Orthopaedic Surgery Program

Welcome

We are an ACGME-accredited program and have continued accreditation for Osteopathic Recognition.

This five-year residency program offers an extensive exposure to the field of orthopaedic surgery. The residents work alongside fellowship-trained orthopaedic surgeons who are on the leading edge of orthopaedic care. Cleveland Clinic is our sponsoring institution. This world-class tertiary health system affords our residents rich opportunities in all orthopaedic surgical subspecialties.

Our residency program has a rich history. The program initially started in 1970 by Dr. Edward A. Andrews. While he initially trained as a family medicine physician, he eventually pursued training as an orthopaedic surgeon. Throughout his career of educating residents, he not only focused on the diagnosis and treatment of orthopaedic-related issues, but he also stressed compassion, empathy and the tenets of osteopathic medicine. Our program has always emphasized the care of our patients in the osteopathic tradition of treating the body as a whole.

Our program and curricula introduce residents to a variety of subspecialty opportunities while allowing flexibility to pursue specific interests within the field of orthopaedic surgery. Graduating residents have been competitive and successful at securing highly sought-after fellowship positions upon completion of their residency.

We continue to look for residents who are dedicated to the field of orthopaedic surgery. We value the hard work and commitment that our residents show to furthering their orthopaedic knowledge while providing world-class care to our patients.

Please contact the Graduate Medical Education Department or me (mclaugj4@ccf.org) if you have any questions or require additional information.

Sincerely, 

John P. McLaughlin, DO
Program Director, Orthopaedic Surgery 

About Us

The South Pointe Orthopaedic Surgery residency program offers a unique opportunity for residents to grow and master this surgical field. Throughout the five-year program, the resident is exposed to a wide breadth of surgical cases that fully encompasses the field of orthopaedic surgery. With Cleveland Clinic as our sponsoring institution, the resident will have the opportunity to obtain competency in managing complex orthopaedic issues in conjunction with leading edge orthopaedic treatment modalities.

The program is based at Cleveland Clinic South Pointe Hospital, a community-based hospital on the east side of Cleveland and part of the Cleveland Clinic enterprise. The hospital is equipped with a state-of-the-art surgery center, 24-bed ICU and emergency department. It also has a physical and virtual library that allows residents to expand their knowledge through various articles, textbooks, and other resources. The hospital sponsors several other residency programs, a testament to its commitment to medical education and advancing the future of healthcare.

While South Pointe Hospital is our base institution, educational opportunities exist at other hospitals and surgery centers within the Cleveland Clinic enterprise. Hillcrest Hospital is a Level II trauma center where our residents spend a large amount of time. In addition, at Hillcrest you will have the opportunity to evaluate and treat adult and pediatric emergency department consults, and floor consults. An additional rotation at Hillcrest includes spine surgery. Our other rotations, including reconstruction, pediatrics and musculoskeletal oncology, generally are offered at Cleveland Clinic's main campus.

Other rotations occur at the surrounding community hospitals and surgery centers. Our third-year residents do a pediatrics rotation at Akron Children’s Hospital in Ohio. Fourth-year residents have a unique opportunity to rotate at St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood, Colo., for Level I trauma. For several of our rotations, we collegially work alongside the Orthopaedic Surgery residency and fellowships at Cleveland Clinic’s main campus. These joint educational opportunities give our residents the opportunity to further grow our orthopaedic knowledge. Please see our curriculum for more information about our various rotations.

We are fortunate to have a close-knit family of residents and attendings at South Pointe Orthopaedic Surgery. Being a tight-knit group of 15 residents and four core attendings allows us to work efficiently as a team to fulfill our clinical duties and continue to expand our medical knowledge and surgical skills.

View more information regarding an audition rotation.

Please contact me with any questions regarding our Orthopaedic Surgery residency program.

Ron Peirish, DO
peirisr@ccf.org

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Curriculum

PGY-1

During the first year of the program, the resident will complete the following rotations:

• Anesthesia: 1 month at South Pointe Hospital.
• Emergency Medicine: 1 month at South Pointe Hospital.
• General Surgery: 1 month at South Pointe Hospital.
• Vascular Surgery: 1 month at South Pointe Hospital.
• Internal Medicine: 1 month at South Pointe Hospital.
• Medical Intensive Care: 1 month at South Pointe Hospital.
• Orthopaedic Surgery: 6 months, including 2 months of Adult Reconstruction at Cleveland Clinic’s main campus.
• Residents will attend the OTA Resident Comprehensive Fracture Course.
• Residents are required to attend the yearly Pediatric Orthopaedic Resident Review course and the Pathology/Oncology course in Akron.

PGY-2

• South Pointe Hospital Orthopaedic service (mentorship model): 6 months. Residents will spend time on the services of Drs. Cereijo, Harmon, McLaughlin and Silko. Residents participate in evaluating patients in outpatient clinics and developing treatment plans under the supervision of the osteopathic faculty.
• Residents will be assigned first call for the emergency room.
• Residents will assist in surgical cases at the affiliate hospitals such as Cleveland Clinic's Sports Medicine Center, Euclid Hospital, Hillcrest (a high volume Level II trauma center), Lutheran, Marymount, main campus, Mentor Hospital, and Twinsburg Family Health and Surgery Center.
• The second-year residents take responsibility for organizing the weekly Fracture Conference. They present chosen cases and lead discussions with the students, residents and faculty. During this year they will begin to have responsibility for teaching the medical students assigned to orthopaedic surgery.
• Main campus Cleveland Clinic Orthopaedic Pediatrics service: 2 months. Residents work under the guidance of Drs. Ballock, Goodwin, Gurd, Kuivila and Young. Residents experience a variety of pediatric orthopaedic care both in the operating room and clinic. The resident will be involved in both simple and complex pediatric cases. They will also take part in weekly pre- and post-op conferences with faculty.
• Spine Surgery at Hillcrest Hospital: 2 months. Residents work alongside Drs. Benzil, Soni, and Spiessberger.
• Orthopaedic surgery at Hillcrest Hospital: 2 months. Residents will work under Drs. Billow and Cereijo, where there is exposure to orthopaedic trauma, while fielding floor and ER consults during the day. The PGY-2s usually cover Hillcrest between January and June for the given academic year.
• Residents will take part in the AO Basic course sponsored by AO North America. This course reviews basic principles of fracture care and internal fixation devices.
• Residents are required to attend the yearly Pediatric Orthopaedic Resident Review course and the Pathology/Oncology course in Akron.

PGY-3

During the third year, the residents assume more responsibility in the clinic, on the floor and with surgical patients.

• Orthopaedic surgery at Hillcrest Hospital: 2 months. Residents will work under Drs. Billow and Cereijo, where there is exposure to orthopaedic trauma, while fielding floor and ER consults during the day. The PGY-3 usually cover Hillcrest between July and December of the given academic year.
• South Pointe Hospital Orthopaedic service (mentorship model): 8 months. Residents will spend time on the services of Drs. Cereijo, Harmon, McLaughlin and Silko. Residents participate in evaluating patients in outpatient clinics and developing treatment plans under the supervision of the osteopathic faculty.
• Pediatric Orthopaedic service at Akron Children's Hospital: 2 months. Residents will be exposed to simple and complex pediatric surgical cases. They will take primary call at the Level I emergency department.
• Residents continue with first call for the emergency room at Hillcrest/South Pointe Hospitals.
• Residents will assist in surgical cases at Cleveland Clinic's Sports Medicine Center, Euclid Hospital, Hillcrest (a high volume Level II trauma center), Marymount, Mentor Hospital, Lutheran, main campus, Twinsburg Family Health and Surgery Center and South Pointe Hospital.
• Resident will choose a specialty specific course or conference of their choice with PD approval.
• Residents are required to attend the yearly Pediatric Orthopaedic Resident Review course and the Pathology/Oncology course in Akron.

PGY-4

The PGY-4 year provides the resident with the opportunity to work and learn from various subspecialty orthopaedic physicians.

• Orthopaedic trauma at St. Anthony's Level I Trauma Center in Lakewood, Colo., with the Panoramic Orthopaedic group: 3 months. The resident will work under several fellowship trauma-trained orthopaedic surgeons including Drs.Grossman, McNair and Patel. In addition, the resident will work under Dr. Rowland, who is fellowship hand-trained, and Dr. Deol, who is fellowship foot-and-ankle-trained. Housing is provided, and food is covered at the hospital.
• Main campus Cleveland Clinic Orthopaedic Pediatrics service: 2 months. Residents work under the guidance of Drs. Ballock, Goodwin, Gurd, Kuivila and Young.
• Hands/Upper Extremity rotation at Cleveland Clinic main campus: 2 months. Residents work with fellowship-trained orthopaedic hand/upper extremity surgeons including Drs. Maschke, Seitz and Styron.
• Musculoskeletal Oncology at Cleveland Clinic main campus:  2 months. Residents work with Drs. Burke, Mesko and Nystrom.
• Elective rotations: The resident has 3 months of electives of their choice within the Cleveland Clinic enterprise and its affiliates, and can include Sports Medicine at Cleveland Clinic main campus, working with a wide variety of orthopaedic sports surgeons who cover both the Cleveland Guardians MLB and the Cleveland Cavaliers NBA.
• PGY-4s have the option of taking the AAOS Board Review Course in April and the AOA written board exam, usually administered in May.
• Attendance at the annual AOAO meeting is required at least once during the residency and is usually attended during the fourth or fifth year, alternate of board review course.

PGY-5

• The final 12 months are spent entirely at Cleveland Clinic's Sports Medicine Center, Euclid Hospital, Hillcrest (a high-volume Level II trauma center), Marymount, Mentor Hospital, Lutheran, main campus, Twinsburg Family Health and Surgery Center and South Pointe Hospital.
• The fifth-year residents share the chief resident responsibilities. This includes scheduling the morning didactic lectures, call schedule, skills labs, journal clubs and medical student rotations. They also oversee and closely communicate with the junior residents on the various core services.
• Residents primarily cover cases with Drs. Cereijo, Harmon, McLaughlin and Silko in conjunction with the assigned junior resident.
• PGY-5s provide backup call for junior residents.
• The PGY-5 resident must complete the AAOS Board Review Course in April and the AOA written board exam, usually administered in May, if not completed as a PGY-4.
• Attendance at the annual AOAO meeting is required at least once during the residency and is usually attended during the fourth or fifth year, alternate of board review course.

Didactics

The Orthopaedic Surgery Program has developed a thorough didactic program that takes place throughout the entire academic year. Each morning the residents gather for morning report, which consists of patient census review, daily assignments and presentations on various topics including Osteopathic Principles and Practices. Anatomy is reviewed along with procedures.

• Monday afternoons: The residents meet for OITE review. 
• Tuesday mornings: The residents attend various lectures given at main campus by attending physicians and residents from 7 until 10:30 a.m.
• Wednesday mornings: Fracture Conference is held with the faculty after morning report. Radiographic studies are shown, and best treatment modalities are discussed. Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine education and skills are also a part of this weekly conference.
• Journal Clubs are held monthly, either in house or sponsored by pharmaceutical or equipment representatives. The chief residents choose and distribute the articles.
• Anatomy labs and skills labs are held often, with support from equipment companies. Saw bone labs are held frequently to review hardware and instrumentation. Anatomy labs with cadaveric specimens are available for dissection. Objective procedural competencies are completed on each resident during labs as a means to provide feedback for learning and improvement, and to demonstrate the resident’s progression throughout their training program.

Osteopathic Principals and Practices (OPP) are integrated into the didactics. OMM is a part of Fracture Conference, and quarterly OMM skills labs are held as well as while providing patient care. Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine labs are held under the direction of certified neuromusculoskeletal specialists who will guide and assist residents in their techniques, provide feedback for improvement and complete competency forms. The selected techniques are determined by input from faculty and residents, with suggestions proposed by the neuromusculoskeletal director and faculty.

Orthopaedic Resident’s Lounge Library

Includes all books 2006-2019, and online availability.

PASS from Orthobullets: All residents are enrolled.

Miller's Review textbook is provided for each resident.

• 2011 Harborview Illustrated Tips and Tricks in Fracture Surgery.
• 2011 Orthopaedic Imaging: A Practical Approach - A. Greenspan.
• 2011 Greens Operative Hand Surgery - 6th ed.
• 2010 Delee & Drez’s Orthopaedic Sports Medicine - 3rd Ed. 
• 2010 Rockwood and Green: Fractures in Adults.
• 2009 Skeletal Trauma - 4th Ed. Brown/Jupiter/Levine.
• 2009 The Shoulder - 4th Ed. Rockwood/Matsen.
• Book Series Masters Techniques in Orthopaedics.
  • 2010 Sports Medicine - F. Fu.
• 2009 Soft Tissue Surgery - S. Moran.
  • 2005 The Hand - J. Strickland, T. Graham.
  • 2002 The Wrist - R. Gelberman.
  • 2002 The Elbow - B. Morrey.
• 2009 Surgical Exposures in Orthopaedics - 4th ed. Hoppenfeld/deBoer.
• 2008 Campbells Operative Orthopaedics - 11th ed. Copyright.
• 2008 Enzinger and Weiss’s Soft Tissue Tumors - 5th ed.
• 2007 Surgery of the Foot and Ankle - 8th ed. Coughlin/Mann.
• 2007 Advanced Reconstruction Shoulder – AAOS, J. Zuckerman.
• 2006 Pediatric Orthopaedics - 6th ed. Lovell/Winters.
• 2006 Insall and Scott: Surgery of the Knee - 4th ed.

Faculty

John McLaughlin, DO – Program Director
Medical School: University of Pikeville Kentucky College School of Osteopathic Medicine
Residency: Cleveland Clinic-South Pointe Hospital, Warrensville Hts., OH
Fellowship: Adult Reconstruction, Cleveland Clinic, OH

Christopher Silko, DO – Associate Program Director
Medical School: Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, Erie, PA
Residency: Cleveland Clinic-South Pointe Hospital, Warrensville Hts., OH
Fellowship: Boston University Medical Center Orthopaedic Surgery Sports Medicine, MA

Cesar Cereijo, DO
Medical School: AT Still University of Health Sciences, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Kirksville, MO
Residency: Cleveland Clinic-South Pointe Hospital, Warrensville Hts., OH
Fellowship: Orthopaedic Trauma Surgery - Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN

Daniel Harmon, DO
Medical School: Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, Erie, PA
Residency: Cleveland Clinic-South Pointe Hospital, Warrensville Hts., OH
Fellowship: Adult Reconstruction, Allegheny General Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA

Hillcrest Hospital Orthopaedic Surgery faculty

• Damien Billow, MD
• Michael Bloomfield, MD
• Richard Parker, MD

Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgery faculty at main campus

• R. Tracy Ballock, MD
• Ryan Goodwin, MD
• David Gurd, MD
• Tom Kuivila, MD
• Ernest Young, MD

Hand and Upper Extremity Surgery faculty at main campus

• Joseph Styron, MD
• Steven Maschke, MD
• William Seitz, MD

Orthopaedic Surgery Sports Medicine faculty at main campus

• Lutul Farrow, MD
• Salvatore Frangiamore, MD
• James Rosneck, MD
• Paul Saluan, MD
• Mark Schickendantz, MD

Musculoskeletal Oncology faculty at main campus

• Zachary D. Burke, MD
• Nathan Mesko, MD
• Lukas Nystrom, MD

Orthopaedic Trauma surgeons at St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood, Colo.

• Premjit Deol, DO
• Leonid Grossman, MD
• Patrick McNair, MD
• Nimesh Patel, MD
• Edmund Rowland, MD
• Logan Worrell, DO

Spine Surgery faculty at Hillcrest Hospital

• Deborah Benzil, MD
• John Butler, MD
• Pranay Soni, MD

Current Residents

PGY-5

Rachel Becker, DO
Medical School: Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery, Iowa
Fellowship: Accepted to Florida Orthopaedic Institute for Hand and Upper Extremity, Tampa, Fla.

Grant Kovacs, DO
Medical School: Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine, Glendale
Fellowship: Accepted to Adult Reconstruction, Allegheny General Hospital, Pittsburgh, Penn.

Ronald Peirish, DO
Medical School: Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, Erie, Penn.
Fellowship: Accepted to Orthopaedic Trauma, OhioHealth Grant Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio

PGY-4 

Brian Cost, DO
Medical School: Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Athens

Colin Rhoads, DO
Medical School: Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Penn.

Jared Warren, DO
Medical School: A.T. Still University of Health Sciences, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Kirksville, Mo.

PGY-3 

Zachary Bernhard, DO
Medical School: West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine, Lewisburg

Alex Brewer, DO
Medical School: Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, Erie, Penn.

Zachary Sturgill, DO
Medical School: Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine

PGY-2

Colin Brown, DO
Medical School: Touro University Nevada College of Osteopathic Medicine, Henderson

Landon Reading, DO
Medical School: West Virginia School of Medicine, Morgantown

Pieter Wiemken, DO
Medical School: Kansas City University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Mo.

PGY-1

 

Colin Baker, DO
Medical School: Kansas City University College of Osteopathic Medicine

Shaelyn O'Connor, DO
Medical School: Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine

 

Christos Zinis, DO
Medical School: Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine

Reading List

Mandatory reading list

• Miller's Review of Orthopaedics 4th Edition (2020).
• Orthopaedic Knowledge Update (OKU) 13th Edition (2020).
• Surgical Exposure in Orthopaedics 6th Edition (Hoppenfield 2021).
• Orthobullets.
• AAOS ResStudy.
• Journal of American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery (JAAOS).

Recommended reading list

• Orthopaedic Knowledge Update (OKU) Foot and Ankle 6 (2019).
• Orthopaedic Knowledge Update (OKU) Hip and Knee Reconstruction 6 (2021).
• Orthopaedic Knowledge Update (OKU) Pediatrics 6 (2021).
• Orthopaedic Knowledge Update (OKU) Spine 6 (2021). 
• Orthopaedic Knowledge Update (OKU) Sports 6 (2021).
• Orthopaedic Knowledge Update (OKU) Trauma 6 (2022).
• Hand Surgery Update 6 (2016).
• Handbook of Fractures 6th Edition (Koval 2019).
• Campbell's Operative Orthopaedics 14th Edition (2021). 
• Skeletal Trauma 6th Edition (2019).
• Master Techniques Series.
• Gross Anatomy texts (Thieme Press, Cunningham's Primal Pictures CD-ROM).

Websites

• AAOS ResStudy. 
• American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
• American Osteopathic Academy of Orthopedics. 
• Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. 
• Orthobullets. 
• Orthopaedic Trauma Association.
• Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Ring (Fellowships).
• Wheeless' Textbook of Orthopaedic Surgery (Duke University).