Inductees

Back in 2011, after a Mizzou standout running back tore two knee ligaments, a meniscus and patellar tendon on the same play, Tiger fans had a rare glimpse into the world of the head team physician.

In essence, Dr. Pat Smith showed his human side. Sure, it had always been there when he celebrated victories and felt disappointment in football losses. Coaches and players saw it. But like anyone who works behind the scenes, their emotions rarely are seen publicly.

Not in November 2011, when running back Henry Josey suffered what Smith equated to something seen more often from a car accident.

“I’m human, too, and I’m a football fan and I … love the Missouri Tigers,” Smith told the Post-Dispatch at the time. “It was hard on me. But you’ve got to separate the emotion of Henry being hurt from, ‘I’ve got to fix this young man’s knee as well as I can.’”

Smith’s passion is well-known across the Mizzou athletic department, where he has served as head team physician since 1991. It’s also why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to induct Dr. Smith among the Class of 2015.

Just take the Josey injury.

“It’s a tragic fluke, a one-in-a-million type of injury, and, unfortunately, to a guy who is so gifted with speed and mobility and agility,” Smith said, “You don’t see this. In 26 years, I’ve never seen this.”

Smith joined Columbia Orthopaedic Group in 1986 and specializes in arthroscopic surgery and sports medicine. At Mizzou, he has coordinated the medical care for over 500 student-athletes and, in addition, treats high school and college athletes from across the region.

What a career it’s been.

On campus, you’ll find Dr. Smith as the Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery as well as the Director of the Sports Medicine Division in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, a role he to which he was appointed in 2010. He also is co-director of the Sports Medicine Fellowship Program.

Additionally, Pat is a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery, American Orthopaedic Association, American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine and the Arthroscopy Association of North America. Between 1998 and 2009, he was Chairman of the Columbia Regional Hospital.

Clearly, his primary interest relates to the care of anterior cruciate ligaments (ACL), particularly related to minimally invasive, all-inside surgical reconstruction.

In fact, Dr. Smith performed the first “all-inside” double bundle ACL reconstruction. The procedure involves placing two tendon grafts across the knee joint to replace the ACL anatomy. Such a minimally invasive surgical approach continues to be the focus in his clinical practice to optimize outcomes for patients.

Among his success stories is Josey, who was leading the Big 12 Conference and ranked fifth in the country in rushing yards at the time of his injury in November 2011.

Perhaps you saw the ESPN feature on Josey’s comeback in 2013. He had blown out his medial collateral ligament (MCL), ACL, meniscus and patellar tendon, and yet raged his way back to the field. Even better, Josey scored the clinching touchdown that not only beat Texas A&M but secured the Southeastern Conference East Division title.

For Smith, another focus is his use of biologics in sports medicine applications, particularly related to platelet rich plasma, or PRP. He recently completed an FDA-monitored study using a form of PRP called autologous conditioned plasma (ACP), evaluating the effectiveness and safety of this in-office treatment approach for patients with osteoarthritis of the knee.

The results showed great clinical improvement in the patients who received platelet treatment, an encouraging development to those with knee arthritis.

Beyond all this, Dr. Smith is a pioneer in the medical field of outcomes research to track the way patients recover. He was the first to use the Surgical Outcomes System (SOS), a web-based approach in which knee and shoulder patients fill out surveys of their pain and functional levels. Smith then compares results to surgeons across the world and utilizes important clinical information.

All of which sounds grand – and it is – but it also masks Smith’s big heart for Mizzou. His greatest reward is helping athletes get better and getting to know them, plus helping them learn true life lessons in their recovery process.

Columbia has been home to Dr. Smith for almost 30 years. A University of Michigan medical school graduate, he and his wife of 32 years, Karen, have five children: Kyle, Kelly, Holly, Tracy and Shelby.

“They’ve all been Tiger fans, even after the kids moved away from Columbia to begin their careers,” Smith said. “The sacrifices my wife and children made, the Saturdays when I was away for football games, I will never forget that. I wouldn’t be where I am today without their support.”