Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada —
Maj. Fortune Egbuleff, Ph.D., a former defensive end on the Air Force Academy football team, has a special interest in orthopedic medicine. Currently an orthopedic surgeon and chief of surgery at the Mike O’Callaghan Military Medical Center, Mr. Egblefu provides leadership to MOMMC’s surgical staff, providing state-of-the-art care to beneficiaries and veterans.
Egbulev’s desire to become an orthopedic surgeon has deep roots. Egbulev, who grew up in Texas, where football reigns supreme, excelled in the sport, then played in an academy and studied biology with the intention of going to medical school. Even outside the bars, Egbulev was exposed to drugs early on. When his mother, a nurse in the cardiac ward, couldn’t find child care for her, she took him to work with her.
“I watched the doctor’s rounds and thought this was cool,” Egbulev said. “So I grew up surrounded by medicine.”
Combining his passion for athletics with his professional goals, Egbulev pursued a career as an orthopedic surgeon.
“Soccer led me to orthopedics,” Egbulev said. “I had teammates who were injured and had to be seen by Ault. It was interesting to see someone come back from an injury, go through surgery, go through rehab, and come back.”
Mr. Egbuleff attended the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and completed both his residency and fellowship in orthopedic surgery. Now, Egburev brings those skills and his experience to Nellis Air Force Base, specializing in hip and knee surgery.
Egbulefu also pioneered the robotic hip and knee surgery program at MOMMC. This is a new technology that is not widely available in the Las Vegas Valley. Innovative technology allows MOMMC surgeons to create a personalized surgical plan before making the incision.
“It’s like pre-flight planning. We have a good idea of what’s going to happen and we can adjust,” Egbulev said.
Playing in team sports is directly related to being a MOMMC physician. Similarly, you will have to work with different personalities, overcome differences and jointly achieve goals that you could not achieve alone.
U.S. Air Force Maj. (Dr.) Fortune Egbulef, Orthopedic Surgeon, Chief of Surgery, Mike O’Callaghan Military Medical Center
During surgery, the robot helps the surgeon make more precise cuts down to the millimeter. This helps achieve Egbulev’s goal of having patients feel better than they did before surgery.
“In my personal experience, patients regain range of motion two to three times faster when the surgery is performed robotically,” he said.
Beyond Egbulefu’s hip and knee surgery specialties, the MOMMC orthopedics team includes experts in spine, shoulder, elbow, hand, foot, ankle, and sports medicine. Our physicians work together to provide quality orthopedic services to our beneficiaries and veterans.
“We have an exceptional group of surgeons here with great bedside manners,” Egblefu said. “We support each other. If there is a difficult case, we will work together.”
Egbuleff credits the teamwork environment he developed as chief of surgery for his continued involvement in team sports for so many years.
“Playing in team sports is directly related to being a physician at MOMMC,” Egbulev said. “Similarly, we must work together with different personalities, overcome our differences, and jointly achieve goals that we could not have achieved alone.”
Col. Cory Bodily, Ph.D., commander of the 99th Surgical Operations Squadron, also acknowledges the teamwork approach Egblefu brings to clinical practice.
“[Egbulefu’s] There’s no doubt that his experience in sports taught him that nothing of value comes easily,” Bodily said. “I think everyone he leads finds his leadership approach refreshing.”
In addition to TRICARE beneficiaries, Egbulefu and the orthopedic team are able to care for Veterans Affairs patients upon referral from their primary care physician’s care manager. This is a benefit made possible by resource sharing agreements. The agreement expands certain specialty and hospital care services to the local veteran community. This will allow Egbulefu to perform complex hip and knee arthroplasty revisions, a service not currently available at the Veterans Administration.
Not only is this beneficial for veterans in need of orthopedic care, but it also allows MOMMC surgeons and staff to gain the medical readiness experience they need to maintain their skill set.
“As a surgeon, you have to operate to get ready,” Egbulev said. “Let’s do more surgery.”
Mr. Egbuleff is grateful to his teammates for the outstanding care he and his fellow physicians provide to their patients.
“We can’t do anything without nurses. Our technicians are the foundation of everything,” he said. “If you’re a patient here, we have a team to support you.”