Care Center Spotlight: Maryland Orthopedic Specialists
Update June 2019
Maryland Orthopedic Specialists is a sports medicine-focused practice with offices in Bethesda and Germantown. Dr. James Gardiner and Dr. Christopher Raffo founded the practice in 2009.
Dr. Gardiner and Dr. Raffo are both sports medicine fellowship-trained orthopaedic surgeons and practice the most advanced arthroscopic techniques. Dr. Gardiner serves as the Head Team Physician for the Seneca Valley High School football team. Dr. Raffo is the Head Team Physician for Quince Orchard High School and St. Vincent Pallotti High School.
In 2016, the Maryland Orthopedic Specialists care center welcomed Dr. Peter G. Fitzgibbons as a hand and upper extremity surgeon. Dr. Fitzgibbons performs a variety of advanced procedures including treatment of fractures, tendon and nerve injuries, carpal tunnel and other nerve compression problems, trigger fingers, tendonitis, sprains and arthritic conditions. He completed a fellowship in orthopaedic trauma at Brown University and the Harvard Hand and Upper Extremity Fellowship. Dr. Gary Feldman, a podiatrist from The Orthopaedic Center in Rockville, sees patients two half-days per week at the Bethesda and Germantown offices. The practice also partners part-time with Dr. David Gwinn from Montgomery Orthopedics to treat spine patients. He comes to the Bethesda office once a week.
An incredibly experienced team of physical therapists anchors the care center. They have worked with members of DC United, the U.S. Men’s and Women’s National and Olympic Soccer teams, the Canadian Football League, University of Maryland’s football program, and the Jamaican Men’s National Team, and they pride themselves on treating elite athletes and non-athletes with the same high-quality care. The most recent addition to Maryland Orthopedic Specialists’ physical therapy team is Stephanie Clement, a certified hand therapist with experience in post-stroke rehab and inpatient psychiatry in addition to her certification in hand therapy.
The care center is the official sports medicine provider for Baseball Factory, a national powerhouse in player development and college recruiting for baseball players between the ages of 10 and 18. The care center has partnered with Sports Performance Institutes, founded by several of Maryland Orthopedic Specialists’ therapists, providing sports movement screening, team training sessions for injury prevention, and performance enhancement.
Maryland Orthopedic Specialists joined The Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics to preserve the private practice model and allow the care center to adjust to the continually changing landscape in healthcare. It also allows the team at Maryland Orthopedic Specialists to proudly continue its tradition of personalized patient care. They appreciate the feeling of unity among The Centers’ physicians.