Academic and Demographic Characteristics of Orthopedic Adult Reconstruction Division Chiefs

Introduction: Division chiefs play crucial leadership, administrative, and instructive roles within orthopedic subspecialties. The purpose of this study is to investigate the demographic and academic characteristics of division chiefs of adult reconstruction at fellowship institutions in the United States. Methods: Adult reconstruction fellowship programs were identified using the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons database. Characteristic information about sex, race, academic rank, additional degrees, fellowship institution, and year of completion were collected. Hirsch indices (h-indices) of the division chiefs were collected from the Scopus database. Results: Of the 120 adult reconstruction fellowship programs identified, 39 had a designated division chief of adult reconstruction. All of the division chiefs were male (n=39). Race breakdown was as follows: 74.4% were White (n=29), 12.8% were Asian (n=5), 7.7% were of mixed ethnicity (n=3), 2.6% were Latinx (n=1), and 2.6% were African American (n=1). The majority (53.8%; n=21) of division chiefs also held the academic rank of professor. The mean time since completion of fellowship was 21.7 ± 8.2 years and the mean h-index of the division chiefs was 24.9 ± 16.2. The fellowship programs that trained the most division chiefs were Massachusetts General Hospital (n=9) and the Hospital for Special Surgery (n=6). Discussion: Division chiefs of adult reconstruction are integral leaders within their orthopedic subspecialty. An analysis of demographic and educational characteristics revealed a lack of diversity among adult reconstruction division chiefs in the United States. Deliberate efforts to increase the diversity of adult reconstruction leadership must be made to address these disparities.