Comes Home to Tackle the Most Complex Cases
After completing his fellowship in hip and knee reconstructive surgery at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina, orthopedic surgeon, Houston Braly, II, MD, could have gone anywhere to practice, but he came home to Houston. Why? “I missed the Tex-Mex,” he jokes. A second-generation native Houstonian, Dr. Braly (pronounced Braw-lee) graduated magna cum laude from Texas A&M University with an undergraduate degree in Biomedical Sciences. He completed his orthopedic surgery residency at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth in Houston and then headed to North Carolina for a fellowship to specialize in Total Joint Arthroplasty. He and his wife, Kristina, who met in medical school, welcomed their first child last November. An assistant professor in the department of Orthopedic Surgery at McGovern Medical School at UT Health, Dr. Braly is affiliated with Memorial Hermann Joint Center and specializes in hip and knee reconstructive surgery, concentrating on primary and revision hip and knee arthroplasty as well as partial knee replacement. In addition, he performs total hip replacements through both anterior-based muscle sparing and posterior approaches. “Seriously, though – there is no other place like Houston, Texas,” Dr. Braly says. “The spirit of Houston is indomitable. In one short year we’ve risen above the floodwaters of Hurricane Harvey, won the World Series and survived some pretty crazy weather. We do it all in stride because we are Houstonians.”
Taking on the Most Complex Cases
Dr. Braly says he saw a unique opportunity to step in and take on complicated, high-risk cases involving major revisions, including fractures, and infections. Sometimes it means working at all hours of the day and night to care for patients. “Friday night, I received a call about a 92-year-old woman who had broken her hip below her femur and had multiple fractures. Our team operated that night, so she wouldn’t have to wait until Monday. It was important enough that I wasn’t able to make it to my brother’s birthday party, but like I told everybody in the room, if that were my grandmother, I wouldn’t want her waiting around all weekend.”
“We’re All One Group, Working Together”
One thing that sets Memorial Hermann Joint Centers apart, he says, is the way the orthopedic and trauma teams work together as one multidisciplinary team to take on highly complex cases while ensuring the patient’s safety, as exemplified by a recent case involving the victim of a car accident. “The patient came in with a head injury, liver laceration and multiple fractures. His hip joint was unable to be reconstructed due to the amount of damage from the accident. I was able to replace his proximal femur and hip joint with an implant that allowed him to walk the same day. Now, he’s alive, walking and functioning well. There are benefits to being a part of one group, working together to achieve the best possible outcome for the patient.” The affiliated orthopedic surgeons at Memorial Hermann Joint Centers work together to improve patient outcomes through collaboration. “We meet weekly to discuss our cases,” says Dr. Braly. “It’s a very collaborative working environment.”
Orthopedics in His Blood
It’s no accident that Dr. Braly ended up in orthopedics. Breaking and repairing broken bones has been a common theme in his family for generations. His father was an orthopedic surgeon, as were several other relatives. As a child, he would accompany his father on hospital rounds and observe him during surgeries. “That was our bonding time,” he says. Propped against the wall in his office is a collection of antique crutches and a leg brace once owned by his ancestors, including his greatgrandfather, Houston Lee Braly, a dairy farmer after whom Dr. Braly was named. “He was bucked off his horse and actually had an open femur fracture, meaning the bone stuck out of the skin. They put him in a cast for about a year and a half.” The other is a leg brace with a built-in shoe lift that belonged to Houston Lee Braly, Jr., his great-uncle. “He had a fracture to his growth plate as a young boy after being bucked off his horse,” Braly explained. “Although he was rejected by many branches of the armed forces due to his leg, he was eventually accepted as a P-51 fighter pilot in WWII.” “I’m also inspired by my late grandmother,” Braly continues, “who, in her late eighties, had her hip and knee replaced to prevent her frequent falls. It’s because of that surgery that she lived to the age of 96 and still served the cowboys King Ranch casserole on cattle days at her ranch.” It is stories like these that have inspired Dr. Braly and the rest of the skilled surgeons affiliated with the Memorial Hermann Joint Centers to dedicate their careers to performing surgeries that allow patients to enjoy better quality of life, live pain free and even walk the very same day.
“There are benefits to being part of one group, working together to achieve the best possible outcome for the patient.” Houston Braly, II, MD