Updated July 2019

The oldest independent orthopaedic group currently practicing in the state of Maryland, the OrthoMaryland Care Center has been an integral part of Maryland’s rich medical history since Dr. Moses Gellman first opened its doors in 1925. With innovation and a passion for orthopaedics as its founding values, the care center has long been at the forefront of medical advancements and thus boasts many “firsts” in the industry. Most notably, the late Dr. Larry Becker, an athlete himself who joined the practice as a sports medicine surgeon in 1969, was a pioneer in arthroscopic surgery as one of the first surgeons in Maryland to perform the procedure.

OrthoMaryland has seen incredible growth in staff and expertise since its earlier days. After Dr. Gellman’s nephew, Dr. David Filtzer, became a partner, Dr. Jerome Reichmister and Dr. Becker joined the practice in 1969, which was then named Filtzer, Reichmister and Becker, PA. This core group is credited by the current staff for founding and building the modern-day vision for OrthoMaryland.

As growth continued, the name of the care center evolved, and the group ultimately landed on OrthoMaryland to communicate the incredibly wide variety of treatments and services offered to patients. Today, the full-service care center has 13 board-certified or eligible fellowship trained physicians and nine physician assistants. The providers have specialties across nearly every orthopaedic discipline including joint replacement, , arthritis care, foot & ankle, spine care, hand & upper extremity surgery, sports medicine, general orthopaedics and interventional pain management. OrthoMaryland also offers physical and occupational therapy services.

Specialties and Treatments

OrthoMaryland’s Dr. Barry Waldman, a joint replacement specialist, has contributed to the advancement of minimally invasive hip replacements and custom knee replacements, and has even designed instruments to perform these surgeries. He is active in research and has been published on reconstructive knee and hip replacements. Also on OrthoMaryland’s total joint replacement team is Dr. Peter Jay, who focuses on minimizing the recovery time following surgery and has worked on muscle-sparing surgeries to achieve even faster recoveries.  The newest member of this team is Dr. Yonah Heller.

OrthoMaryland treats athletes of all ages and abilities, healing muscles, bones, ligaments and tendons. The Sports Medicine Team – Dr. David Buchalter, Dr. Robert Riederman and Dr. Chad Zooker – specializes in knee and shoulder problems including fractures, dislocations, sprains, strains, ligament and tendon tears and more. And with a special focus on minimally invasive treatments, the care center’s goal is to get patients back on the playing field as quickly and safely as possible.

The Foot & Ankle department is led by Dr. Ian Weiner, who treats conditions such as pain & trauma, plantar fasciitis, bunions, heel pain, ligament sprains and more. He is one of just a few surgeons in the region with foot & ankle fellowship training, helping to relieve patients’ pain and restore function. He also represents OrthoMaryland as a physician with the Maryland State Athletic Commission.

Patients can come to the Hand, Wrist and Elbow Team for treatment of conditions such as tendon problems, trauma and fractures, arthritis, nerve injuries, dislocations and more. Dr. Steven Friedman, and Dr. Beatrice Grasu offer surgical and non-operative treatments of the hand, wrist and elbow with the support of Michelle Auster, their hand physician assistant

Beyond these treatment areas, OrthoMaryland’s staff includes two physiatrist – physicians with training in physical medicine and rehabilitation (PMR). The care center’s Spine Team – spine specialists Dr. Ayodele Buraimoh and Dr. Mark Rosenthal, as well as physiatrists Dr. Jason Brokaw and Dr. Lisa Grant – treat patients with back and neck pain. The team develops a comprehensive treatment plan for patients who don’t necessarily require surgery. Non-operative treatments include physical therapy, modalities, therapeutic injections, epidural steroid injections and exercise. Spine surgery is also available to patients who don’t respond to non-operative treatment.

OrthoMaryland in the Community

From humble beginnings at its flagship office in Baltimore, OrthoMaryland now has two highly productive satellite offices in Owings Mills and Lutherville, Maryland In July of 2012, OrthoMaryland paved the way in Maryland orthopedic walk-in services as they opened their doors to patients in need of after hour care. This “no appointment needed” service was available at the Quarry Lake office, Monday-Thursday, 4:30-7:30pm, and was affectionately named “OrthoMarylandNow” At OrthoMarylandNOW, patients have quick and easy access to an orthopaedic physician, or orthopaedic trained Physician Assistant, who can treat general orthopaedic injuries and ailments after normal business hours. Due to extreme popularity, in October 2018, Quarry Lake walk-in services expanded to include Saturday morning availability between 9:00am-12:00pm.  Shortly thereafter, with continued commitment to providing open door access to their patients and community, May 2019 all-day walk-ins opened at the satellite Lutherville office. Patients can now come Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:00pm at 1312 Bellona Ave. Suite 203, Lutherville, MD 21093.

The care center is proud of its convenience and availability, with patient’s needs in mind.

OrthoMaryland is affiliated with three local hospitals – Greater Baltimore Medical Center, Northwest Hospital and Sinai Hospital. The care center is also a part-owner of Greenspring Surgery Center, an ambulatory surgical center in Baltimore where several OrthoMaryland surgeons operate.

Several years ago, OrthoMaryland converted to AthenaHealth, offering patients even more convenient access to care through significant operational improvements, reduction in redundancy, quick reimbursements, improved patient collections and access to patient records outside of the office through the patient portal, all in compliance with meaningful use and PQRS.  

Workers’ Compensation is a priority for OrthoMaryland as well. Each November, OrthoMaryland hosts an educational symposium for Workers’ Comp adjusters, attorneys, insurance companies and more, featuring presentations from physicians on their orthopaedic care. The care center is active with the Maryland Workers’ Compensation Educational Association, and was one of the first orthopaedic groups to attend the annual conference many years ago.

Early on in OrthoMaryland’s history, Dr. Becker valued community involvement, both within medicine and beyond. This is still true today.  Many physicians and staff members are active on boards, at hospitals and volunteering with community and environmental organizations. OrthoMaryland has hosted food drives and toy drives around the holidays, and the care center is involved with many fund raising and community events.

OrthoMaryland and The Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics

The physicians at OrthoMaryland are proud to be independent private practitioners, because through this business model, they offer their patients choice. OrthoMaryland took notice of The Centers upon its launch, and three years later, made the choice to sign on due to their shared mission and vision for patient care.