Dr. Robert A. Hymes is a board-certified and fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon with more than 20 years of experience, specializing in the management of fractures, nounions/malunions, pelvis and acetabular fractures/injuries and bone infections.

Dr. Hymes became interested in orthopedics and orthopedic trauma because of the complex nature and interplay of fractures and functional recovery. His goal is to help patients and their families get through the difficult challenges that their injuries may bring.

He completed his undergraduate education at Morehouse College and then attended the University of California, San Francisco for medical school and an orthopedic surgery residency. Following residency, Dr. Hymes completed an orthopedic trauma fellowship at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Dr. Hymes serves as Professor of Medical Education at the University of Virginia School of Medicine and is Chairman of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Inova Fairfax Medical Campus. He has authored numerous publications and given national presentations in the field of orthopedic trauma. He is a member of several organizations focused on orthopedic trauma and has served as faculty for various educational courses.

In addition to his practice and sharing his expertise with students, Dr. Hymes serves as Inova's Musculoskeletal Service Line Section Chief, Trauma and Fracture Care.

Awards/Associations/Appointments

• Inova Musculoskeletal Service Line Chief, Trauma and Fracture Care
• University of Virginia School of Medicine Academic Standards and Achievement Committee, 2020-2023
• Inova Health System Surgical Harm Reduction Committee, 2020
• Chief Medical Officer's Cabinet, 2020-2021
• Inova Fairfax Medical Campus Falls Committee, 2020-2021
• Medical Executive Committee, 2019-present
• Operations Committee, IFMC 2019-present
• Mentor of the Month, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine (Inova Campus), November 2013
• Surgical Sub-Specialty Teacher of the Year Virginia Commonwealth School of Medicine (Inova Campus) 2010-2011
• Instructor of the Month, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine (Inova Campus), February 2010
• Program Director's Teaching Award, Podiatry Residency Program, Inova Fairfax Hospital, June 2010

Blog Posts

Unbreakable Bonds: Trauma surgeon helps build connections between current patients and survivors. July 24, 2018.

Research and Publications

Hill BW, Cannada LK, Nelson L, Tornetta P, Hymes R, Jones CB, Obremskey W, Carroll E, Mullis B, Tucker M, Teague D, Marcantonio A, Ostrum R, Core MD, Israel H. Is There a Critical Radiographic Angle That Portends Poor Functional Outcome Scores in Nonoperative Treatment of Isolated Humeral Shaft Fractures? J Surg Orthop Adv. 2021 Summer;30(2):73-77.PMID: 34181520.

Cannada LK, Nelson L, Tornetta P, Hymes R, Jones CB, Obremskey W, Carroll E, Mullis B, Tucker M, Teague D, Marcantonio A, Ostrum R, Core MD, Israel H. Operative vs. Nonoperative Treatment of Isolated Humeral Shaft Fractures: A Prospective Cohort Study. J Surg Orthop Adv. 2021 Summer;30(2):67-72.PMID: 34181519.

Major Extremity Trauma Research Consortium (METRC), O’Toole RV, Joshi M, Carlini AR,…Hymes RA, Holzman M, Malekzadeh AS, Schulman JE, Ramsey L, Cuff JA, Gaski GE,… Zadnik M. Effect of Intrawound Vancomycin Powder in Operatively Treated High-Risk Tibia Fractures: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Surg. 2021 May 1;156(5):e207259.

Zhang JY, Tornetta P 3rd, Dale KM, Jones CB, Mullis BH, Egol KA, Robinson E, Bosse MJ, Schmidt AH, Hymes RA. The Fate of Patients After a Staged Nonunion Procedure for Known Infection. J Orthop Trauma. 2021 Apr 1;35(4):211-216.

Findakli F, Busse JW, Schemitsch EH, Lonn E, Farrokhyar F, Bhandari M, the TRUST Investigators [Inova Fairfax Orthopaedic Trauma Corporate authorship]. Smoking, Obesity, and Disability Benefits or Litigation Are Not Associated with Clinically Important Reductions in Physical Functioning After Intramedullary Nailing of Tibial Shaft Fractures: A Retrospective Cohort Study. Clin Orthop Rel Res. 2021 Apr 1;479(4):805-813.

Medeiros M, Love TR, Slobogean GP, Sprague S, Perfetto EM, O’Hara NN, Mullins CD, PREP-IT Investigators [Inova Fairfax Orthopaedic Trauma Corporate authorship]. Patient and stakeholder engagement learnings; PREP-IT as a case study. J Comp Eff Res. 2021 Apr;10(6):439-442.

Khalafallah YM, Lockey SD, Ramsey L, Hymes RA, Schulman JE. Wound care practices after orthopaedic trauma surgery are highly variable and not evidence based. Injury, March 21, 2021.

O’Toole RV, Stein DM, Castillo RC; Frey KP, O’Hara NN, Scharfstein DO, Slobogean GP, Taylor TJ, Haac BE, Carlini AR, Manson TT, Sudini K, Mullins CD, Wegener ST, Firoozabadi R, Haut ER, Bosse MJ, Seymour RB, Holden MB, Gitajn IL, Goldhaber SZ, Eastman AL, Jurkovich GJ, Vallier HA, Gary JL, Kleweno CP, Cuschieri, Marvel D, Castillo RC; METRC [Inova Fairfax Orthopaedic Trauma Corporate authorship]. PREVENTion of CLots in Orthopaedic Trauma (PREVENT CLOT): a randomized pragmatic trial protocol comparing aspirin versus low-molecular-weight heparin for blood clot prevention in orthopaedic trauma patients. BMJ Open. 2021 Mar 24;11(3):e041845.

Jennifer Hruslinski1, Diane A. Menio1, Robert A. Hymes, J. Douglas Jaffe, Christine Langlois4, Lolita Ramsey, Lakisha J. Gaskins, Mark D. Neuman for the Regional Versus General Anesthesia for Promoting Independence After Hip Fracture Investigators. Engaging patients as partners in a multicentre trial of spinal versus general anaesthesia for older adults. British Journal of Anaesthesia. Ahead of print.

The Program of Randomized Trials to Evaluate Pre-operative Antiseptic Skin Solutions in Orthopaedic Trauma (PREP-IT) Investigators. Effectiveness of Iodophor vs Chlorhexidine Solutions for Surgical Site Infections and Unplanned Reoperations for Patients Who Underwent Fracture Repair: The PREP-IT Master Protocol. JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3(4):e202215.

Mithchell S, Obremskey W, Luly J, Bosse M, Frey K, Hsu J, MacKenzie EJ, Morshed S, O’Toole R, Scharfstein D, Tornetta P, and Major Extremity Trauma Rehabilitation Consortium (METRC). Inter-Rater Reliability of The Modified Radiographic Union Score for Diaphyseal Tibial (mRUST) Fractures with Bone Defects. J Orthop Trauma, 2019; 33(6): 301-307.

FAITH-2 Investigators, Slobogean1 GP, Sprage S, Bzovsky S, Heels-Ansdell D, Thabane L, Scott T and Bhandari M. Fixation using alternative implants for the treatment of hip fractures (FAITH-2): design and rationale for a pilot multi-centre 2 × 2 factorial randomized controlled trial in young femoral neck fracture patients. Pilot and Feasibility Studies. 2018; 5:270.

Castillo R, Huang Y, Scharfstein D, Frey K, Bosse M, Pollak AN, Vallier HA, Archer KR, Hymes RA, Newcomb AB, MacKenzie EJ, Wegener S and METRC. Association Between 6-Week Postdischarge Risk Classification and 12-Month Outcomes After Orthopedic Trauma. JAMA Surgery. 2018; December.