Orthopedic surgeon-scientist Dr. Frank Henn named Chair of the Department of Orthopaedics

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

Dr. Henn, who joined the Department in 2010, is an academic leader and highly regarded, board-certified orthopaedic surgeon; he has published significant scientific research, and is a leading clinician focusing on the care of the shoulder and knee, 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 Dean Gladwin who is also the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor at UMSOM and Vice President for Medical Affairs at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. “He has already made a significant impact with his contributions to research in knee injury and patient outcomes and his clinical expertise in complex reconstruction of the shoulder and knee, as well as his experience building a nationally recognized residency program. Dr. Henn is well suited to lead the Department as 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 120 peer-reviewed scientific papers with a focus on patients’ expectations, satisfaction, and surgical outcomes.  These include six 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 in 2022.  He also co-led the CARE randomized trial which found that counseling significantly reduced opioid utilization after ACL reconstruction without compromising pain control or sleep.

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 2023 , the program had more than 800 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 two residents awarded a research grant from the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation (OREF), a leading resource for new investigators.

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, Boston Bruins, Boston Red Sox, and currently serves as a team orthopaedic surgeon for the UMBC Retrievers, University of Maryland Terrapins, and the Baltimore Nighthawks.

Under Dr. Henn’s leadership as Interim Chair, the Department of Orthopaedics at UMSOM continued to make important advances, including establishing new clinical sites, expanding the faculty, increasing market share, improving quality metrics, and growing educational programs. The Department is now among the nation’s top 12 programs for annual federal and private research funding and recently set worldwide practice standards in clinical investigations by leading two of the largest orthopaedic trauma trials ever conducted. The PREPARE trial enrolled over 8,000 patients and showed that skin antisepsis with iodine povacrylex resulted in significantly fewer surgical site infections than chlorhexidine after surgery for closed extremity fractures and was published in the New England Journal of Medicine this year. The PREVENT-CLOT trial was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2023 and demonstrated that aspirin was non-inferior to low molecular weight heparin in preventing death and pulmonary embolism in over 12,000 patients with pelvic/acetabular fractures or surgical extremity fractures.   

Dr. Henn has been recognized by Baltimore Magazine as a “Top Doctor” for seven 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 American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, American Orthopaedic Association, 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 our consistent growth and success,” 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.”