AdventHealth’s new orthopedic surgeon helps craft joint replacements

By BRANDY CRUZ | Photos by MARIANA RODRIGUEZ of AdventHealth

AdventHealth’s newest orthopedic surgeon is renowned for his artistry as much as his precision in the operating room. A veteran surgeon, Dr. Raj Sinha has more than 27 years and 10,000 joint replacements under his belt, but his impact is far greater.

“There are over 500,000 people around the world who have an artificial hip, artificial knee that I have designed,” Sinha explained. “Including my father who has one of the custom knee replacements I put in myself.”

Instead of a one-size-fits-all mentality, Sinha creates implants to specifically fit the patient. More than just a surgeon, he combines his medical expertise with an artistic touch, designing and creating orthopedic implants for his patients, significantly improving the quality of life for those individuals by enabling enhanced mobility and reduced pain through his innovative implants.

“Since about 1998, I’ve had the opportunity to work with four or five different orthopedic manufacturing companies, designing implants and trying to improve the overall patient outcome — that’s ultimately the goal here,” he explained. “What I do is do a CT scan and build a 3-dimensional model of the patient’s leg. You calculate the correct angles for correction and then manufacture the tools so they fit on the bones, so the surgeon can actually cut the bone to that orientation, and then the implant itself is made to recreate the shape and size of their bone.”

Sinha further explained that implants are created by using either cobalt chrome or titanium vanadium, depending on the patient and circumstance. He said the cobalt chrome alloy is hard, so it does not wear out. On the flip side, titanium vanadium is more flexible and allows for more designs. The bearing surface, where the pressure is at, is made with polyethylene which is specifically manufactured to be wear and oxidization resistant. Because of the high quality of parts they use, he said implants typically last 30 years or more.

Sinha said he used to grow up watching “Quincy, M.E.,” a medical drama about a medical examiner who would help the Los Angeles Police Department solve crimes. The popular series piqued his interest in the medical field. He became an emergency medical technician when he was 16-years-old, which help cement his interest. When it came down to his chosen career path, Sinha said it all came down to power tools.

“The long and the short of it is power tools,” he laughed. “I wanted to be a plastic surgeon initially, so that’s what I was in school doing, on that track. In my third year of medical school, some of the rotations got messed up, so I got ‘stuck’ doing this orthopedic rotation. It was just a two week rotation. The junior residents who were running that service were guys I played rugby with, so because they knew me, they let me do everything. So on my very first day, I got to put screws in people’s femurs, tongs in their heads … I was hooked.”

He said hip and joint replacement stood out to him because of the mostly positive outcomes. Watching his patients become active again after sometimes years of pain and suffering, appealed to his compassionate side.

“I like that the outcomes are very predictable,” Sinha shared. “I can give them a very significant degree of certainty what they can expect to happen to them.”

Sinha has been recognized throughout the country as a top physician in his field, most recently in Best of Texas magazine, despite only being in the Lone Star State for less than a year. He previously worked in Palm Desert, California; and Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Notwithstanding, Sinha said the greatest accomplishment is being asked by implant companies to design implants for them.

“Being asked by implant companies to design implants is sort of a big honor,” he said, “because those are the people who know you’re good at what you do.”

IF YOU GO

AdventHealth will be hosting three seminars featuring Sinha over the next couple of months. The first seminar, on Sept. 27, will be focused on modern advancements in orthopedics. The second seminar, on Oct. 25, will pose the question “Why does my hip and knee still hurt after surgery?” The third seminar, on Nov. 29, will be focused on common myths and misconceptions about joint replacement. All three seminars will be at AdventHealth Primary Care+, 3035 Stillhouse Lake Road in Harker Heights. Register by calling 254-519-8200.