Orthopaedic Trauma

The Orthopaedic Trauma Service (OTS) Division consists of fellowship-trained orthopedic trauma surgeons. OTS provides all trauma coverage at Tampa General Hospital, the only American College of Surgeons designated Level I Trauma Center in West Central Florida, as well as multiple state-designated Level II Trauma Centers. The OTS has offered one of the nation’s premier fellowships for more than 30 years under the direction of Roy W. Sanders, MD. Areas of emphasis include: clinical management, technical excellence, education, research, and continuous quality improvement

LEADERSHIP

The Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA) recently celebrated the launch of the Roy Sanders OTA Traveling Fellowship. The OTA extended sincere gratitude to Dr. Sanders for his ongoing leadership and his generous endowment of the program which will enrich the lives of the selected fellows and help build the next generation of OTA leaders. The first class of fellows was selected and took their first tour in 2022 with their final stop being in Tampa. Dr. Sanders will serve as the mentor for the first group. Hassan R. Mir, MD, MBA was recently voted in as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for the OTA. His term as CFO began in 2021 and will last for three years, during which he will also serve on the Board of Directors for the OTA.

PATIENT CARE

The OTS provides expert care for severe musculoskeletal injuries, specializing in fractures and fracture-related problems, including: nonunions, malunions, posttraumatic arthritis, deformity correction, infections, pelvis/hip reconstruction, and foot/ ankle reconstruction. The OTS performs over 4,500 surgical cases per year, in addition to caring for thousands of other patients with non-operative injuries.

THE ORTHOPAEDIC COLLEGE

As one of the first programs to pioneer dedicated block time in the USA, the division realized that there were still problems with staffing and coverage. In order to maximize efficiencies in the operating room, the service line consolidated all orthopedic cases into one umbrella program known as the Orthopaedic College. With dedicated scrub techs, circulators, central supply coordinators, and anesthesia staff, 8-10 rooms daily were assigned to a master schedule separately controlled by the orthopedic management team. This “OR within an OR” has greatly improved both acute and reconstructive surgery for the entire spectrum of orthopedic cases. To maximize OR utilization, all staff are trained to seamlessly time lunch breaks, cross coverage of cases, expedite room turnover, and accommodate “on the fly” scheduling changes. This system is now in Roy W. Sanders, MD Director, Orthopaedic Trauma Hassan R. Mir, MD, MBA David M. Donohue, MD Christopher D. Flanagan, MD Anthony F. Infante, DO Benjamin Maxson, DO Anjan R. Shah, MD Thomas S. Stang, DO David T. Watson, MD effect for all TGH Orthopaedic Surgery, allowing the division to treat the most acutely injured patients with built-in time for urgent operative “add-ons,” while decreasing length of stay and complications. With excellent first case on-time starts, subsequent case times for “wheels out to wheels in” has also dramatically decreased such that the sheer volume of cases managed monthly have dramatically improved. This would not have been possible without the team approach developed for the College backed by strong TGH administrative leadership. 

RESEARCH

The OTS employs dedicated and experienced research staff, including PhD’s and research coordinators, to support the program in conducting numerous ongoing grant-funded studies. Most University of South Florida (USF) orthopedic residents and many medical students participate in ongoing OTS projects, with Dr. Mir serving as the OTS Director of Research. The OTS Trauma Registry allows for large retrospective and prospective studies and conducts numerous single center and multicenter studies each year. The OTS has recently implemented the collection of patient reported outcomes (PROMs) for all patients in clinic settings to further expand outcomes research. The OTS works in collaboration with the Foundation for Orthopaedic Research and Education (FORE) for biomechanical research, surgical training, and continuing medical education (CME). Many of these activities take place at the Florida InnoVation and Education (FIVE) Labs facility, which is designed to educate the next generation of healthcare professionals by fostering creativity for the development of technologies. It includes a bioskills lab, a conference center, and an innovation studio.