Brian Waterman, MD

Board-certified and fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon in Winston-Salem

Dr. Brian Waterman is a board-certified, former military orthopedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine, cartilage restoration, and shoulder and elbow care. Dr. Waterman is currently a Professor in Orthopaedic Surgery and Chief & Fellowship Director in Sports Medicine & Shoulder Surgery at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia and graduated with his medical doctorate from Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, VA. Dr. Waterman subsequently performed his internship and residency in orthopedic surgery through the U.S. Army at the combined program of William Beaumont Army Medical Center and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in El Paso, Texas. Dr. Waterman performed his fellowship training with the renowned Sports Medicine program at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. He has served as a team physician for the Chicago Bulls (NBA), Chicago White Sox (MLB), Chicago Fire (MLS), and Chicago Steel (USHL). He previously received additional training in complex knee, shoulder, and elbow reconstruction at the Mayo Clinic, and he been selected for the prestigious American Orthopaedic Association North American Traveling Fellowship and Arthroscopy Association of North America’s (AANA) Advanced Arthroscopy Traveling Fellowship.

Service and leadership

A 13-year military veteran, Dr. Waterman has served his country with distinction, earning multiple honors including the Meritorious Service Medal and Army Commendation Medal. He previously completed a combat deployment with the 28th Combat Support Hospital to Helmand Province, Afghanistan in support of the 8th Marine Regiment from Camp Lejeune, NC and a multinational force from Jordan and Afghanistan. Dr. Waterman is committed to graduate medical education and clinical and translational research. He has previously served as Director of Orthopaedic Research in Texas, and he holds faculty appointments at WBAMC, Texas Tech University, and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, MD.

He currently serves on the Sports Medicine and Arthroscopy Program committees through the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery (AAOS), the Research Committee with American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM), and is the Education Committee Chair with the Arthroscopy Association of North America. He has previously served as a team physician for the Chicago Bulls (NBA), Chicago White Sox (MLB), Chicago Fire (MLS), and Chicago Steel (USHL). Dr. Waterman is currently a team physician for Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem Dash (Chicago White Sox), U.S. Ski and Snowboard, and multiple area high schools.

Research and publications

Dr. Waterman is currently a Professor in Orthopaedic Surgery at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed research manuscripts, 20 book chapters, and received the institutional award at WBAMC for Researcher of the Year on three separate occasions. He is on the editorial board of the Arthroscopy Journal and American Journal of Orthopaedics. He serves on multiple committees through American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery (AAOS), Society of Military Orthopaedic Surgeons (SOMOS), and AANA, in addition to being a member of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) and American Shoulder and Elbow Society (ASES).

Professional Associations

• ASES: Active Member
• AOSSM: Member / Research Committee
• AANA: Board of Directors, Chair of Education Committee
• ISAKOS
• AOA: American Orthopaedic Association
• Southern Orthopaedic Association (SOA)
• NCOA (North Carolina Orthopaedic Association)
• Arthroscopy Journal, Associate Editor

Personal life

Dr. Waterman truly enjoys quality time traveling and hiking with his wife, Sarah, a historical fiction author, and their dog, Gilbert. As a former intercollegiate soccer athlete at Elon University, Dr. Waterman is enthusiastic about all things sports and fitness- related. As a member of Wake Forest Sports Medicine, he truly enjoys caring for Atlantic Coast Conference athletes.

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Practice emphasis	Shoulder Surgery, Elbow Surgery, Knee Surgery, Sports Medicine, and Biologics
Undergraduate	University of Virginia
Medical School	Eastern Virginia Medical School
Residency	William Beaumont Army Medical Center and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, El Paso, TX
Fellowship	Rush University Medical Center
Board Certification	Orthopaedic Surgery
Special Procedures	Arthroscopic rotator cuff repair, Arthroscopic and open shoulder stabilization / labral repair, shoulder replacement, elbow arthroscopy, Multiligamentous knee reconstruction, knee cartilage restoration, patellar stabilization, meniscal transplantation, knee osteotomy, pediatric and adolescent sports medicine.
Research interests	Complex rotator cuff tears, Management of shoulder instability, shoulder and elbow injuries in overhead athletes, surgical outcomes after shoulder replacement, clinical outcomes with tendon repair, orthobiologics, cartilage restoration, management of patellofemoral instability, meniscal allograft transplantation, chronic exertional compartment syndrome