Benjamin “Kyle” Potter, MD, FACS
Philadelphia – Benjamin “Kyle” Potter, MD, FACS, an internationally renowned physician-leader in combat casualty care, has been named chair of the department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Penn Medicine, effective June 24, 2024. He will join the Perelman School of Medicine from his role as the Norman M. Rich Professor and Chair of the Uniformed Services University (USU) – Walter Reed Department of Surgery. He retired as a Colonel from the U.S. Army in 2023 following more than 22 years of active duty service during which he made impressive contributions to both military and civilian medicine.
“Dr. Potter’s deep commitment to caring for those who’ve served our nation is inspiring, and is deeply aligned with Penn Medicine’s mission to push our work forward to benefit patients near and far,” said University of Pennsylvania Health System CEO Kevin B. Mahoney. “We are thrilled for him to join our talented Penn Medicine Orthopaedics team and help lead the department to even greater heights in the field.”
At USU, his portfolio includes surgery education, training, and research for a team of 150 physicians and staff. He serves as Director of the Department of Defense Limb Optimization and Osseointegration Program at USU and the Chief Orthopaedic Surgeon for the Amputee Program at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, and is a musculoskeletal oncologist within the Murtha Cancer Center at Walter Reed, as well as a consultant for the National Cancer Institute.
Previously, he served as the Director for Surgery at Walter Reed. His Army service included surgical leadership posts during deployments to Afghanistan and Kuwait, and he has operated on more than 1,000 injured service personnel returning from duties overseas, including more post-9/11 U.S. war casualties with limb loss than any other military surgeon.
“Dr. Potter is a clinical innovator who has developed numerous cutting-edge techniques and programs to improve care for injured service members – and beyond,” said Jonathan A. Epstein, MD, Interim Executive Vice President of the University of Pennsylvania for the Health System and Dean of the Perelman School of Medicine. “He will no doubt bring a vision that keeps us on the path to the next generation of advances in orthopaedic surgery.”
Prior to his USU Surgery leadership role, Dr. Potter served as the Consultant to the U.S. Army Surgeon General for Orthopaedics, ensuring the operational readiness of military orthopaedic surgeons, including the career development of more than 140 uniformed attending physicians and 100 residents. He is a past president of the Society of Military Orthopaedic Surgeons, and has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed publications.
He earned his undergraduate degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point, and his medical degree from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. He completed his residency in Orthopaedic Surgery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and received fellowship training in Orthopaedic Oncology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
Potter will succeed L. Scott Levin, MD, FACS, who served as Chair with distinction since 2009, overseeing expansive growth for the department’s faculty and research and developing a premiere national reputation.
“Leading this exceptional department has been the greatest honor of my career, and I am proud to be followed by Dr. Potter, who I know will help write an inspiring new chapter for our entire department,” Levin said.
Penn Medicine is one of the world’s leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, excellence in patient care, and community service. The organization consists of the University of Pennsylvania Health System and Penn’s Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine, founded in 1765 as the nation’s first medical school.
The Perelman School of Medicine is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $550 million awarded in the 2022 fiscal year. Home to a proud history of “firsts” in medicine, Penn Medicine teams have pioneered discoveries and innovations that have shaped modern medicine, including recent breakthroughs such as CAR T cell therapy for cancer and the mRNA technology used in COVID-19 vaccines.
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