About Greater Chesapeake Hand to Shoulder in Maryland
Committed to providing the highest quality patient care, the board-certified orthopedic surgeons and plastic surgeons of Greater Chesapeake Hand to Shoulder, located throughout Maryland, provide operative and non-operative treatment for almost all problems of the upper extremity, including the shoulder, arm, wrist, elbow, and hand.
The problems we treat may involve the skin, bones, joints, muscles, tendons, nerves, and blood vessels. Our orthopedic doctors provide total care for acute trauma, burns, and infections, as well as for problems related to neurological disorders, arthritis, birth deformities, previous injuries, sports injuries, and work-related injuries.
The highly experienced orthopedic doctors and plastic surgeons of Greater Chesapeake Hand to Shoulder are committed to academic medicine: teaching medical students, residents, and fellows; conducting research studies; and writing journal articles.
Our academic interests assure that we keep up with and often set the standard for contemporary treatment. We are active in local, state, and national medical societies. We attend seminars and lecture on our specialty.
Our highly experienced orthopedic surgeons and hand specialists provide the majority of care for the patients of the Raymond M. Curtis National Hand Center at MedStar Union Memorial Hospital. The Curtis National Hand Center is the regional referral center for the Maryland tri-state area for traumatic injuries of the upper extremity.
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History of Hand Surgery
Care of upper extremity disease was haphazard prior to World War II. However, the wartime efforts of Dr. Sterling Bunnell established hand surgery as an independent discipline. While most medical specialties were defined by an organ system, hand surgery was defined by an anatomical area.
The hand surgeon thus needed expertise in aspects of orthopedic surgery, plastic surgery, rheumatology, neurology, neurosurgery, pediatrics and vascular medicine.
As knowledge in these areas expanded and the efficacy of hand therapy was established, it became progressively more difficult for a single physician to manage all aspects of upper extremity care.
Dr. Raymond M. Curtis addressed this problem by establishing the first Hand Center at MedStar Union Memorial Hospital of Baltimore. This center was staffed by physicians who had received their basic training in a variety of specialties, in which they maintained a particular expertise, but who had gone on to receive additional training in surgery of the hand.
Occupational, physical, and psychotherapy were all provided to help restore function to both the extremity and the individual in the context of job and family.
History of Greater Chesapeake Hand to Shoulder
Formed in 1987, Greater Chesapeake Hand Specialists, P.A. has extended Dr. Curtis’ concept by joining nine board-certified surgeons of diverse backgrounds into a single group devoted to the care of the upper extremity.
This approach has improved patient care by focusing a variety of perspectives on difficult clinical problems. This combination of diverse expertise has helped us to define the standard of upper extremity care in the region. As our group has grown, they became known as Greater Chesapeake Hand to Shoulder to emphasize the full care of the upper extremity.
Some of our highly specialized orthopedic surgeons, plastic surgeons, and hand specialists have a faculty appointment at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
Our doctors also hold staff appointments at most area hospitals, including MedStar Union Memorial, Good Samaritan, Carroll Hospital Center, Greater Baltimore Medical Center, Johns Hopkins, Johns Hopkins Bayview, and Upper Chesapeake Medical Center in Maryland.
Call Greater Chesapeake Hand to Shoulder at (410) 296-6232 or request an appointment online at one of our Maryland locations in the Greater Chesapeake area.
