Dr. Richard (Ricky) Brull is an internationally recognized academic anesthesiologist with extensive clinical, research, and leadership experience. He completed his residency at the University of Toronto in 2004 and subspecialty fellowship training in Regional Anesthesia for orthopedic surgery at the esteemed Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York City, returning to Toronto Western Hospital in 2005 where he continues to practice. He has served as Site Chief of Anesthesia at Women’s College Hospital in Toronto and held their inaugural Evelyn Bateman Recipe Chair in Ambulatory Anesthesia and Women’s Health.
Promoted to Full Professor at the University of Toronto in 2014, Dr. Brull has published over 200 peer-reviewed scientific articles in leading medical journals and numerous chapters in authoritative textbooks. His academic work has been cited over 7,000 times, reflecting his major contributions to regional anesthesia safety and postoperative outcomes. He has held senior editorial leadership positions at Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine and Anesthesia & Analgesia, two of the field’s most respected journals.
Dr. Brull has delivered well over 100 invited international lectures and played an integral role in shaping standards and educational programs under the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine. His scholarly impact is matched by programmatic innovation: he was a leader in launching Canada’s first fully outpatient total knee and hip replacement teaching hospital-based program, designed novel nerve block techniques, and introduced perioperative protocols that reduce opioid use and expedite discharge. His quality assurance initiatives emphasize evidence-based care, safety monitoring, and clinical outcome improvement.
Dr. Brull’s commitment to system-level change and academic excellence, alongside his proven leadership in designing, evaluating, and implementing high-quality perioperative care pathways, make him uniquely qualified to serve as our Head of Anesthesia at OV Surgical. His work integrates research, clinical expertise, and policy advancement to ensure the highest standards in ambulatory orthopedic surgical care.