Dr. Buford Says Goodbye To An Old Friend....

*Goodbye old friend......*
At the end of this past week I had to make the difficult decision to let go of one of my oldest friends. Someone who has been on my journey as an orthopedic surgeon since 1999. From my start as a shoulder and knee surgeon.....to being named a master shoulder instructor at the learning center....to helping develop and validate new products....to getting into MSK ultrasound....and to being an early adopter of the biologics/regenerative medicine changes that are growing rapidly within orthopedics.
My friend? This green Linvatec surgical tray that was a gift from Linvatec (now Conmed) for serving as lab faculty at the 1999 San Diego Shoulder Course. I was fresh out of fellowship and heading to Dallas to set up private practice and the few things I was able to put together and keep in that tray meant the world to me. I became a Conmed consultant based off of that lab experience. I have kept and used this green Linvatec tray ....as a reminder of how many people gave me an opportunity along the way....and of how hard one must work to be responsible for others. The tray finally tapped out last week and cracked....26 years of the same unquestioning service. Not sure if there are 7 stages of grief for surgical trays but I know there is at least 1!