Robert J. Tait, MD, is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon in practice with The Joint Replacement Center at the Orthopaedic Institute of Henderson in Nevada. He also serves as the chief of staff at St. Rose Dominican Hospital Siena in Henderson, Nev. Dr. Tait has expertise in shoulder, hip and knee arthritis and joint replacement. He earned his medical degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee and completed his orthopedic surgery residency at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. He completed his fellowship training at Harvard Medical School in Boston. Here he discusses the benefits of peer collaboration, advancements in customized implants and the need to make patient care the number one priority in orthopedics.
Q: How has working with mentors and your peers within the field had an impact on your career?
Dr. Robert Tait: Both have had a major impact on my career, starting back from my days in Boston for my fellowship. I'm reminded of a famous statement from one of my professors: "Who are the people that write these books and why do they lie to us?" That is, much of the information that makes it into books is watered down or modified to fit a mass market. Meanwhile, the things that I have been taught one-on-one and the accompanying experiences have had a huge impact. A surgeon's apprenticeship allows him to learn how to handle difficult problems, think about issues and navigate the process of evaluating those complex problems.
My peers have also had a major impact on me because of the need to cross-pollinate our knowledge. Day in and day out we take care of patients and learn things along the way. Unless you're in a teaching environment, you don't have many opportunities to pass on your experiences. When we get together across the country and discuss difficult challenges and operate with each other, we always pick up something new and helpful. I always appreciate those interactions and get-togethers for the pearls of wisdom they offer – this academic cross-pollination, if you will.
I only hope my colleagues get the same benefit from working with me. I worked with someone who did things differently than I for 10 years in practice and that was really, really important. And now, with the development of being able to do live surgeries online, that's even more amazing. I used to have to fly in for a live surgery. Now I can call in and talk to the surgeon while I'm watching online.
Q: What do think are the most important issues for orthopedic surgeons to focus on during this year?
RT: Tumultuous changes occurring in healthcare delivery models in U.S. right now. We cannot let those changes distract us from the most important thing: not letting anything get between us and the care of our patients. Ultimately, that's what's going to deliver a better, more efficient result that will allow us to address financial concerns that may or may not accompany said changes. We need to remember our Hippocratic Oath. We are the only ones who can care for our patients – both via our license and judgment. The degree to which we get distracted is the degree to which we can consequently lose our bearings. Sometimes we even have to defer personal financial desires to do it, but usually that's not the case. Ultimately things will work out if we do our job right.
Q: What do you think are the most exciting developments in the current field of orthopedics?
RT: Currently, the development of customized knee implants and computer-assisted surgery are the two most exciting developments in orthopedics today.
Q: Residual pain is a big issue for many joint replacement patients. How do you approach it?
RT: The first thing that's most critical is to make an accurate diagnosis; I spend most of my time doing just that. While there is some pain we don't understand, we do understand the causes of most. For instance, one out of every five knee replacement patients suffers from residual pain. Establishing where that pain comes from is a big part of my efforts. And the few patients where we can't come up with a reason, we want to make sure we provide the appropriate pain management and get collaborative specialists involved and take a look at the issue from all possible angles.
The advantage we have today ties back to my thoughts on the most exciting developments in orthopedics: today we have customized knee replacements that are made to fit each knee, unlike the off-the-shelf options that are often responsible for residual pain. Even now, we have early evidence that we can reduce that one in five statistic to a much lower level. And while we don't have an exact number yet, we are definitely seeing a vast improvement. Design of the implant, the placement, rotation, sizing and balance of ligaments are all really difficult to match up with an off-the-shelf knee, hence why we're so excited about customized implants.
Q: What do you hope to achieve in the future as an orthopedic surgeon?
RT: My motto is that, in my practice, I have a practice of one patient. That's all I can concentrate on at one time. When I'm with a patient, I give him 100 percent of my training, intellect and passion. What I hope to achieve in the future is to make a big change in the lives of my patients, one patient at a time. This adds meaning and purpose to my life.
A series of articles featuring orthopedic surgeons on issues ranging from personal background to current research developments is published weekly. We invite all orthopedic surgeons and sports medicine specialists to participate.
If you are interested please email cpallardy@beckershealthcare.com.
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