Once a Viking,
Always a Viking

DOCTOR BOB CAMPBELL

A Lifelong Learner Teaches a New Way to Save Lives

A 1965 graduate of Holy Rosary Academy and a 1969 graduate of Father Ryan High School, Dr. Bob Campbell dedicated his life to medicine, and specifically to the field of pediatric orthopedic surgery. He is best known as the inventor of the Vertical Expandable Prosthetic Titanium Rib (VEPTR) device.

Developed for the treatment of rare syndromes and disorders involving a malformed rib cage or missing ribs, this device was created by Dr. Campbell, then a pediatric orthopedist at CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Children’s Hospital in San Antonio, with the help of his colleague, Melvin Smith M.D. Drs. Campbell and Smith, directors of the Thoracic Institute at Santa Rosa, performed the first of many titanium rib implant surgeries in 1989.

The device has been life-saving for many children. Infants as young as six months can undergo a titanium rib implant. As the child grows, the rib is expanded in an outpatient surgical procedure until full skeletal maturity occurs.

Dr. Campbell sadly passed in the summer of 2018, but he leaves behind a legacy that will never be forgotten and will continue to save lives. His education began as a Viking, and we're proud to call him one for life.