Robert B. Keller, M.D. - Orthopedics

Dr. Keller is an orthopedic surgeon and former Executive Director of the Maine Medical Assessment Foundation, a health services research organization located in Augusta, Maine. The Foundation conducted research and clinical projects dealing with depression, diabetes, cesarean section, heart disease, pediatric medical conditions, and low back pain, among others.

Dr. Keller is Adjunct Professor of Community and Family Medicine and Surgery at Dartmouth Medical School and Associate Clinical Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He serves as principal investigator for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality study on low back problems and is a co-author of the Clinical Practice Guideline, Acute Low Back Problems in Adults, published in 1994. He is also principal investigator or co-investigator on other federally funded research projects in lumbar spine conditions and carpal tunnel syndrome.

Board Certifications

---

American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery—1971

Healthwise Knowledgebase Topics Reviewed

---

Low Back Pain

Herniated Disc

Education

---

M.D.: Cornell University Medical School, 1961

Residency: Mary Hitchcock Hospital, 1961–1963

Combined Orthopaedic Residency: Harvard Medical School, 1965–1969

Academic Appointments

---

Instructor, Orthopaedic Surgery, Harvard Medical School, 1969–1973

Assistant Professor, Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 1972–1975

Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 1975– present

Adjunct Professor of Family and Community Medicine and Surgery, Dartmouth Medical School, 1991–present

Professional Affiliations

---

American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons:

Council on Research

Chair, Committee on Outcome Studies

American Medical Association, Performance Measurement Advisory Committee

American Orthopaedic Association

Medical Mutual Insurance Company of Maine

Scoliosis Research Society

Eastern Orthopaedic Association

New England Orthopaedic Association

Selected Publications

---

1. Keller RB, Atlas SJ, Singer DE, et al. (1996). The Maine Lumbar Spine Study, Part I. Background and concepts. Spine, 21(15): 1769–1776.
2. Atlas SJ, Deyo RA, Keller RB, et al. (1996). The Maine Lumbar Spine Study, Part II. One-year outcomes of surgical and nonsurgical management of sciatica. Spine, 21(5): 1777–1786.
3. Atlas SJ, Deyo RA, Keller RB, et al. (1996). The Maine Lumbar Spine Study, Part III. One-year outcomes of surgical and nonsurgical management of lumbar spinal stenosis. Spine, 21(15): 1787–1794.
4. Keller RB, Rudicel SA, Liang MH (1994). Outcomes research in orthopaedics. Instructional Course Lectures, 43: 599–611.
5. Bigos SJ, Bowyer OR, Braen GR, et al. (1994). Acute Low Back Problems in Adults. Clinical Practice Guideline No. 14 (AHCPR Publication No. 95-0642). Rockville, MD: American Health Care Policy and Research.
6. Swiontkowski MF, Buckwalter JA, Keller RB, Haralson R (1999). The outcomes movement in orthopaedic surgery: Where we are and where we should go. Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, 81(5):732–740.
7. Keller RB, Atlas SJ, Soule DN, Singer DE, Deyo RA (1999). Relationship between rates and outcomes of operative treatment for lumbar disc herniation and spinal stenosis. Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, 81(6):752–762.

Financial Disclosure

---

This reviewer reported no financial conflicts.