Michael Baumgaertner, MD

Michael R. Baumgaertner, M.D., is fracture surgeon who is Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery & Rehabilitation. He serves as Chief of the Orthopaedic Trauma Service at Yale-New Haven Hospital, where he has practiced for more than 25 years, treating patients with severe fractures, fracture complications, and worn out joints.

Following a childhood in Minnesota, Dr. Baumgaertner graduated from Stanford University with a degree in Art History. He attended the University of California (San Diego) Medical School as a Regent’s Scholar where he earned his M.D. He then did his orthopaedic surgery residency at the University of California (San Francisco), following that he completed a one-year fellowship in plastic and reconstructive surgery at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester, Massachusetts. He joined the Faculty of the Yale School of Medicine in 1988.

Dr. Baumgaertner’s landmark 1995 publication on hip fracture fixation performed at Yale initiated his international recognition. The measurement he described at that time has been validated repeatedly and remains the universal standard. He has authored numerous original articles and chapters in orthopaedic textbooks. He has lectured and taught residents in training and practicing surgeons on five continents optimal surgical fracture care.

He has served as Chairperson of Education for both the Orthopaedic Trauma Association and AO North America, was elected President of AONA, and served as the Chairperson of the Board of Directors. of AO North America, a non-profit organization of more than 1000 surgeons that is dedicated to the optimal care of patients with fractures and/or deformity. He is a Trustee of the AO Foundation, an international group of more than 15000 surgeons, and is currently serving as Chair of the AO Trauma International Board.

His academic career notwithstanding, Dr. Baumgaertner is a surgeon dedicated to the recovery of his injured patients: Providing technically expert surgical repair, as well as the education and counseling necessary to heal not only the patient’s fracture, but also the lifestyle.