S. Robert Rozbruch, MD, Chief
Dr. Rozbruch is the Chief of the Limb Lengthening and Complex Reconstruction Service and Director of the Osseointegration Limb Replacement Center at Hospital for Special Surgery. He is a Professor of Clinical Orthopaedic Surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College, and is a member of several national medical societies including fellowship in the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Orthopaedic Trauma Association, and ASAMI — The Limb Lengthening & Reconstruction Society of which he was President (2012-2013). He has presented his clinical and research works at numerous national and international medical meetings and has authored over 200 articles in medical journals and chapters in orthopedic textbooks. He edited two authoritative textbooks on limb lengthening and reconstruction.
Dr. Rozbruch was educated at the University of Pennsylvania graduating Magna Cum Laude in 1985, and he attended Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University, from which he graduated with honors in research in 1990. Residency training at Hospital for Special Surgery in orthopedic surgery (1991-1995) was followed by two fellowships. He did specialized training in Trauma as an AO fellow at the University of Bern in Switzerland. Additional training in adult and pediatric limb lengthening followed at the Maryland Center for Limb Lengthening & Reconstruction.
Austin T. Fragomen, M.D.
A Professor of Clinical Orthopedic surgery at Weill Cornell Medical School and HSS, Dr. Fragomen has excelled as an educator. He is the director of the LLCRS fellowship program which includes recruitment and year-long training of exceptional young surgeons interested in pursuing a career in the subspecialty of Limb Deformity. In addition, surgeons from various regions in the United States and from around the globe come to New York to rotate with Dr. Fragomen for month-long visiting-professor observer-ships to broaden how they approach complex orthopedic challenges. Feedback from these observers includes amazement with the volume of Limb Deformity patients treated in Dr. Fragomen’s clinic and his ability to spend time with each person to ensure that the patient remains the focus of the practice. Patients can be assured that Dr. Fragomen personally performs each surgery.
With over 140 publications, research has been central to ensuring the highest quality patient care including surgical decision making and has given Dr. Fragomen a voice nationally and worldwide. Authoring textbook chapters requires not only a profound knowledge of the field of Limb Deformity but also demands meticulous scouring of publications, new and old, relevant to the topic, providing further information and perspective to the author. Dr. Fragomen maintains a prospective database of all the surgeries he has performed for use in later analysis to find trends in patient care. This data then drives future decision making to optimize surgery and post operative protocols ensuring the best possible outcomes and patient satisfaction. Dr. Fragomen is invited to speak regularly at orthopedic programs around the United States, Canada, and abroad to share his research and personal experiences for the advancement of successful outcomes in these other centers. As the president of the national Limb Lengthening & Reconstruction Society (LLRS) from 2019-21, Dr. Fragomen launched several initiatives that have inspired current members, drawn in new members, and gained traction at the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) where he served on the Board of Subspecialty Societies.
Dr. Fragomen takes pride in resolving the previously “unsolvable” problems from which his patients suffer, and he welcomes collaboration with other HSS surgeons who have complimentary skill sets in an effort to guarantee that all of his patients have been treated by the best of the best. Dr. Fragomen can be readily contacted through email, FragomenA@HSS.edu, to which he responds personally.
Taylor Reif, M.D.
Dr. Taylor Reif is a member of the Limb Lengthening and Complex Reconstruction Service at Hospital for Special Surgery. He specializes in the comprehensive surgical care of musculoskeletal tumors as well as the reconstruction of limbs affected by primary bone tumors, metastatic disease, trauma, infection, and deformity. He has particular clinical and research interest in joint preservation and live bone reconstruction of tumor related deformity and bone loss.
Dr. Reif attended Northwestern University obtaining a degree in Biomedical Engineering. He was awarded Kappa Theta Epsilon honors for his engineering cooperative work at Procter & Gamble. He earned his medical degree from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, achieving acceptance into the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society.
He completed his orthopedic surgery residency at the Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago, during which Dr. Reif developed an interest in musculoskeletal tumors and limb reconstruction. To further develop this specialized expertise, he completed two fellowships: the Enneking fellowship in orthopedic oncology at the University of Florida Shands Cancer Center and the Limb Lengthening and Complex Reconstruction fellowship at the Hospital for Special Surgery.
Dr. Reif grew up in Colorado hiking the Rocky Mountains with his family and understands the joys of life that come from activity and the people with whom we share it. He will strive to see patients achieve their functional and rehabilitation goals as fast as possible and get back to an active life.
Jason Shih Hoellwarth, MD
As the newest member of the Limb Lengthening and Complex Reconstruction Service, Dr. Jason Shih Hoellwarth specializes in a wide variety of complex skeletal reconstruction surgery for patients of all ages. This includes pediatric deformities such as congenital skeletal concerns, growth irregularity, hip dysplasia, cerebral palsy, osteogenesis imperfecta, and limb deficiencies such as femoral, tibial, and fibular hemimelia. He also cares for adults with joint degeneration, arthritis, bowlegs, knock knees, nonunion, malunion, and many other problems related to alignment, length, infection, or fracture care. Dr. Hoellwarth is also the most highly published American on the topic of osseointegration for amputees.
A Chicago-native, Dr. Hoellwarth graduated from Case Western Reserve University with a B.S. in biochemistry and psychology. He attended the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, leading the student-run free clinic, two high school mentoring programs, and completed a year of research in pediatric orthopedic surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital. Following orthopedic residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, where he was a chief resident and responsible for intern training, he completed four successive fellowships to broaden and deepen his experience.
Dr. Hoellwarth’s first fellowship was with the Osseointegration Group of Australia, led by Munjed Al Muderis, where he learned to perform transcutaneous osseointegration for amputees which provides a permanent skeletal connection between the patient’s bone and prosthetic limb. He then completed his pediatric orthopedic fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine, learning at Houston’s Shriners Hospital and Texas Children’s Hospital with Dr. Scott Rosenfeld focusing on traumatic injuries and hip disorders. The following fellowship of pediatric deformity reconstruction at the Paley Institute taught Dr. Hoellwarth how to manage stature and limb deficiency including achondroplasia (dwarfism), hypochondroplasia, and hemimelia or deficiency of the femur, fibula, and tibia.
Dr. Hoellwarth completed his fourth fellowship with his current Limb Lengthening and Complex Reconstruction partners at the Hospital for Special Surgery, where he solidified his skills with external fixation and hexapod techniques, minimally invasive osteotomies, osseointegration, joint replacement, and managing complex deformity problems such as soft tissue and bone infection, nonunion, malunion, osteochondromas, nerve compression, and chronic pain related to bone and joint disorders.
Beyond medicine, Dr. Hoellwarth tries to advocate for the environment and is a volunteer instructor for cultural Chinese lion dance. These hobbies remind him that physical mobility and social equity are essential to health. His hope is to help develop affordable and available care to populations living in limited resource environments.
