Episode 7
Living Your Best Life - with guest Dr. Don Buford
In this episode, Anne introduces Dr. Don Buford. Dr. Buford has been in an established orthopedic surgery practice in Dallas for over 20 years and has been voted multiple times by Dallas area physicians as one of the best orthopedic surgeons. He has been board certified by the American Board Of Orthopedic Surgery twice and is a sought after lecturer nationally and internationally on orthopedic surgery and regenerative medicine subjects.
He founded The Texas Orthobiologics Institute as a research institute where patients can benefit from the latest evidence-based orthobiologic orthopedic treatments. The most common conditions treated are arthritis pain, back pain, tendon injuries, and sports injuries.
Dr. Buford's interest in orthobiologics was a natural outgrowth of his training in minimally invasive surgery as both are designed to help patients in the simplest, safest way possible.
He tells Anne about his childhood, what it was like being raised by a professional baseball player and a teacher, and how he became a professional baseball player himself and why he left the sport to follow a career in medicine.
He explains some of the frustrations and issues that doctors have to deal with in the way that some treatments are regulated, and he gives us some great tips on how to live our best lives.
Here’s a glance at what we discuss in this episode:
- 01:10 - Anne introduces Dr. Buford and asks him to tell us a little bit about himself and his background.
- 01:50 - Dr. Buford tells us about where he grew up and what his interests were as a child.
- 02:50 - He tells us where he went to high school, which two colleges he went to, and why baseball made him leave one college for another.
- 04:25 - Dr. Buford tells about how he continued his medical education while playing professional baseball for the Baltimore Orioles (Wow!)
- 06:05 - He tells us why he decided to quit baseball to go back to school full time.
- 08:20 - How he became very focused on what he wanted at a young age and how it helped him when it came to becoming a doctor.
- 09:40 - Dr. Buford tells us about Dr. Stephen Snyder and what it meant to have him as a mentor.
- 10:40 - We learn where Dr. Buford did his residency and the reason he chose that specific place.
- 13:00 - Dr. Buford tells us about his journey in Orthobiologics and PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma).
- 21:45 - Why he thinks that orthopedic surgery will always have a role in medicine.
- 25:43 - Dr. Buford tells us his hopes for PRP, stem cells, and insurance coverage.
- 28:36 - We learn the difference between FDA regulations under sections 351 and 361.
- 32:00 - Anne asks Dr. Buford to go into detail about some of the birth tissue products and the problems with how they are regulated by the FDA.
- 38:05 - The dangers of using stem cells from one person on another person’s body and why you shouldn’t trust a clinic if they claim to do so.
- 39:52 -We learn about exosomes; what they are, what they can be used for, and the issues that arise with using them.
- 44:40 - Dr. Buford tells us some of his approaches for a patient needing rotator cuff repair.
- 49:00 - Anne asks Dr. Buford for his advice to someone wanting to live their best life.
- 52:00 - What are 2 things we don’t know about Dr. Buford?
- 53:50 - What does Dr. Buford think will be the biggest accomplishment in his career?
Links & Resources
