Early Days
The Section of Orthopaedic Surgery within the Department of Surgery was established on July 1, 1971. University Medical Center Hospital opened that same year on the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center Campus.
The first Section Chief was Leonard F. Peltier, MD, PhD , who was recruited from the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City where he had been Chief of Orthopaedic Surgery since January 1, 1957.
He was accompanied by Donald Speer, MD , an orthopaedic resident from Kansas who required an additional year of residency. Dr Speer had a dual role as orthopaedic resident and Clinical Instructor of surgery. Together they founded the orthopaedic service at the University Medical Center Hospital, integrating with the orthopaedic service of the Tucson Veterans Hospital run by Dr. Stanley Tanz and Dr. Jacob Redekop.
In June of 1972, the Residency Review Committee approved the residency program, allowing one resident in each year for a four-year program. This was made possible by an agreement with the Arizona Crippled Children's Hospital in Phoenix to provide a rotation for training in children's orthopedics.
On June 21, 1973 the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education granted full approval for the residency program, which consisted of rotations at the University of Arizona Hospital, Tucson Veterans Administration Hospital and the Arizona Crippled Children's Hospital.
Continued Growth & Expansion
The continued growth and expansion of the program necessitated continuous recruitment. The second person to join the full-time faculty was Dr. Speer, having finished his residency in 1973. He subsequently went away for an additional year of training in pediatric orthopaedics at the Children's Hospital in Chicago and returned in 1975.
Robert G. Volz, a former resident of Dr. Peltier's at the University of Kansas, joined the faculty in 1973 to begin a program in total joint surgery. Robert B. Dzioba came from Toronto to lend his support to the area of spine surgery along with David Gibeault, a hand surgeon and Ted Percy, sports medicine. By 1978 the residency program had grown to 8 residents.
The Veterans Administration Hospital staff added Frederick W. Greenwood of Montreal. A former resident, James B. Benjamin returned after completing a fellowship in hip and knee arthroplasty in England to compliment Dr. Volz with the total joint program. William Quinlan, also a former resident joined the faculty after additional training in trauma in Switzerland and arthroscopy in England. This group composed the core faculty of the Section of Orthopedic Surgery at the time of Dr. Peltier's retirement as Chief in June 1985.
Dr. Volz succeeded Dr Peltier as Section Chief from 1985 to 1992. Upon Dr Volz’s retirement, Dr Dzioba was appointed Chief in 1992 and Dr Benjamin became the permanent Chief in 1994. John Szivek PhD was hired in 1990 to further develop and advance the Orthopaedic Biomechanics Lab that Dr Volz had started several years prior.
The 90’s had significant faculty growth but unfortunately also significant attrition. John Ruth joined the faculty in 1991 after completing a fellowship in orthopaedic trauma at the Baltimore Shock Trauma Center. In 1997 the majority of faculty resigned. Dr Ruth negotiated with Dean Dalen to create the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery which was established in 1999. He served as the interim Department Chair until May 2000 when William A. Grana came from the University of Oklahoma with a private practice background to become Chair and create a comprehensive Department of Orthopaedic Surgery.
During Dr Grana’s tenure as Chairman the faculty grew and the residency program was expanded to 3 residents per year. Dr Grana had an accredited sports fellowship in Oklahoma which he continued here at the University of Arizona. He stepped down as Chair in 2007 and Dean Joiner appointed Dr Ruth as Chairman.
Over the next 15 years as Chair, Dr. Ruth was able to grow the Department, recruiting over 20 new surgeons including 3 female orthopaedic surgeons. He also recruited research leadership in Dr. Zong-Ming Li from the Cleveland Clinic Foundation to become the new Vice Chair for Research. He increased the residency to 4 residents per year.
In 2022, Dr. John Elfar was recruited from The Pennsylvania State University to head a large expansion in orthopaedic care. Under his leadership, the clinical footprint has quadroupled in size, and the faculty has doubled in size. Four fellowships have been added, and a residency expansion is underway. These are exciting times in Orthopaedics.
Locations Added
From 1989 – 1993, the section expanded its outpatient capabilities to a satellite clinic, which greatly improved the quality of care for patients.
The department focused on specialized training in joint replacement surgery and trauma by the 1993 - 94 fiscal year, the section was performing 1562 operative cases and had 16,844 outpatient visits. During 1994 - 95 outpatients again equaled 16,800.
The clinic was housed in UMC, until it was relocated to Alvernon Way during the fall of 1999 which greatly improved issues of limited space and patient access.
That same year, the Arizona board of Regents created a new Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and a national search was performed for a Professor and Head. During the interim Dr. John Ruth, the Residency Program Director, served as Head of the Department.
In May 2000 Dr. William A. Grana came from the University of Oklahoma and a private practice background to join the department and attempt to create a comprehensive Department of Orthopaedic Surgery.
In 2022, Dr. John Elfar was recruited from The Pennsylvania State University to head a large expansion in orthopaedic care. Under his leadership, the clinical footprint has quadroupled in size, and the faculty has doubled in size. Four fellowships have been added, and a residency expansion is underway. These are exciting times in Orthopaedics.
The UA Department of Orthopaedic Surgery Today
Our full-time faculty has doubled in size in just two years to have excellent representation from the community at the main campus of the University of Arizona in Tucson. We provide the in depth comprehensive program the Chair envisioned. In addition, the focus of the department has shifted from implant design and biomechanics to a biologic approach to the care of musculoskeletal problems.
This expansion has included an expansion in the residency in 2001, and another underway at this time. The success of the residency program is characterized by the completion rate on the ABOS examination and the OITE scores as well as our status as the single biggest supplier of orthopaedic surgeons to Arizona.
Currently the Department performs nearly four times the number of operative cases it performed just three years ago. We have a commitment to community relationships and outreach. The 5 - year plan for the department includes the addition of faculty, residents and fellows in diverse areas to supplement the needs of our growing, vibrant community.