Brett Ryan Fink

A NOTE FROM DR.FINK

I feel that education is a central part of my job as an orthopedic surgeon. It seems to me that too many medical practitioners forget this. While it is sometimes difficult and time consuming to help my patients understand their problems and the wide array of potential solutions, their participation is crucial to their recovery and the success of their treatment. Let's face the fact that foot and ankle surgery is far from the science that we would all like it to be. Even when it works well, it is still not easy. Effective non-operative options exist for most foot problems and these should be explored fully before resorting to surgery, but everyone must be engaged in the non-operative treatment for it to work well. This is impossible unless a clear understanding of the problem, the goals, and the time necessary to accomplish them are laid out.

I have developed wholefoot.com to help begin people begin the treatment of their foot problems, non-operatively. More details are available in my book. I also hope to approach the most interesting and instructional of the questions that I am asked through my blog and forum on the website. I owe a great debt of appreciation to my daughter, Alexis, who has helped me in the creation of this website.

BIOGRAPHY

I attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1981 and received a B.S. in Molecular Biology with Honors in 1985. After a short research internship in Molecular Biology in the laboratory of Dr. W Frazier at Washington University, I entered Medical School at Washington University School of Medicine in 1985. In 1989, I graduated with an M.D. While at Washington University, my participation in the laboratory of Dr. Paul Manske resulted in two published scientific papers. I completed my surgical internship in 1990 under Dr. Samuel Wells. I also was fortunate to meet and subsequently marry my wife, Patricia DiGirolamo while I was there.

After internship, I entered the US Navy in 1990 as a medical officer in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. I was soon after assigned to the 3rd Battalion 3rd Marines as a Battalion Surgeon during Desert Storm. After a brief assignment at Barbers Point Medical Clinic, I was reassigned as the surgeon for Destroyer Squadron 25 and toured again in the Persian Gulf.

I was selected to the Portsmouth Naval Hospital Orthopedic Residency Program, learning surgical skills by both the orthopedic and podiatric staff there. I scored in the top one percent in my orthopedic examinations.

After a two-year tour as the Department Head for the Corpus Christi Naval Hospital Orthopedic Department, I served as a foot fellow with my co-author, Dr. Mark Mizel at Boston University and Miami University.

After completing my fellowship, I joined the Indiana Orthopedic Center and actively practice orthopedic surgery with a specialization in foot care. I work with some of the most inspiring physicians, partners, therapists at IOC and Community Hospital imaginable. I have two beautiful daughters (who are growing up too fast!) and a fox terrier. It is my sincere hope that you find my book instructive and helpful. Good luck!