospitals, he had a private practice with Dr. Thomas Gregg, Falmouth Orthopaedic Associates, until 2001.
He took on volunteer leadership roles at many organizations where he was passionate about their mission, including Phillips Academy, Harvard College, the Harvard Club of Cape Cod, and the Massachusetts Orthopaedic Society.
Babin was born on December 16, 1933, in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up in Forest Hills, Queens. He attended Bronx Science for two years, but then transferred to Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, where he graduated in 1952.
He went to Harvard College for his undergraduate degree. After graduating in 1956, he served in the U.S. Army at Walter Reed Hospital for two years.
Once his service was completed, he returned to his studies at Boston University Medicine School. After graduating in 1962, he completed his training at Belleview Hospital, Montefiore Hospital, and Mount Sinai Hospitals in New York City. At Mount Sinai, he served as the Chief Orthopedic Surgery Resident.
He served as the Chief of Surgery of Falmouth Hospital for three separate terms. He served on the Board of Directors of Massachusetts Orthopaedic Association from 1990-2018, was a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and a Diplomat of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery.
In 2017, The Barnstable District Medical Society and The Massachusetts Medical Society honored Doctor Babin as Community Clinician of the Year.
Babin in his spare time loved to be out on water, especially on sailboats. He is survived by his wife, Nancy Cloos Babin, his four children Pamela Miró, Jeffrey Babin, Hilary Cloos, and Putney Cloos, and his seven grandchildren: Andrés, Isabel, Drew, Liza, Talia, Eliot, and Robinson.

Discussion
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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