Biography

Dr. Brookwalter is recognized globally as an innovator in the field of modern surgery, best known for inventing the Bookwalter® He was born and raised in a small town in Ohio and grew up in a family of doctors – both his father and grandfather were also physicians. Dr. Bookwalter is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, the New England Vascular Society, and The New England Surgical Society. He received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School, and his undergrad from Amherst College. Dr. Brookwalter joined the Army and served from 1970-1972. Dr. Bookwalter developed the Bookwalter Retractor System as a solution to the lack of help he had access to in his practice. The retractor gained popularity with doctors in teaching hospitals, and is now used internationally for all types of surgery. After retiring from his practice in 2014, Dr. Brookwalter committed himself to inspiring new ideas and innovation in the improvement of surgical procedures. He is currently innovating a new idea that will introduce another instrumental technique to the laparoscopic procedures. Dr. Brookwalter has been a keynote speaker to his peers and the community on the prevention of disease. He has been published on numerous occasions in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. He has also spoken on numerous occasion on the development of the Brookwalter Retractor. Dr. Brookwalter is excited to join the Bristol network and hopes to meet other like-minded professionals.