Robert M. Ruth, M.D.



Robert M. Ruth. M.D. earned his medical degree from Harvard Medical School after majoring in biology at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He completed his residency training, with patient care and teaching honors, as a Chief Orthopedic Surgery Resident at the University of Massachusetts. He then pursued additional specialized hand, wrist, elbow, and shoulder surgery training, including microvascular surgery, in a fellowship program at the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Ruth then practiced Orthopedic Surgery in his home state of Pennsylvania for seven years, before choosing to relocate to Santa Barbara.

Dr. Ruth is a member of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. He is board certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery, with a Certificate of Added Qualification in Hand Surgery. He has been involved in multiple upper extremity research projects, taught medical education courses for physicians and hand therapists, and has published articles in the American Journal of Orthopaedics and Hand Clinics.

Dr. Ruth enjoys helping his patients return to their vital occupational and recreational activities. He strives to create comfortable patient-doctor communication by effectively listening to his patients’ concerns, presenting them with their diagnoses, then offering therapeutic treatment options most appropriate for their unique situations.