Meet The Doctors

Neil J. Barkin, M. D. is a graduate of Union College in Schenectady, N.Y. He received his medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons followed by two years of practicing general surgery at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. He received his orthopaedic education at the Harvard University Combined Orthopaedic Residency Program in Boston, Mass. At the completion of this training program he was awarded the chief residency in orthopaedic surgery at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston.

During his training Dr. Barkin was involved in the design and development of knee and hip joint replacement implants. He has continued to specialize in hip and knee replacement surgery. His other surgical interest is in the arthroscopic treatment of knee and shoulder injuries and diseases.

Dr. Barkin has held numerous administrative positions during his career including Chairman of the Legislative Committee of the Montgomery County Medical Society, Secretary of the Medical Society, Chairman of the Orthopaedics Department at Suburban Hospital, and Chairman of the Emergency Ward Committee at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital.

Dr. Barkin has personally undergone total hip replacements of both hips. He remains fully active enjoying early bird tennis many mornings before work, skiing, sailing, kayaking, and winter camping. He is a perpetual jazz piano student and he and his wife enjoy periodically attending jazz festivals. He is married to Joan W. Barkin, M.D., a leading pediatrician in the Rockville area, and has two grown children. Both he and his wife have been repeatedly included among the Washingtonian "Top Doctors" listing.

Dr. Victor Wowk is a long-standing member of the orthopaedic community, and has been sharing space with us for 4 years. He has recently joined our group as a partner.

Dr. Wowk received his BS and MPH degrees from the University of Minnesota and earned his MD degree at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He received his orthopaedic training at the University of Maryland, which included training at Shock Trauma. Dr. Wowk then completed a Sports Medicine Fellowship with Dr. Torg at the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Wowk has treated professional, collegiate, high school, and recreational athletes and he has been team physician for professional collegiate and high school teams. He has taken orthopaedic trauma calls at Suburban Hospital for the past ten years. Dr. Wowk has a special interest in disorders of the knee and their surgical and non-surgical management.

Stephen J. Rockower, MD grew up outside Philadelphia and graduated from Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA. He received his MD from Temple University in Philadelphia, and did his Internship and Residency in Orthopaedics at George Washington University, finishing his Chief Residency at George Washington and the Washington Hospital Center.

He specializes in Joint Replacements, including Partial Knee Replacements (or UniCondylar Replacements) and Reconstructive Surgery, and treats injuries of all age groups.

His practice started in Silver Spring, and has migrated to Rockville by way of Bethesda.

He was President of the Montgomery County Medical Society from April 2006 to April 2007, and still serves on their Executive Board. He is now a Board Member of MedChi, the Medical Society of the State of Maryland, and has served in numerous capacities on the State level, including the Legislative Committee, Chair of the Computer Committee, and Co-Chair of the Operations Council. He has also served as Chair of Orthopaedics at Suburban Hospital, and as Chair of the Emergency Room Committee at Holy Cross Hospital.

Dr. Rockower recently celebrated his 38th wedding anniversary to Ann Sablosky, an attorney specializing in commercial real estate transactions. They have 3 children: a graduate in Public Diplomacy from the University of Southern California,  formerly living in India (now in DC), an artist in Seattle, and a student at the College of Charleston.

He is a Washingtonian Magazine "Top Doctor" and a nationally recognized "Top Doctor".