Dr. Roberta Brockman: Musicians' physician

When Dr. Roberta Brockman successfully treated patients, the result was quite literally music to their ears.

A hand surgeon by training, Dr. Brockman specialized in musicians' injuries. She was the only such doctor in Seattle and one of possibly only 15 in the United States, according to Dr. John Sack, her colleague at the Seattle Hand Surgery Group.

Word of Dr. Brockman's success spread among musicians, and she attracted patients from all over the country, musicians whose hand pain prevented them from playing.

"Her patients were devoted to her," Sack said. "She'd get them to relax, and they'd be back playing."

Dr. Brockman died Sunday (Jan. 2) at her Mercer Island home after a long fight with cancer. She was 43.

Dr. Brockman was born in Suffern, N.Y., graduated from Yale University in 1977 and received her medical degree from Cornell in 1981. Her training included a year in Paris at the Institut Francais de la Main, where she practiced hand and microsurgery, an experience that led her to specialize in the field, said her sister, Marilyn Brockman.

"She chose hand surgery because there was a lot of success in that field; you could almost always make someone better," she said.

Dr. Brockman returned to Seattle in 1994; she had earlier done her internship and residency in general surgery at the University of Washington Medical Center. She joined the Seattle Hand Surgery Group and treated hand ailments such as repetitive stress injury and arthritis. She also worked with children, often treating patients with congenital hand deformities.

But Dr. Brockman developed an especially close rapport with the musical community. An accomplished pianist, Dr. Brockman could closely relate to the pains associated with playing instruments, Sack said.

"If you've been playing the piano and you deal with people who have problems, you can understand that," he said. "They (patients) begin to bond with that."

Dr. Brockman furthered musicians' understanding of muscular problems by speaking to classes, said Patricia Michaelian, a friend and University of Washington faculty pianist. She also served on the boards of the Seattle Youth Symphony and a local theater group as well as on the UW School of Music visiting committee.

Dr. Brockman was working with Michaelian on a new UW course that would bring together music students with graduate students from the physical therapy program. The class might have been the first of its kind in any U.S. university, Michaelian said.

Survivors include mother Mary Brockman of Jupiter, Fla.; sisters Nancy Brockman of Durango, Colo., and Marilyn Brockman of Mercer Island; and brother James Brockman of Farmington, Conn.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow at St. Patrick's Church, 2702 Broadway E., Seattle. Remembrances may be sent to the UW School of Music, P.O. Box 353450, Music Building, Room 102, Seattle, WA 98195 or the Seattle Youth Symphony, 11065 Fifth Ave. N.E., Suite E, Seattle, WA 98125.

Frank Vinluan's phone message number is 206-464-2291. His e-mail address is fvinluan@seattletimes.co.