Nearly a Half Century of Superb Care…

1965

The practice formed when Robert G. Kindred, M.D. and Robert F. Spicer, M.D. combined their solo orthopaedic practices in a single office at the Georgetown Doctors' Park on West Cedar Lane in Bethesda, Maryland.

1972

J. Patrick Caulfield, M.D. joined the practice after serving two years on active duty as a Lieutenant Commander in the United States Naval Reserve during the Vietnam War. A native of Chevy Chase, Maryland, Dr. Caulfield graduated from Georgetown University School of Medicine, completing his orthopaedic residency there in 1970. On October 6, 1972, Dr. Caulfield performed Suburban Hospital's first ever total hip replacement. To date, over 10,000 joint replacements have been completed at Suburban. Dr. Caulfield has been featured in every Top Doctors issue of The Washingtonian Magazine since its inception.

1974

The practice expanded to four orthopaedic surgeons with the arrival of William A. McNamara, M.D. Dr. McNamara had previously served as a Captain in the United States Army Reserve.

1975

Suburban Hospital established the Montgomery County Regional Trauma Center with Drs. Caulfield, Kindred, McNamara, and Spicer serving as the primary orthopaedic surgeons.

1984

Dr. Spicer retired to Lewes, Delaware.

1985

Drs. Kindred and McNamara retired due to health reasons.

Edward J. Bieber, M.D. joined the practice. Board certified in both Orthopaedic Surgery and Hand Surgery, Dr. Bieber attended Yale University and Georgetown University School of Medicine. He completed his training in hand and upper extremity surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Dr. Bieber was the first fellowship trained orthopaedic surgeon in Bethesda.

Later the same year, Hereward S. Cattell, M.D. and Lewis A. Ottenritter, M.D. joined Drs. Bieber and Caulfield, incorporating as Bethesda-Chevy Chase Orthopaedic Associates (B.C.C.O.A). Interestingly, this fortuitous acronym corresponded with the first letters in each of the founding partners' last names.

1991

B.C.C.O.A had outgrown it's Cedar Lane offices and moved to it's present location in the Camalier Building on Fernwood Road in Bethesda.

1992

Ira D. Fisch, M.D. joined the practice. A graduate of Queens College and Georgetown University School of Medicine, Dr. Fisch trained in orthopaedic surgery at the Montefiore / Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York and received spine training at the Spinecare / St. Mary's / Stanford Combined Spine Fellowship Program.

1997

Kurt C. Schluntz, M.D. joined the group. A graduate of Harvard University, Dr. Schluntz received his orthopaedic training at the Harvard Combined Orthopaedic Program and completed a Sports Medicine Fellowship at the American Sports Medicine Institute under Dr. James Andrews.

1999

Andre R. Gazdag, M.D. joined the practice. A graduate of the University of California, Davis and Duke University Medical School, Dr. Gazdag trained in orthopaedic surgery at the UCLA Medical Center and subsequently completed a Foot and Ankle Fellowship at Hahnemann University in Philadelphia.

2005

B.C.C.O.A. expanded it's footprint in the Camalier Building and opened a Therapy Services department.

Suburban Hospital opened its Joint Center in June with Dr. J. Patrick Caulfield as its Medical Director.

2006

Christopher J. Cannova, M.D. joined the group. Following his residency training in orthopaedic surgery at Georgetown University School of Medicine, Dr. Cannova completed a fellowship in Joint Reconstruction at the Hospital for Special Surgery / Cornell University Medical Center in New York.

Dr. Cattell retired at the end of that same year.

2007

The practice opened a suite on the second floor to accommodate a larger staff of Physical and Occupational Therapists.

Bethesda-Chevy Chase Orthopaedic Associates began trading as OrthoBethesda, a less cumbersome moniker, and a logo for the practice was crafted representing stylized surgeon hands.

2008

Therapy Services expanded again, doubling the square footage of Suite 210.

The practice began a significant expansion and renovation project on the fifth floor as well. The business office moved to a new suite to allow for a larger waiting room and clinic. The conversion to Digital Radiography occurred that year to eliminate the time patients previously had spent waiting to have their X-ray taken.

Mahidhar M. Durbhakula, M.D. joined the group. A graduate of Northwestern University, he continued his education at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, where he received a medical degree. He completed his residency training in orthopaedic surgery at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Durbhakula then completed a fellowship specializing in hand, wrist and elbow surgery at the Hospital for Special Surgery, in affiliation with Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City.

2009

OrthoTraumaBethesda opened its doors in Suite 506 with the addition of Timothy Bhattacharyya, M.D., the first trauma fellowship trained orthopaedic surgeon to practice in Bethesda. A graduate of Northwestern University and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Dr. Bhattacharyya completed an orthopaedic surgery residency at Boston University / Boston Medical Center. He then went on to complete a fellowship in orthopaedic trauma at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Bhattacharyya assumed the role of Director of Orthopaedic Trauma at Suburban Hospital and OrthoTraumaBethesda took over responsibility of the hospital's orthopaedic call schedule.

The practice's renovation was complete in the spring of that year.

The Joint Center at Suburban Hospital, under the leadership of Dr. Caulfield, performed 900 joint replacement surgeries over the course of the year.

2010

Robert R. Buber, M.D. joined OrthoTraumaBethesda as our second trauma fellowship trained orthopaedic surgeon. A graduate of LaSalle University and the University of Pittsburg School of Medicine, Dr. Buber completed an orthopaedic surgery residency at SUNY Stony Brook University in Long Island, NY. He then went on to complete a fellowship in orthopaedic trauma at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, NJ.