Yale Orthopaedics Hosts Japanese Hip Society Traveling Fellow

Yale Orthopaedics & Rehabilitation and its Adult Reconstruction Division welcomed visiting scholar, Youngwoo Kim, MD, PhD, for a week of surgical observation, research discussions, and academic conferences.

Dr. Kim was selected as the 2023 Traveling Fellow of the Japanese Hip Society, and is just the 12th surgeon to set forth on this traveling fellowship since it was founded in 2017. During his month-long stay in the United States, he is visiting the Mayo Clinic, Yale, the Hospital for Special Surgery, and New York University from August through September 2023.

While visiting Yale, Dr. Kim observed the department’s faculty in the operating room and, in honor of his international visit, the Adult Reconstruction Division held an academic research symposium on Friday, September 8th in the Brady Auditorium where Dr. Kim served as the keynote speaker.

The symposium featured recent research presentations from members of the division, as well as the latest 3D printing innovation and research from Chair, Lisa Lattanza, MD.

Presentations and lectures included:

“Some Offset Options Can Increase the Risk of Dislocation” by Aidin Pour, MD, MS.

“Cannabinoids & Pain Modulation” by Thomas Hickernell, MD.

“Complication Rates for Direct Anterior Approach Total Hip Arthroplasty after Fellowship compared to Switching approaches Mid-Career: A multi-center study of the first 100 cases.” by Ilda Molloy, MD, MS.

“Highlights of the Yale 3D Collaborative (3DC) for Medical Innovation” by Chair, Lisa Lattanza, MD.

“Extended Gram Negative Antibiotic Prophylaxis (EGNAP): National Database Research on Total Hip Arthroplasty/Total Knee Arthroplasty (from Musculoskeletal Infection Society 2023)” by Mengnai Li, MD, PhD.

“Extended Gram Negative Antibiotic Prophylaxis (EGNAP): YNHH Data for Hip Fracture (from Musculoskeletal Infection Society 2023)” by Section Chief, Lee Rubin, MD.

“Researching the Hip-Spine Relationship in Total Hip Arthroplasty” by Youngwoo Kim, MD, PhD

During his keynote address, Dr. Kim spoke about his endeavors with understanding the hip-spine relationship and highlighted the importance of this work with his patients in Japan who have a very high rate of osteopenia and spinal degenerative disease, both of which can serve as complicating factors in total hip arthroplasty outcomes. His desire to address these challenges through research led him to France, where he worked with Professor Jean-Yves Lazennec at the Sorbonne University in Paris to begin elucidating and advancing the orthopaedic field’s understanding of the hip-spine relationship.

Following the symposium, members of the Adult Reconstruction Division provided a tour of the Yale Medical Historical Library to visit the Cushing Brain Center and the Keggi-Rubin Hip Implant Collection. Dr. Kim also met with research scientist, Steven Tommasini, PhD, and 3DC Program Director, Alyssa Glennon, to view the orthopaedic laboratories and discuss medical innovations at Yale.

“It was a pleasure to host Dr. Kim here in New Haven, where he was warmly welcomed by our orthopaedic surgery residents and fellows along with our Adult Reconstruction Divisional Faculty,” said Dr. Rubin. “It was an honor to invite him to observe minimally invasive, outpatient Direct Anterior Approach (DAA) hip reconstruction cases in addition to his viewing of complex knee and robotic hip and knee replacement procedures.”

Yale’s Department of Orthopaedics & Rehabilitation previously hosted the Austrian-Swiss-German Traveling Fellows in 2017 and the American-British-Canadian Fellowship in 2022, which organized a group of visiting surgeons who traveled from their home programs representing the Australian, New Zealand, and South African Orthopaedic Associations.

Dr. Rubin added, “The Division of Adult Reconstruction is fortunate to run the Keggi-Kimball International Scholars Program since 2017, through which we have hosted visiting surgeons from Turkey, China, Latvia, the Republic of Georgia, and Vietnam who have desired to study total joint replacement in depth with our faculty. Upcoming visits are also planned from surgeons in Ghana and India in the academic year ahead.”

Dr. Kim earned his MD and PhD degrees from Seoul National University in Korea and Kyoto University in Japan, respectively. Following his orthopaedic residency training in Japan, Dr. Kim has served on the staff of Kyoto City Hospital since 2019.

Dr. Kim’s traveling fellowship was supported by a grant from the Japanese Hip Society, and his visit to Yale supported by the Keggi-Kimball Fund for International Surgeon Education.