Dr. Ramon B. Gustilo, M.D., AAOS, AOA

Dr. Ramon Gustilo has been successful in both academic medicine and orthopaedic device design. He received his Bachelor’s degree in 1953 in the field of Pre-Medicine, from the university of the Philippines. He continued with Medical School at the University of the Philippines, and graduated in 1957, passed his Board examination, and immediately thereafter went to the United States for further training. Having been told that there were many opportunities in Minnesota, he applied for and was accepted in the Orthopaedic Residency program of the University of Minnesota. He excelled during this five year program, during which time he met his charming wife, the former Gloria Carlson, and started their family of five wonderful children. He also found time to initiate, fund, and successfully complete research on bone blood flow, which earned him his Master’s degree of Orthopaedic Surgery.

Once Dr. Gustilo entered private practice, his multiple talents of leadership, supreme surgical skills and academic curiosity, compassionate bedside manner, honesty, and incredible energy and drive, were able to shine. He demonstrated great leadership at Methodist hospital and later at Hennepin County Medical Center. He convinced the Chief of the Department of Surgery at HCMC that Orthopaedic Surgery should be a separate department, and was appointed the first head of the Department. This he did for twenty-five years, with a visionary outlook, steady hand, and focused efforts. His five year plans are legendary. During this time, Dr. Gustilo also became a full Professor at the University of Minnesota, and served on many of its committees, and as a member of the top leadership of the University of Minnesota Orthopaedic Surgery Department. Dr. Gustilo is also a consultant to the United States Surgeon General with a rank of full Colonel. In 1969 Dr. Gustilo served as the Chairman of the Twin City Society in 1974 and 1975 he served as the State Representative of the Subcommittee on Injuries to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, for which he was the Chairman for 5 years.

Dr. Gustilo’s international reputation as a leader in the field of orthopaedic surgery was first gained due to his painstaking work classifying open fractures, and recommending treatment based on classification. His classification system was instrumental in improving the care and outcome of severe fractures, throughout the world, and he continues to update his recommendations. His leadership in the care of patients with orthopaedic injuries resulted in his establishment of the Orthopaedic Trauma Hospital Association and the Orthopaedic Trauma Association. He was founding President of both of these organizations.

Along with his work on open fractures, Dr. Gustilo established a rare expertise in muculoskeletal infections, and established a Musculoskeletal Sepsis research unit that remains pre-eminent in the world for basic research, and for recommending optimal clinical treatments.

Dr. Gustilo’s academic interests have benefited hundreds of orthopaedic residents and fellows who have been fortunate to be his student. He always has time for teaching, and is superb in organizing seminars, courses, and in being a Visiting Professor himself over seventy-two Visiting Professorships in sixty-three institutions, nationally and internationally. Thirty years ago he initiated the HCMC Orthopaedic and Trauma Seminar, which remains nationally a much sought after Continuing Education course. He also recognized the need for a state of the art surgical skills training center, raised the necessary money, and established the Orthopaedic Learning Center at HCMC, in 1989. Since that time, orthopaedic residents of the Mayo Clinic and University of Minnesota partake in four annual courses. Numerous other surgical skills for practicing surgeons, surgeons-in-training, and ancillary personnel are held in the Orthopaedic Learning Center.

Due to his immense curiosity and uncanny intuition, Dr. Gustilo has also had a long-term interest in basic research. Over twenty years ago, he established the Orthopaedic Biomechanics Research Laboratory. Since its inception with a Materials Testing Machine obtained with his future retirement money (and the graciousness of his wife!), the lab has grown to include four engineers, engineering and orthopaedic graduate students, a machinist/designer, technician, medical illustrator and support staff. Projects are focused on fracture fixation and joint replacement, and how to improve patient outcome in the difficult revision surgeries. Currently the recipients of a half million dollar grant from NIH and a $280,000 grant from the Arthritis Foundation, the lab remains an active, vital member of the international Biomechanics research community.

Dr. Gustilo had published over thirty-one chapters in Orthopaedic Textbooks, eighty-nine full length articles in various journals and he has been invited to give over one hundred and forty three lectures both nationally and internationally. Working with his clinical fellows, Biomechanics and infectious disease colleagues, Dr. Gustilo has forged a very innovative, productive, and prescient research group.

Another outlet for Dr. Gustilo’s enormous creativity and business sense is his extremely successful work as a surgeon innovator. The holder of nine patents, Dr. Gustilo designed and commercialized one of the earliest total knee replacements (Gustilo knee). He also designed the first hip replacement approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for use without bone cement (BIAS Hip), and one of the most successful of the current generation of total knee replacements (Genesis knee). He also has designed surgical instrumentation, and fracture fixation devices and implants. In addition to consulting with various American orthopaedic manufacturers, in 1992 Dr. Gustilo founded his own company, Orthopaedic Innovations, Inc. (OII), whose mission is to design, manufacture and market sophisticated quality and yet affordable orthopaedic implants to Pacific Rim countries. OII has already established a manufacturing plant in the Philippines, and has several products on the market in Asia, and will soon be on the market in the United States as well.

These international accolades and business successes were never obtained at the sacrifice of his patient. Dr. Gustilo continues to win well-deserved devotion from his patients, due to his excellent surgical judgement and skills, his respect for the patient and their family, his daily rounds on the patient (even in the dead of a Minnesota winter), and his incredible enthusiasm and curiosity.

Career Highlights

Joined Staff	Founding Member
Subspecialty	Joint Replacement of the Hip and Knee
College	University of the Philippines, 1953
Med School	University of the Philippines, 1957
Residency	(Orthopaedic Surgery) University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1964, Masters Degree in Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Minnesota, 1964
Licensure	Philippines, 1957 Minnesota, 1964 Diplomate, American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery, 1968

Current Hospital Affiliations

• Chairman, Department of Orthopaedics, Makati Medical Center, Philippines
• Chairman, Philippine Orthopaedic Institute, Inc., Makati Philippines
• Director, Joint Replacement Fellowship Program, POI, Makati Philippines, 2001 to present
• Member, Cebu Orthopaedic Institute, Cebu, Philippines
• Member, Panay Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Center, Panay Philippines
• Member, Chonghua Hospital, Cebu Philippines
• Member, Asian Hospital Medical Center, Philippines

Teaching Positions

• Professor, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 1985 to present
• Faculty, Hennepin County Specialty Hospital, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Minneapolis, MN, 1976 to present
• Consultant, Department of Orthopaedics, Makati Medical Center, Makati Philippines

Orthopaedic Societies

• Member, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
• Member, American Orthopaedic Association
• Member, American Hip Society
• Member, American Knee Society
• Founding Member, American Orthopaedic Trauma Association
• Member, American Medical Association
• Member, Minnesota Medical Society
• Honorary Member, Philippine Orthopaedic Society

Other

• Director, Arthritis and Joint Replacement Center, POI, Makati Philippines
• Chairman, Orthopaedic Innovations, Inc. USA
• Chairman, Orthopaedic International, Philippines
• Founder and Director, Midwest Orthopaedic Research Foundation, Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Design of the Gustilo Total Knee Arthroplasty - a modified UCI total knee prosthesis (Wright Orthopaedic Company), 1982
• Development of the Ingrowth System prosthesis for the hip – BIAS (Gustilo/Kyle – Zimmer), 1987.
• Co-Designer of the Genesis I and II Total Knee System (Smith & Nephew Richards)
• Co-Designer of the Reflection Acetabular Cup (Smith & Nephew Richards)
• Co-Designer of the Prime Cemented Hip System
• Author, Book - Fractures and Dislocations, 1993
• Author, Book - The Fracture Classification Manual, 1991.
• Author, Book - Current Concepts in the Treatment of Musculoskeletal Infections, 1988.
• Author, Book - Management of Open Fractures and Their Complications, 1982.
• Over 100 Peer Review Journal Articles related to Orthopaedic Surgery