Andrew R. Burgess, MD, Honored with 2025 OTA Lifetime Achievement Award
From left: Joshua Gary, MD; 2025 OTA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Andrew Burgess, MD; and Douglas W. Lundy, MD, FIOTA, at the Orthopaedic Trauma Association meeting. Photo by OTA LinkedIn.
UTHealth Houston Department of Orthopedic Surgery, trauma surgeon Andrew R. Burgess, MD, has been awarded the 2025 Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA) Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing over four decades of leadership, innovation, and mentorship that have shaped the field of orthopedic trauma.
True to form, Burgess credits his success to “meeting innovators, visionaries, and good timing.” Those who know him best would add another ingredient — his unwavering commitment to advancing patient care while lifting everyone around him.
From Curiosity to Calling
Burgess’s path to orthopedic trauma began at Indiana University, where four years of graduate work in anatomy and physiology sparked a deep fascination with the biomechanics of the human body. That foundation carried him through medical school at Albany Medical College, where he first crossed paths with Bruce Browner, MD, then a rising star in the field of orthopedic surgery. Their professional connection would eventually guide Burgess to Baltimore’s legendary R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center.
In 1981, Burgess joined the University of Maryland’s Shock Trauma Center as a fellow, just as Maryland’s innovative statewide trauma system was taking shape. Immersed in an environment defined by collaboration and urgency, he helped champion the importance of high-quality musculoskeletal trauma care, not only for patient outcomes but also for the surgeons, nurses, and technicians.
“It was about convincing everyone that the bones mattered, too,” Burgess said with a laugh. “When people started surviving these crashes thanks to seat belts and airbags, we had to figure out how to help them walk again.”
A Builder of Teams and Institutions
Over the course of 22 years at Shock Trauma, Burgess became known not only as a skilled surgeon but also as an educator and innovator. He helped transform the center into a global destination for trauma education, hosting residents from Johns Hopkins, the military, and beyond. He also established long-term research partnerships that bridged medicine, public health, and engineering — collaborations that resulted in more than 35 publications and lasting advances in trauma biomechanics and outcomes research.
As a founding member and later president of the Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA), Burgess helped define orthopaedic trauma as a distinct specialty. He guided the organization through its early growth, ensuring that OTA became both an academic leader and a steadfast advocate for trauma professionals across the nation.
Transformative Leadership
When Burgess joined the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston and Memorial Hermann –Texas Medical Center, he found what he calls “every partner rowing the same way.”
From left: William McGarvey, MD; Andrew Burgess, MD; Walt Lowe, MD; and James Kellam, MD. Orthopaedic Surgery Research Day, June 14, 2024. Photo by Dwight C. Andrews/McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston Office of Communications
He vividly recalls meeting Department Chair Walt Lowe, MD, and immediately realizing Lowe was ready to “fix the ortho trauma problem.” Burgess credits Lowe’s support and shared vision as pivotal in creating the foundation for success.
“He knew exactly what was needed — a team built on excellence, teamwork, kindness, and competence,” Burgess said. “And he made sure we had the support to make it happen.”
With the backing from Lowe, Memorial Hermann CEO Craig Cordola, Dean Giuseppe Colasurdo, MD, Burgess and his colleagues built one of the nation’s premier orthopedic trauma programs. Translating that high-level vision into action were Tom Flanagan, Chief Operating Officer, and Toni Von Wenkstern, Chief Nursing Officer, whose day-to-day leadership helped transform the vision into operational policies and procedures that advanced Memorial Hermann TMC into one of the country’s most efficient and innovative orthopedic trauma units.
Burgess recalls being in touch with them almost weekly as they worked together to steadily and significantly enhance the Orthopedic Trauma Service. In Burgess’s typical fashion, he’s quick to emphasize that the success belongs to the entire team: leadership, faculty, advanced practice providers, nurses, and OR staff, as the true source of the program’s success.
“We made sure everyone we brought in was not just clinically excellent, but also kind,” he said. “That’s the secret.”
A Legacy of Collaboration and Compassion
From left: Andrew Burgess, MD; and James Kellam, MD. Photo by Angie Beltran
Receiving the OTA Lifetime Achievement Award is deeply meaningful for Burgess, not least because his colleague and friend, James Kellam, MD, whom he helped recruit to UTHealth Houston, received the same honor last year.
“This award represents decades of shared effort,” Burgess said. “It’s never been about one person. It’s about what happens when people come together with purpose.”
From Baltimore to Houston, from the operating room to the classroom, our dear “Andy” Burgess has embodied the spirit of orthopedic trauma — innovation through collaboration, and excellence grounded in humility.
And if you ask him how he did it, he’ll smile and say, “Right people, right time.”
Andrew Burgess, MD, Orthopaedic Surgery Research Day, June 14, 2024. Photo by Dwight C. Andrews/McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston Office of Communications.
In speaking with Burgess for this story, what was planned as a short interview became 45 unforgettable minutes — a masterclass in orthopedic trauma, leadership, and humility. Listening to him recount his journey was both an honor and a profound learning experience. Undoubtedly, a treasured legend walking among us.
Congratulations, Dr. Burgess
All of us at UTHealth Houston extend our heartfelt congratulations to Dr. Burgess on this well-deserved recognition. We are profoundly proud and deeply fortunate to have him as part of our team, inspiring excellence, compassion, and integrity in everything we do.