Dr. Heckman attended the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio Medical School graduating with his MD degree in 1983. He finished his General Surgery Internship and Residency in Orthopaedic Surgery at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia in 1988.

Following his residency, Dr. Heckman completed an Orthopaedic Sports Medicine and Arthroscopic Surgery fellowship at the American Sports Medicine Institute in Birmingham, Alabama. Under the supervision of Dr. James R. Andrews MD he learned specialized arthroscopic and surgical techniques  treating and rehabilitating injuries in patients from high school athletes to well known professionals. During his fellowship year he was provided with the opportunity to work for with the Orthopaedic Associates of Aspen, Colorado treating injured skiers and locals from both the Aspen and Snowmass ski areas.

Dr. Heckman completed additional fellowship training in 1991 with Dr. Charles A. Rockwood MD at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio Department of Orthopaedics focusing on reconstructive surgery of the shoulder.

Dr. Heckman was Board Certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery in July, 1991 after successfully passing both written and oral board examinations. He has re-certified with the board twice by re-testing in January, 2002 and July, 2011.

Dr. Heckman has also been Board Certified By the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery in the sub-specialty of Orthopaedic Sports Medicine since December, 2010.

Dr. Heckman is a Clinical Assistant Professor for the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. He is actively involved working with the Orthopaedic residents both in his office and the operating room since 2004 instructing them primarily in arthroscopic surgical techniques on the knee and shoulder. Additionally, he provides assistance and guidance with ongoing Orthopaedic resident research projects involving sports medicine, arthroscopy and Biologic (stem cell) treatments.

Prior to relocating his Orthopaedic practice to San Antonio, Dr. Heckman had served as the team physician and orthopaedic consultant for numerous Texas Coastal Bend area high schools. He has supported amateur athletics by acting as the medical director and coordinator of the Texas Amateur Athletic Games.

At the professional level he has served as an Orthopaedic consultant for the Texas-Louisiana ProfessionalClass AA Baseball League and as the team physician for both the Corpus Christi AA Barracudas baseball team and the Corpus Christi IceRayz Professional Hockey Team. During the time he practiced orthopedic surgery in Corpus Christi he worked closely with local coaches, physical therapists and athletic trainers at the high school through professional levels stressing open communication and access to his practice for athletic injury assessment and treatment.

Dr. Heckman is a strong advocate of continued sports medicine education. He has acted as the program director for the annual meeting of the Sports Medicine Section of the Texas Orthopaedic Association and originated/directed the annual University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio / Spohn-Christus Hospital sponsored "South Texas Sports Medicine Workshops".

These yearly workshops focused on educating South Texas physicians, physical therapists and athletic trainers by providing nationally recognized sports medicine experts as speakers and by giving workshop participants the opportunity for hands on experience in dealing with sports related injuries. He has been a guest lecturer at the American Sports Medicine Institute's nationally recognized "Injuries in Baseball Course" and has had the privilege, by invitation, to address the Southwest Athletic Trainers Association. He has been and continues to be a strong supporter of both athletic trainers and physical therapists regarding state legislation affecting their professions and professional services.

Dr. Heckman has been the recipient of research grants from the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation, the Arthroscopy Association of North America, the American Sports Medicine Institute, and the Robert P. Kelly Orthopaedic Society. These grants were provided for research projects ranging from the diagnosis and treatment of compartment syndromes to documenting the effects of knee anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in skeletally immature athletes.

He has received research awards from the Orthopaedic Trauma Association, the Southern Orthopaedic Association, the Eastern Orthopaedic Association, the Medical College of Georgia, the Robert P. Kelly Orthopaedic Society of Emory University, and the American Orthopaedic Association. He was the recipient of the 2000 Gregory-Portland Independent School District "Friends of Education Award" recognizing his years of service and dedication to both the school district and the community. He has been selected by his physician peers as being one of "The Best Doctors in America" and "Best Doctors in San Antonio" for the last 21 years. Vitals.com has awarded Dr. Heckman it's "Patient Choice Award" in 2016, 2017 and 2018 given to the top 1% of it's physicians based on patient reviews.

Dr. Heckman is a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. He has served the Academy as a member of the AAOS Sports Medicine Advisory Committee from 1998 - 2004. This AAOS committee is responsible for writing the Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Assessment Examinations used to test and instruct other orthopaedic surgeons on the advances and changes in sports medicine. https://www.aaos.org/store/product/?productId=26903&ssopc=1

Dr. Heckman has presented his own research and/or has been invited to discuss and critique other physicians papers at national and regional Orthopaedic surgical educational meetings including the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the Orthopaedic Research Society, the Arthroscopy Association of North America, the American Orthopaedic Association, the Orthopaedic Trauma Association, the Southern Orthopaedic Association, the Eastern Orthopaedic Association, the American Sports Medicine Fellowship Society and the Alamo Orthopaedic Society.

He has numerous articles and abstracts published in Orthopaedic surgery peer reviewed journals including the "Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery", the "Journal of Arthroscopy", the "Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons", "Orthopaedics", the "Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma", the "Southern Medical Journal", "Perspectives in Orthopaedic Surgery", The American Journal Of Orthopaedics, and Techniques in Orthopaedics. He has contributed textbook chapters to four different Orthopaedic surgery texts including "Diagnostic and Operative Arthroscopy" (Andrews and Timmerman, Eds.), "Operative Arthroscopy" (Caspari and McGinty, Eds.), "Operative Foot Surgery" (Gould, Ed.), and "Robb and Smiths Operative Surgery- Orthopaedics" (Dudley, Carter, Russell, Eds.)

Dr. Heckman has designed Orthopaedic surgical tools and implants used by both himself and other Orthopaedic surgeons in their practices. This instrumentation includes customized arthroscopic canula systems and meniscal cartilage biters (Dyonics/Smith and Nephew). To assist in reconstructive anterior cruciate knee ligament surgery he has developed bone graft capturing devices and specialized washerless "Heckman" tibial fixation screws (Biomet/Arthrotek). He is currently working with biologic and arthroscopic instrument companies on devices to simplify and improve arthroscopic techniques using BMAC (Bone Marrow Aspirate Concentrate) and amniotic cells in Orthopaedic surgery.