HOUSTON, Aug. 18, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Walter R. Lowe, M.D., the new head of the orthopaedic programs at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, has been treating Houston's top professional and college athletes for more than a decade. He is a team physician for the Houston Texans and Houston Rockets, as well as the University of Houston, Strake Jesuit College Preparatory and North Shore Senior High School.
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Lowe has been named the new chairman of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston and the chief of Orthopedics at Memorial Hermann-TMC. Lowe, an orthopaedic surgeon who graduated from the UT Medical School in 1983, will assume his new positions Aug. 15.
"Dr. Lowe has distinguished himself in the field of orthopaedic surgery and sports medicine," said Giuseppe Colasurdo, M.D., dean of the UT Medical School. "I am certain he will build an extraordinary department with emphasis on the highest standards of patient care and service. And I am confident that he is particularly committed to the advancement of our educational programs."
"My No. 1 priority is to make sure the orthopaedic surgery residents get the best training possible," Lowe said. "I want to grow the department and recruit top faculty members. Memorial Hermann and the UT Medical School have the commitment to do just that."
Lowe, who has been a medical director of the Memorial Hermann Sports Medicine Institute since it opened in 2007, is looking forward to the challenges associated with his new role at its flagship hospital.
"Dr. Lowe's skill as a surgeon, his broad sports medicine experience and his commitment to exceptional patient care have been and will continue to be a great asset to Memorial Hermann-TMC and to our patients," said Juanita Romans, CEO of the Memorial Hermann-TMC Campus.
Lowe specializes in the care of injured knees, shoulders and elbows.
Lowe studied under legendary baseball doctor Frank Jobe, M.D., who in 1974 pioneered a procedure to repair injured pitching arms called the "Tommy John surgery." John was the first major league baseball player to receive the operation technically known as an ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction.
The son of a football coach, Lowe played high school football in Las Vegas, N.M., and tennis at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colo.
Helping athletes return to the football field or basketball court is gratifying, said Lowe, a native of Denton, Texas. "You are giving people back a lifestyle and a way of life," he said.
Lowe completed a fellowship at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles, an internship at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth and a residency at Tarrant County Affiliated Hospitals in Fort Worth. He is a member of the National Football League Physicians Society, the Association of Professional Team Physicians, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine and the American College of Sports Medicine. He is the only active member in Houston of the ACL Study Group, an international organization consisting of a select group of highly-specialized physicians. Lowe also served as a team physician for the Houston Oilers before they moved to Tennessee in 1997 and for the Houston Comets, which suspended operations last year.
Lowe's medical education experience includes 14 years on the faculty of Baylor College of Medicine, where he has been serving as director of the Baylor Sports Medicine Fellowship and chief of the Sports Medicine Section.
About Memorial Hermann Healthcare System
An integrated health system, Memorial Hermann is known for world-class clinical expertise, patient-centered care, leading edge technology, and innovation. Memorial Hermann serves the greater Houston community through 11 hospitals and many specialty programs and services, including three premier Heart & Vascular Institutes, TIRR|Memorial Hermann, Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital, a Sports Medicine Institute, the Mischer Neuroscience Institute, seven comprehensive Cancer Centers, 27 sports medicine and rehabilitation centers, a substance abuse treatment center and dozens of other specialty and outpatient centers. Memorial Hermann operates one of two Level 1 trauma centers in Houston and provides the Life Flight air ambulance program as well as the city's only burn treatment center. To learn more, visit www.memorialhermann.org, or call 713.222.CARE.
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