Orthopaedic Surgeon Dr. R. Frank Henn Appointed Interim Chair of the Department of Orthopaedics

Dr. Henn is Established Academic Leader with Strong Track Record of Success in Research and Clinical Care; Led Department’s Residency Program to Become Among Top in the Nation

University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) Dean Mark T. Gladwin, MD, announced today that R. Frank Henn, III, MD, Professor of Orthopaedics, has been appointed to serve as the Interim Chair of UMSOM’s Department of Orthopaedics, effective December 1, 2022.

Dr. Henn assumes the position formerly held for the past ten years by Andrew N. Pollak, MD, the James Lawrence Kernan Professor of Orthopaedics, who was appointed Senior Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer (CCO) of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) in May 2022.

Dr. Henn, who joined the Department in 2010, is an academic leader and highly regarded, board-certified orthopaedic surgeon who has published significant scientific research, and is a leading clinician focusing on the care of the shoulder, knee, and ankle, with an emphasis in cartilage restoration and joint repair techniques.

“Dr. Henn has an outstanding track record of success in scientific research, clinical care and education,” said Mark T. Gladwin, MD, Vice President for Medical Affairs, University of Maryland, Baltimore, and the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor and Dean, University of Maryland School of Medicine.  “He has already made a significant impact with his contributions to research in knee injury and patient outcomes, his clinical expertise in autologous chondrocyte implantation and complex reconstruction of the shoulder and knee, and he has built a nationally recognized residency program.  Dr. Henn is well suited to lead the Department as Interim Chair.”

Dr. Henn is actively engaged in research efforts, most recently as the Principal Investigator of the “Outcomes of Multi-ligament Knee Injuries” study funded by the Foundation for Orthopedic Trauma, and the “Maryland Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Research Registry” study funded by a Kernan Endowment grant.

He has published 112 peer-reviewed scientific papers with a focus on patients' expectations, satisfaction, and surgical outcomes.  These include five studies regarding Press-Ganey patient satisfaction surveys after orthopaedic surgery.  His paper published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery in 2021 demonstrated significant disparities in patient populations that complete patient satisfaction surveys, raising concerns that response bias may limit interpretation of survey results.  He also has developed a new metric for assessing patient-based outcomes that involves asking patients if they are ‘completely better’ after orthopaedic surgery.  The first study using this metric after ACL reconstruction was published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine this year.

Dr. Henn’s exemplary leadership as the Department’s Residency Director since 2013 has resulted in that program’s present recognition as one of the top orthopaedic residencies in the nation. “We have a reputation for training outstanding surgeons who have many opportunities for achievement in clinical care, research, and mentorship,” said Dr. Henn. In 2022 alone, the program had more than 1,000 applicants vying for just six resident positions. Dr. Henn also introduced a formal resident research curriculum in 2017 that has produced significant results, with resident publications in recognized scientific journals increasing over the past five years, and one resident awarded a research grant from the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation (OREF), a leading resource for new investigators. Most recently, he was able to successfully maintain the program’s momentum during the COVID pandemic through the rapid introduction of a flexible online lecture format and a realigned rotation schedule to minimize resident exposure to the virus while continuing their training.

Clinically, he is highly experienced in the field of sports medicine. Dr. Henn has served as a physician for a number of prominent professional and collegiate sports teams, including the New England Patriots, the Boston Bruins, the Boston Red Sox, and currently serves as a team orthoaedic surgeon for the UMBC Retrievers, University of Maryland Terrapins, and the Baltimore Nighthawks.

Under Dr. Pollak's leadership, the Department of Orthopaedics at UMSOM made significant advances in recent years, including growth in market share, research funding, improved quality metrics, improvements and growth in educational programs, and expansion of clinical services. In particular, the Department is now among the nation’s top ten programs for annual federal and private research funding. Overall, funding for the Department has grown sixfold ($2M to $12M) from 2016 to 2020, with an annual growth rate of 85 percent in NIH funding from FY12 ($316k) to FY21 ($3.0M). The Department also recently set worldwide practice standards in clinical investigations with the two largest orthopaedic trauma trials ever conducted, including one that completed the enrollment of 12,200 patients from 21 trauma centers in the US and Canada, on time and on budget.

Dr. Henn has been recognized by Baltimore Magazine as a "Top Doctor" for five consecutive years, starting in 2017, and also has been honored with the Neer Award in Clinical Science from the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons, and the Achilles Research Award from the International Society of Arthroscopy, Knee Surgery and Orthopaedic Sports Medicine (ISAKOS). He is currently an Active Member of the Orthopaedic Research Society, the Arthroscopy Association of North America, and the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, as well as a Fellow of the American Orthopaedic Association, among others.

After earning his medical degree at Brown University, Dr. Henn completed his internship in General Surgery at New York Presbyterian Hospital, Cornell, followed by a residency in orthopaedic surgery at the Hospital for Special Surgery (NYC), and fellowships in Sports Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, and at the Cartilage Repair Center at Brigham & Women’s Hospital (Boston).

“It is an honor to have the opportunity to lead this distinguished department, and I look forward to building on the successful leadership of Dr. Pollak,” said Dr. Henn. “My goals are to expand access to outstanding interdisciplinary musculoskeletal care, grow our exceptional research program, and provide optimal educational experiences for students and trainees.”