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Cleveland Clinic announced the appointment of Thomas E. Mroz, M.D., as chair of its Orthopaedic & Rheumatologic Institute, beginning Jan. 1, 2020.
In this capacity, Dr. Mroz will oversee more than 478 caregivers and 125 staff physicians who comprise Cleveland Clinic’s Orthopaedic & Rheumatologic Institute.
Dr. Mroz currently serves as the director of the Center for Spine Health and director of the Spine Research Lab. Prior to his appointment, he joined Cleveland Clinic as a staff physician in 2004. He specializes in all aspects of spinal surgery and has a dedicated interest in minimally invasive surgery and cervical spine surgery, including radiculopathy, myelopathy, stenosis, disc herniations, cervical disc replacement, revision cervical surgery, cervical infections, cervical tumors and cervical deformity.
“I am honored to have the tremendous privilege to lead a renowned group of physicians and caregivers,” said Dr. Mroz. “The Orthopaedic & Rheumatologic Institute has a history of amazing patient care and exceptional education, academic and innovative performance. I’m looking forward to working with this talented team to develop and adopt new technologies and capabilities that I believe will help define rheumatologic and orthopaedic care nationally.”
Dr. Mroz is active in research, and he has lectured nationally and internationally on minimally invasive surgery and cervical spine surgery. He has authored over 400 research articles and abstracts in the peer-reviewed medical literature, and he serves currently as Deputy Editor of the Global Spine Journal and The Spine Journal.
He has been a leader in orthopaedics and organized spine surgery throughout his career. In addition, he has served on governing boards of several academic societies and has chaired many national and international meetings.
Dr. Mroz is currently a board member of the North American Spine Society and serves as its chairman of the Continuing Medical Education Committee. Dr. Mroz is also a diplomate of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery. He continues to have a very active role in the education of medical students, residents and fellows as a clinical faculty member of Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine.
He attended medical school at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland. He completed his residency in orthopaedic surgery at the George Washington University Medical Center, Washington, D.C., and two fellowships, one at the University of California, Los Angeles, focusing on spinal surgery and the other in the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Tennessee, Memphis, focusing on minimally invasive spine surgery.
Dr. Mroz succeeds Brendan M. Patterson, M.D., who served as interim chair since 2018. Dr. Patterson is also chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and will continue in that role.
Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, it was founded in 1921 by four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based upon the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. Cleveland Clinic has pioneered many medical breakthroughs, including coronary artery bypass surgery and the first face transplant in the United States. Cleveland Clinic is consistently recognized in the U.S. and throughout the world for its expertise and care. Among Cleveland Clinic’s 81,000 employees worldwide are more than 5,743 salaried physicians and researchers, and 20,160 registered nurses and advanced practice providers, representing 140 medical specialties and subspecialties. Cleveland Clinic is a 6,690-bed health system that includes a 173-acre main campus near downtown Cleveland, 23 hospitals, 276 outpatient facilities, including locations in northeast Ohio; Florida; Las Vegas, Nevada; Toronto, Canada; Abu Dhabi, UAE; and London, England. In 2023, there were 13.7 million outpatient encounters, 323,000 hospital admissions and observations, and 301,000 surgeries and procedures throughout Cleveland Clinic’s health system. Patients came for treatment from every state and 132 countries. Visit us at clevelandclinic.org. Follow us at twitter.com/CleClinicNews. News and resources available at newsroom.clevelandclinic.org.
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