Dr. Ann Links

Dr. Robon did his undergraduate work at the University of Pennsylvania and graduated from medical school at The Ohio State University. He completed his fellowship in hand and upper extremity surgery at the University of Rochester Strong Memorial Hospital. Earlier, in his years as a competitive All-American swimmer, Dr. Robon endured years of medical treatment for multiple orthopaedic injuries. These experiences shaped his practice philosophy today; good patient care involves making accurate and timely diagnoses, but equally important is treating patients with respect and compassion. By helping his patients understand their problem, this not only results in the treatment of the immediate problem, but hopefully, helps to avoid future injuries and pain. Additionally, Dr. Robon is married and has three sons. He and his wife enjoy exploring the great outdoors by skiing, hiking, golfing and trail running in the Cascades. Dr. Robon is Board-certified in Hand and Orthopedic Surgery. He treats patients with all types of orthopaedic fractures in addition to his specialty focus in hand and upper extremity surgery. Dr. Robon is highly rated in 14 conditions, according to our data. His top areas of expertise are Trigger Thumb, Dupuytren Contracture, Rhizarthrosis, and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

John Howlett, MD, is a board-certified, fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon with a special interest in fracture care. He has completed additional fellowship training in hand and upper extremity surgery, including trauma, reconstruction, pediatric as well as microvascular surgery.He likes to remind himself that the origin of the Latin word “doctor” is “teacher,” and he considers it an important part of his role as a doctor to educate his patients about the conditions that are affecting them. He believes an informed and knowledgeable patient can participate more effectively in his or her own healing. As a former teacher who holds a master’s degree in education, Dr. Howlett deeply enjoys this aspect of working with patients.One of the experiences that shaped his career trajectory was his work as a counselor at The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, founded by Paul Newman for children with cancer and other blood-related disorders. Witnessing the courage and energy of these children convinced him that healing involves more than medication and surgery. This experience led him to pursue his medical degree, where he saw an opportunity to combine his interest in caring for people with his passion for teaching.Having grown up in Washington enjoying hiking, backpacking, sailing, and canoeing, Dr. Howlett was eager to return to the Northwest for his residency and fellowship training. He now shares these same passions with his family. He and his wife both played soccer in college and can be found cheering on their two daughters at soccer games on the weekends. Dr. Howlett is highly rated in 16 conditions, according to our data. His top areas of expertise are Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Trigger Thumb, Ganglion Cyst, Rhizarthrosis, and Hip Replacement.

Dr. Thomas Trumble, M.D. completed medical school at Yale University School of Medicine and he continued his orthopaedic residency at Yale New Haven Hospital. After completing residency training, Dr. Trumble completed a Hand and Microsurgery Fellowship at Duke University in 1984 followed by a Hand and Reconstructive Fellowship at Harvard University at the Massachusetts General Hospital. He taught at Yale University for four years as an assistant professor before moving his family in Seattle to join the University of Washington. For twenty years he served as chief of the hand surgery service and the director of the fellowship training. Because of his interest in bringing specialty hand surgery to the Eastside, Dr. Trumble established an office practice on the Eastside in 1998. In 2010, Dr. Trumble retired from teaching at the University of Washington to focus on patient care based at the Bellevue Hand Surgery with a surgical practice focused at Overlake Hospital Medical Center. Dr. Trumble has also recently been named one of Seattle Met magazine’s Top Doctors for 2011 in the Seattle area. Dr. Trumble is highly rated in 17 conditions, according to our data. His top areas of expertise are Rhizarthrosis, Ganglion Cyst, Scaphoid Non-Union, and Synovial Osteochondromatosis.