With a mission to provide area patients with high-quality, comprehensive orthopedic care, UTMB’s Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation continues to enhance its faculty with new talent.
“Orthopaedics has become an essential aspect of modern healthcare as our population has become increasingly active and can expect significant longevity,” says Department Chair Ronald Lindsey, MD, FACS.
“Our specialty, which focuses on regaining or maintaining mobility and function, impacts everyone from newborns to the elderly, from the heavy laborer to the invalid, or from the polytraumatized to the high-performance athlete,” he adds.
This consistent high demand for expert care necessitates growth, especially as UTMB develops its service lines across the region. Burak Altintas, MD, joined the department last year, increasing access to critical orthopedic services on the mainland.
Dr. Altintas’s focus is on orthopedic trauma and sports medicine including upper extremity reconstruction.
“I really like the bony aspect of orthopedic trauma, and the soft tissue aspect of sports medicine,” he says.
Originally from Istanbul, Turkey, Dr. Altintas earned his medical degree at Heidelberg University School of Medicine in Germany – the alma mater of UTMB President Dr. Jochen Reiser. He remained in Germany to complete his residency training in Orthopedic Surgery.
Through a scholarship from AGA, the German Society for Arthroscopy and Joint Surgery, he pursued a research fellowship at the Steadman Clinic in Vail, Colorado. He also completed clinical fellowships in Orthopaedic Sports Medicine at the University of Kentucky and Orthopaedic Trauma Surgery at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City.
Prior to arriving at UTMB in the fall of 2024, he practiced in level I trauma centers in New York City and in Phoenix, Arizona.
Joining UTMB was the right move for Dr. Altintas, as he saw how the translational research programs within the institution aligned with his goals.
“What we deliver in research also ultimately helps us care for patients. UTMB really creates a very enabling milieu for this,” he says.
He is excited to be in an environment where he can collaborate with other specialties and continue contributing to research that will help advance health care broadly. His contributions to orthopedic research to date include peer-reviewed publications and book chapters, presentations at national and international conferences, and as a reviewer for several journals.
Dr. Altintas’ strengths as both a researcher and a clinician are valuable to the department, which prides itself on the versatile talents and skills of its faculty to help fulfill all of UTMB’s missions.
Dr. Lindsey shares, “UTMB Orthopaedics has established itself as a leader in delivering quality clinical care, providing a comprehensive education program for trainees, generating influential clinical and basic science research, and spearheading meaningful innovation.” | Burak Altintas, MD, sees patients at the UTMB Health Orthopedics clinics in Clear Lake, League City, and Friendswood. Learn more about Orthopedics services at UTMB Health. |