From the Operating Room to Recovery: Dr. Tomlinson's Story

Most patients who walk through our doors know me as the physician who oversees their Suboxone treatment. Fewer know the road that led me here — one that runs through operating rooms, professional acclaim, and a period of addiction that nearly cost me everything.

A Career Built on Precision

I attended Occidental College in Los Angeles, earning a degree in biochemistry with honors, before completing graduate studies in exercise physiology at Hahnemann University in Philadelphia. I earned my M.D. from Tulane University School of Medicine in 1986. During my orthopedic surgery residency at Tulane, I trained under Dr. Jack Hughston, widely regarded as the father of sports medicine. I followed that with a sports medicine fellowship at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles under Dr. Frank Jobe, the pioneer of Tommy John surgery, and then spent a year in private practice with Dr. Stephen Snyder, a leader in shoulder arthroscopy.

In 1993, I relocated to Arkansas and built a practice as a board-certified orthopedic surgeon specializing in knee and shoulder reconstruction. I founded the Physician Specialty Hospital in Fayetteville and served as Medical Director of the Orthopedic Institute from 1994 to 2010. Along the way, I published clinical research, lectured nationally and internationally, and invented medical devices used in the field.

The Fall

Despite those accomplishments, I was struggling with alcoholism and addiction — a struggle that eventually led to incarceration and significant personal and professional losses. From the outside, my career looked like a success story. Privately, addiction was taking almost everything from me.

Turning Point

Reaching rock bottom is what finally led me to commit to recovery. It wasn't easy, and it wasn't fast, but I achieved lasting sobriety — and in the process, I came to understand addiction in a way no textbook or residency could have taught me.

A New Mission

That experience is what drove me to focus on helping others with opioid use disorder. Today, I lead the Suboxone Recovery Center of Arkansas, where we provide medication-assisted treatment to reduce cravings, manage withdrawal, and help patients rebuild a drug-free life. I bring the same medical rigor I applied in the operating room — combined with the perspective of someone who has actually walked this path.

Recovery works, and no one has to do it alone. If you or someone you love is struggling, I'd encourage you to reach out. Call the Suboxone Recovery Center of Arkansas at 479-856-1505 or email info@suboxrecovery.com — we're here to help, one day at a time.