UAMS Health Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine opens second NWA office

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) opened a second Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine office in Northwest Arkansas on Thursday (July 16). The new location is at 519 Latham Drive in Lowell.

All physicians are fellowship trained and will see patients at both locations, according to a UAMS news release. The Lowell facility will also be home to a new certified hand therapist.

The Fayetteville office at 201 W. Van Asche Loop opened in January when the Shoulder Center of Arkansas and its physical therapy partner, TRM (train-recover-move), became part of the statewide UAMS Health system as UAMS Health Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine.

The team consists of orthopaedic surgeons Wesley Cox, Chad Songy, Navin Kilambi, Patrick “Shea” Brannan, Tyler CarlLee, non-surgical sports medicine specialist Ramon Ylanan and primary care sports medicine physician Larry Balle II.

“UAMS is committed to growing specialty and subspecialty care in Northwest Arkansas,” said Pearl McElfish, Ph.D., vice chancellor for the UAMS regional campus in Fayetteville. “There is an ever-growing need in this area for orthopaedics and sports medicine specialists, and we want to address that need by making it as convenient as possible for the people of our region to access the care they need.”

Cox, a shoulder, elbow and sports medicine orthopaedic surgeon who completed his residency at UAMS, founded the Shoulder Center of Arkansas in 2009 after returning to Northwest Arkansas from fellowship training in San Francisco. He was also head team physician for a number of sports programs at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.

“Our goal is to deliver personalized, world-class orthopaedic specialty care as we continue to add specialists and expand our programs, services and providers to meet the needs of this region,” Cox said. “We are growing with Northwest Arkansas to meet the needs now and those to come.”

Songy received his medical degree from Louisiana State University School of Medicine and completed his residency in orthopaedics at UAMS. After completing specialized training in complex shoulder and elbow reconstruction at the Mayo Clinic, he returned to Arkansas to join the Shoulder Center of Arkansas.

Ylanan has more than 11 years’ experience in nonsurgical orthopaedic sports medicine. Since 2015, he has directed the Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship at the UAMS regional campus in Fayetteville, where he trained two Southeastern Conference (SEC) team physicians.

In addition to being responsible for overseeing the medical care of numerous University of Arkansas men’s and women’s athletic teams, Ylanan served as the co-head team physician for the University of South Carolina Gamecocks.

Kilambi has 20 years of experience in sports medicine and orthopaedics, with collegiate and professional experience. He received his medical degree from UAMS, completed his residency at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego, and completed his fellowship in sports medicine and arthroscopy at the Cincinnati Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center.

Brannan has more than 20 years of experience in orthopaedic surgery. He received his medical degree from UAMS, completed his residency at Wilford Hall Medical Center at Lackland Airforce Base in Texas, and a hand and upper extremity fellowship at OrthoCarolina.

Balle, who completed his residency in family and community medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, and a fellowship in primary care sports medicine at the UAMS regional campus in Fayetteville, spent several years as the primary care sports medicine team physician and chief medical officer for the Arkansas Razorbacks. He has also provided sports medicine care for a number of local high schools, as well as the Eurekan Sports Festival, Joe Martin Stage Race, Hogeye Marathon, Iron Pig Festival Duathlon, professional bull riding and several other local events.

CarlLee, a 2014 graduate of UAMS, has nine years of experience caring for athletes from high school to the NFL. His experience in providing team coverage includes both the University of Iowa and the Carolina Panthers. CarlLee is a Little Rock native, a graduate of the University of Arkansas and a 2014 graduate of UAMS. He completed his orthopaedic surgery residency at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

The TRM team, which serves world-class athletes and Olympians, rounds out this unique and highly engaged group of physicians,  therapists, certified athletic trainers, strength coaches and conditioning coaches who work together to develop new approaches and better solutions that improve healing, speed rehabilitation and enhance patient outcomes.

TRM has locations in Fayetteville and Rogers. UAMS Health also has two outpatient therapy clinics in Northwest Arkansas (Fayetteville and Springdale) that provide physical, occupational and speech therapy.