Dr. Gilmer is a sports medicine and orthopaedic specialist with expertise in minimally invasive knee, shoulder, and ankle arthroscopy and trauma surgery.
Dr. Gilmer's clinical interests include treating multi-season mountain sport athletes. He specializes in arthroscopic and open surgery of the knee, shoulder, and ankle including anterior cruciate ligament tears, meniscal tears, shoulder rotator cuff and labral tears, and peroneal tendon tears. He is particularly interested in knee preservation and non-arthroplasty (joint replacement) treatments for cartilage injury.
His academic interests include publications on minimally invasive knee repairs which can preserve the patient’s own tissue and avoid the need for reconstructions using grafts. He is on the editorial board of Arthroscopy Journal and has presented research at a host of national meetings.
Board Certification
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery
American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine
Arthroscopy Association of North America
Education
Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas - B.A. English, Minor Spanish. University Honors, Magna Cum Laude
University of Texas, Galveston, Texas - M.D. Doctor of Medicine, Summa Cum Laude.
Class Speaker.
President, Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society.
President, Theta Kappa Psi Medical Fraternity.
Medical Training
University of Washington / Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, WA - Orthopedic Surgery Residency
Chief Orthopedic Resident Teaching Award
Taos Orthopaedic Institute, Taos, NM - Orthopedic Sports Medicine Fellowship
Biography
Dr. Gilmer was born and raised in the Houston Texas area. He spent much of his childhood and early years around the Texas Medical Center with his mother who was a nurse at the University of Houston Health Science Center and later a nurse anesthetist at the renowned Texas Orthopedic Hospital. There he was exposed to great mentors in the field of Orthopedics who fostered his interest in medicine and clinical research.
His childhood was spent largely outdoors hunting and fishing. He held a series of jobs from welding shops, to ambulance services, to guiding wilderness backpacking and whitewater trips in Alaska. He moved to Seattle for residency training and found passion in the outdoors. During his residency in Taos, New Mexico where he specialized in ski and snowboard injuries he was recruited by the Mammoth Orthopedic team
Dr. Gilmer, his wife and young son moved to Mammoth Lakes to be in the mountains. When not chasing his family, he can be found trail running with his dogs, Nordic and alpine skiing, or playing guitar by the fire.
Honors and Awards
Eagle Scout Award, Boy Scouts of America
Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society
William Todd Midget Award - For fraternity, scholarship, humility, and humanity
Global Health Scholars Award
Excellence in Student Teaching Award
John P. Mcgovern Award in Oslerian Medicine - For emulating the life and principles of Sir William Osler
Esther Whiting Award
Chief Resident Teaching Award
Professional Memberships
Dr. Gilmer is a diplomate of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery (ABOS). He is also an active member of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS), Arthroscopy Association of North America (AANA), and the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM).
He has served on committees within both the AAOS and AANA.
Teaching and Professional Positions
Dr. Gilmer is a team physician for the US Ski and Snowboard Teams (USSA), and works in particular with the athletes of the US Freeski team. He has provided team coverage for the Dew Tour, XGames, and Mammoth Grand Prix. He provides support to the Mammoth Ski and Snowboard teams, and is medical director for the Mammoth Hospital Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation.
He has performed medical mission work in Mexico, Nicaragua, Belize, and Indonesia and has taught English as a second language (ESL) classes to Spanish speakers.
Dr. Gilmer takes an active role in teaching by holding a clinical faculty position through the University of Nevada, Reno and by teaching arthroscopy to orthopedic surgery residents.
He co-founded the Mammoth Orthopedic Institute to expand clinical research on sports related injuries in the Eastern Sierra, and established the Mammoth Sports Course as a venue for local, regional, and national providers to discuss controversial topics in sports medicine.
Personal Statement
In 1890 the United States census announced that the frontier was closed and Frederick Jackson Turner penned his thesis that the American spirit of ambition and ingenuity had been forged by the frontier experience. A hundred years later I sat on the edge of a levy in Southeast Texas watching houses sprout across the fields where I roamed as a child, and I wondered if it were true. I resolved that if the frontier was closed, then I must find a new one, and soon.
I have always been drawn to stories, and I am privileged that medicine has allowed me access to the stories of my patients. In the Eastern Sierra, these are often stories of adventure told by the new pioneers. People who are pushing the boundaries of their bodies and their sports led by a passion to explore and experience the world around them.
In practice, I am interested not just in the story of what happened, but what future story my patients hope to write. This means the conversation is not just about your injury but your goals for treatment and recovery. I provide an individualized approach and a range of treatment options. I feel strongly that understanding the injury and the treatment plan are critical to successful outcomes and use diagrams, videos, and thoughtful discussion to improve that understanding. I am proud to remain in contact with many of my patients long after they have fully recovered and take ownership in the story of their lives.
As a lifelong learner I am committed to maintaining cutting edge knowledge, technical expertise, and compassionate care.
Despite all of our technological advances in the field of sports medicine, our patients are the real pioneers. They expect not just relief from pain but return of optimal function. They pass this expectation to their surgeons,
