Adult Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship

The Carilion Clinic - Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine (VTCSOM) Adult Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship program dates back to the first total hip replacement done in southwest Virginia by Drs. Louis Ripley and Charley Bray in 1972. Since that time, the program expanded with the arrival of Joseph Moskal, MD in 1988 as the first fellowship trained adult reconstructive surgeon. Under his direction, the Adult Reconstruction Fellowship was started in 2003 and achieved ACGME recognition in 2012.  Additionally, the total joint replacement program was modernized to a regional center of excellence, earning initial certification in 2007 followed by advanced certification in 2016 by The Joint Commission.  

As surgical volumes and case complexity increased due our large regional catchment area, the fellowship program subsequently expanded to include five core faculty members and added a second fellowship position in 2018.  All faculty members have been fellowship trained at top-notch programs and between them care for the entire spectrum of adult reconstruction including; direct anterior approach hip replacement, hip preservation surgery, high efficiency primary total hip and knee replacement, complex hip and knee revisions, deformity correction, periprosthetic fractures, periprosthetic joint infections, and utilization of enabling technologies.

The creation of VTCSOM and what is now the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC was announced in 2007, with the inaugural medical school class beginning in August 2010. The school officially became the ninth college of Virginia Tech on July 1, 2018. This partnership between Virginia Tech and Carilion Clinic provides tremendous opportunities for the educational and research efforts of our fellowship program.

Our institution has a long-standing history of orthopaedic surgery education.  In addition to our multiple fellowship programs, since 1957 we proudly partnered with the University of Virginia to host their orthopaedic surgery residents (2 x PGY-3 and 2 x PGY-4 residents, 4 total), and for nearly a decade we collaborated with Larkin Community Hospital in the same capacity (1 resident per 3-month block). While we cherished those partnerships, our organizations have grown within the respective communities we each serve to such an extent that in 2023 our institution applied for and was approved to start our own accredited orthopaedic surgery residency. After much planning and hard work on behalf of the Carilion Clinic Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Graduate Medical Education office, our first class of residents matriculated in July 2024.

• 50+ Orthopaedic faculty in department covering all subspecialities
• 4 Orthopaedic Surgery Residents per Class, 20 residents total when at full compliment
• Podiatry Residency with 3 podiatry residents per class – total of 9 podiatry residents
• 2 Adult Reconstruction Fellows
• 1 Hand Surgery Fellow
• 1 Spine and Scoliosis Fellow
• 3 Orthopaedic Research Fellows
• Medical students - Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine 
• PA students - Radford University Carilion Physician Assistant School
• Robust group of inpatient and outpatient ACPs