Thomas W. Dugdale III, MD

Thomas W. Dugdale III, MD

Specialties

Sports Medicine
Knees
Shoulder

Biography

Dr. Dugdale left his home state of Minnesota to pursue his Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and premedical studies at Cornell University, where he was a member of Chi Psi fraternity, the varsity football team, and the Sphinx Head honorary society.

On an Armed Forces Health Professions scholarship, Dr. Dugdale attended Hahnemann Medical College in Philadelphia where he developed an interest in surgery and was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha honorary society.

Dr. Dugdale deferred his military commitment after medical school and completed his surgical training at Hartford Hospital and the University of Connecticut Health Center. After completing his residency, he was fortunate to be assigned to the Portsmouth Naval Hospital in Portsmouth, Virginia as an attending surgeon at the high-volume naval regional medical center where he served as the director of the Sports Medicine department. Dr. Dugdale served as the battalion orthopedic surgeon on a Mediterranean deployment on board the U.S.S. Nassau, LHA-4. He was subsequently assigned to a temporary active duty position at the University of Cincinnati Sports Medicine Institute and had the privilege of working with Dr. Frank Noyes, with whom he designed, completed, and published a frequently cited research project. Dr. Dugdale authored or co-authored another 16 publications before shifting his priorities from clinical research to coaching Little League and other family-related activities.

After completing his military service commitment, Dr. Dugdale returned to Orthopedic Associates and Hartford Hospital, where he developed a busy clinical practice in general orthopedics and trauma. He has settled into the Glastonbury office and has focused his professional interests toward treating athletic injuries and problems involving the knee and shoulder. He has performed thousands of arthroscopic procedures to treat ACL tears, rotator cuff problems, shoulder dislocations, meniscus tears, and several other conditions. Although he remains current by reading professional journals and attending national meetings, he prefers procedures that have withstood the test of time, leaving unproven methods to other surgeons and more adventurous patients.

Dr. Dugdale is a member of a number of professional associations, including the Arthroscopy Association of North America and the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine. Dr. Dugdale has served as team physician for the Hartford Wolfpack, Trinity College men’s ice hockey, Hartford Arena Football, Springfield Falcons EJHL junior hockey, and Glastonbury High School. Dr. Dugdale received the Charles M. Reinert award for outstanding residency educator and subsequently participated in the training of dozens of residents in the University of Connecticut orthopedic program, including several who eventually joined him as partners at Orthopedic Associates of Hartford.

Dr. Dugdale lives with his wife in Glastonbury, where they raised their three children. He enjoys photography, yard work and a variety of outdoor activities which allow him to relate to and occasionally empathize with his patients. He has been an avid water skier and wakeboarder, completed a transcontinental bicycle ride across the U.S., raced his bike up Mount Washington multiple times, finished La Ruta de los Conquistadores, the 4-day mountain bike stage race across Costa Rica as well as many other cycling endurance races, run marathons, and completed numerous scenic and strenuous hikes, including to the 19,300’ summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro, the Annapurna base camp in Nepal, and Choquequirao in the Peruvian Andes.