Thomas Schmalzried

Challenges Faced by Orthopedic Surgeons

As a joint replacement expert, Thomas Schmalzried, MD, has been the Medical Director of the Joint Replacement Institute in Los Angeles since 2008. Thomas Schmalzried, MD, is an award-winning orthopedic surgeon who has made significant basic science and clinical research contributions to the field. Among his other honors, Thomas Schmalzried, MD, is a member of both the Hip Society and Knee Society, a distinction he shares with fewer than 50 other professionals in the country.

The number of orthopedic surgeons specializing in joint replacement per capita in America is decreasing, which is creating pressure on the profession as a whole. With a diminishing workforce, it’s becoming more difficult to meet the joint replacement demand of a growing aging population. The increase in the number of patients needing care can result in a reduction in the amount of time doctors can allocate to each patient. This issue is exacerbated by the increased documentation of electronic health record regulation, often taking time away from physician-patient interaction.

A Brief History of Knee Arthroplasty

Thomas Schmalzried, MD is an orthopedic surgeon and medical researcher with decades of experience studying and performing hip and knee arthroplasty procedures. Thomas Schmalzried, MD has received numerous awards throughout his career and has helped a great many patients with joint disorders.

In the 1860s, Themistocles Gluck developed a variety of endoprostheses using ivory which he used to perform the first documented total wrist arthroplasty and several knee arthroplasties. It would be almost 100 years until the introduction of the Walldius hinge joint, a descendant of which is still used today. It was a more modern approach to a joint replacement but suffered from early failure in the initial iterations.

During the 1960s, pioneering British orthopedic surgeon John Charnley created a total hip replacement procedure with materials that inspired modern total knee replacement surgery. While studying in England, Frank Gunston designed an unhinged knee joint prosthesis that replaced both sides of the joint with separate condylar components. Subsequent developments led to the total condylar resurfacing, metal-on-polyethylene designs in use today.

Modern-day joint prosthetics continue to improve. New and better materials are used, surgical planning and implantation is more precise, and functional capability has increased.

About Thomas Schmalzried

After completing his undergraduate degree at Stanford University, Thomas Schmalzried earned a doctor of medicine (MD) degree at UCLA in 1984, and subsequently completed an additional 6 years of study at the school through a surgery internship and orthopedic residency. He also completed a fellowship in joint replacement funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as well as a fellowship in hip and implant surgery at Harvard University and the Massachusetts General Hospital.

Thomas Schmalzried, MD, has worked at the Los Angeles, California-based Joint Replacement Institute since 1991 and currently serves as Medical Director. He cares for patients suffering from arthritis and hip and knee pain, and is an expert in hip and knee joint replacement surgery. Beyond providing clinical and surgical care to orthopedic patients, he has spent significant time conducting research in hip and knee arthritis and arthroplasty. To date, he has authored more than 170 peer-reviewed articles and delivered presentations at various educational institutions and to numerous professional organizations.

Additionally, Dr. Schmalzried is a part-time faculty member at the Harbor-UCLA Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, and has held this position since 1991. He is a member of numerous professional organizations and has held board positions with the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the Association of Arthritic Hip and Knee Surgeons, Western Orthopaedic Association, and the Orthopaedic Research Society. Regarded as an innovator in his field, he is an author of patents for multiple medical devices, including a femoral version guide for total hips and a programmable pin guide for knee arthroplasty.