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Douglas Lowery, MD, is one of the orthopaedic surgeons practicing at Orthopaedic Associates, Inc, which has locations in Henderson, Kentucky, and Newburgh and Evansville, Indiana. 

Dr. Lowery is a native Hoosier who graduated with honors from Indiana University School of Medicine. He completed his orthopaedic surgical training in Ohio, followed by advanced fellowship training in sports medicine and minimally invasive surgery in Colorado. He continues to pursue the latest advances in minimally invasive techniques. Dr. Lowery is recognized as a leading innovator in patient care and education. Each year he teaches other surgeons how to use the newest technologies for both arthroscopy and joint replacement as course faculty performing lectures and lab presentations across the United States. In the last eight years, Dr. Lowery has lectured over 45 times, providing education and laboratory instruction to over 800 orthopaedic surgeons.

He now enjoys providing the same high level of orthopaedic care to patients in the Evansville area that he did as part of the medical team caring for the Denver Broncos and Colorado Rockies. A former college football player who still maintains an active lifestyle, Dr. Lowery understands the importance of a successful return to activity for athletes of all levels and ages.

Outside of work, Dr. Lowery enjoys art, live music, and outdoor recreational activities with his family.

Robert Vraney, MD, is a fellowship-trained, board-certified orthopaedic spine surgeon practicing at Orthopaedic Associates, Inc, which has locations in Henderson, Kentucky, and Newburgh and Evansville, Indiana.

Dr. Vraney has extensive experience and expertise in the surgical and non-surgical treatment of diseases and disorders of the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine. Dr. Vraney has a particular interest in degenerative conditions of the cervical and lumbar spine, including disc disease and spinal stenosis. He is well-versed in the latest surgical techniques, including minimally invasive spinal surgery.

He takes a personal, interactive approach to patient care. He sees each patient as an individual with unique circumstances, goals, and expectations. The common denominator is the need to understand their condition, its causes, its natural history, and its treatment options. 

Many patients are often surprised to learn that the majority of problems can be treated without surgery. Consequently, Dr. Vraney emphasizes the educational component of each patient interaction, as it allows patients to become maximally involved with their medical decisions.

When not taking care of patients, Dr. Vraney enjoys spending time with his wife and their two boys. His hobbies include golf, travel, home improvement tasks, and following his beloved Chicago sports teams.

James Goris, MD, is a board-certified, fellowship-trained, orthopaedic surgeon practicing at Orthopaedic Associates, Inc, which has locations in Henderson, Kentucky, and Newburgh and Evansville, Indiana. He was raised in Logansport, Indiana, and moved to the Evansville area in 1996. He has been treating patients at Orthopaedic Associates since August of 1996. 

Dr. Goris completed his undergraduate work at Indiana University and joined the elite group of students allowed to advance to medical school after only three years. Dr. Goris continued to excel and graduated from Indiana University Medical School with high honors in 1990. Post-graduation, he began a five-year residency program at Indiana University Hospitals with completion in 1995.

He undertook fellowship training in arthroscopy and sports medicine at the University of Wisconsin. This fellowship program was an optional extra year of training beyond residency that concentrated on surgical and nonsurgical management of athletic injuries, primarily focusing on the knee and shoulder.

His surgical interests include ACL reconstruction, knee arthroscopy, shoulder arthroscopy, and rotator cuff repair. Other special interests include total hip, knee, and shoulder joint replacement surgeries. Additionally, he has been performing limited incision partial knee replacements for fifteen years. Dr. Goris has extensive surgical experience. In 2017, he performed more than 600 outpatient surgeries and over 250 joint replacements. Despite his surgical expertise, Dr. Goris finds great satisfaction in improving patients’ lives without surgery.

To diversify his knowledge, Dr. Goris was given the opportunity to work with various sports teams, including the Indianapolis Colts, Wisconsin Badgers, University of Southern Indiana Eagles, University of Evansville Purple Aces, and multiple surrounding high school teams.

Dr. Goris is happily married to his wife, Lori, and they are proud parents to five kids. Dr. Goris is a member of Holy Rosary Catholic Church. He also has children attending Memorial High School, where they compete on soccer and swim teams. Dr. Goris enjoys spending time with his family, especially at Lake Barkley and on vacation. He also enjoys golfing, cycling, and running.

Anthony Czaplicki III, MD, is a fellowship-trained orthopaedic surgeon, certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery, at Orthopaedic Associates, Inc. Dr. Czaplicki works with his Physician Assistant, Erin Haaf at OA's locations in Henderson, KY, and Newburgh and Evansville, IN. His fellowship training focused on joint replacement surgery, advancing his knowledge in this aspect of orthopaedic care. Dr. Czaplicki has a great passion for providing healthcare and helping his patients reach their goals.

He received his Bachelor of Science in occupational therapy from the University of Alabama in Birmingham, Alabama. He then went on to practice as an occupational therapist for hand therapy at the Kirklin Clinic of UAB Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama, and later as an occupational therapist at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany, Georgia. 

After this, he furthered his education, earning his Master of Science in cellular and integrative physiology from Indiana University in Indianapolis, Indiana. During his last year of his master’s program, he began medical school at Indiana University School of Medicine. Upon earning his degree, he completed his orthopaedic surgery residency at the Mount Carmel Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio, later becoming the chief resident. 

Dr. Czaplicki stepped into his role as an orthopaedic surgeon, serving as the orthopaedic house officer at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. He later worked as the orthopaedic house officer at St. Ann’s Hospital in Westerville, Ohio, and Mount Carmel East Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. In addition to his accomplishments, Dr. Czaplicki has participated in several publications involving total knee arthroplasty and other knee-related complications, furthering his expertise and skill set. 

In his free time, Dr. Czaplicki enjoys spending time with his wife and four children and spending time outdoors, hiking, and traveling. He appreciates the opportunity to provide for his patients at Orthopaedic Associates, Inc, and he looks forward to getting to know new patients. 

Daniel Emerson, MD, is a skilled orthopaedic surgeon practicing at Orthopaedic Associates, Inc, which has locations in Henderson, Kentucky, and Newburgh and Evansville, Indiana. He is board certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgeons and has multiple orthopaedic interests, including trauma, adult reconstruction (total joint replacement), shoulder and knee surgery, and general orthopaedics. 

Dr. Emerson’s special area of expertise is sports medicine, as he obtained the ABOS Subspecialty Certification in Sports Medicine in November 2010. A common but complicated sports injury that he treats is ACL tears and subsequent reconstruction. Dealing with a very active population during his nine years in the military gave him the opportunity to perform hundreds of ACL reconstructions, perfecting the latest advances in surgical management, including anatomic graft placement using the anteromedial portal and double bundle through a single tunnel.

Other special interests of Dr. Emerson include all aspects of workman’s comp injuries and treatments, including causation, return-to-work, permanent impairments, depositions, and independent medical examinations. His particular surgical interests and expertise include managing carpal tunnel syndrome, knee replacement, anterior hip replacement, anatomic and reverse total shoulder replacement, and all aspects of shoulder and knee arthroscopy.

Dr. Emerson was born and raised in Evansville and attended Central High School. He graduated with honors from Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana, and earned his medical degree from Indiana University School of Medicine. Following medical school, he served in the Army and completed his orthopaedic surgery residency at Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Washington. His final four years in the Army were spent at Fort Benning, Georgia, completing a tour of duty in Iraq in 2008 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and acting as Chief and General Staff of Orthopaedics at Martin Army Community Hospital.

Dr. Emerson is a former NCAA All-American wrestler and is very excited and humbled to be back in our local community and have the opportunity to care for the region’s athletes and local citizens. When not taking care of patients, he enjoys corralling his four children, spending time with his wife and family, traveling, reading, playing guitar and piano, and being outdoors. Dr. Emerson and his wife are a part of the local running community and completed multiple marathons and half-marathons together.

Jeremy Schafer, PT, MPT, ECS, is a physical therapist at Orthopaedic Associates, Inc, with locations in Henderson, Kentucky, and Newburgh and Evansville, Indiana. He holds prior certification in orthopaedics by the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialists of the American Physical Therapy Association and current certification in clinical electrophysiology. Jeremy enjoys developing new skills and techniques to provide his patients with the best results possible. 

He began his physical therapy career after completing his undergraduate coursework for pre-physical therapy at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky. He received early acceptance to the physical therapy program at the University of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky, earning his Masters of Physical Therapy. After earning his Master’s Degree, he attended Rocky Mountain University in Provo, Utah, where he learned about electromyography (EMG) and nerve conduction study (NCS) testing. He continued to develop his knowledge about this type of testing to detect injuries and nerve damage more accurately.

Jeremy brings innovative forms of treatment to Orthopaedic Associates, Inc, sharing his expertise and skill set with the team. He appreciates learning novel methods of physical therapy with emphasis on rehabilitation, knee and shoulder injuries, spine care, and nerve injuries. 

In his free time, Jeremy enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter, as well as bass fishing and hunting. He looks forward to getting to know new patients at Orthopaedic Associates, Inc, helping them reach their goals.