Local surgeon, 74, still going strong and in demand
SEATTLE -- A simple walk down the hall can be a challenge for Jeff Baker.
He has chronic sprained ankles, and the smallest thing will trigger a tumble.
"You're walking along and all of the sudden your ankle just rolls," he describes. "No warning, none. Just happens."
Baker had surgery years ago, but it didn't help.
So he's going under the knife again, this time with a world-renowned orthopedic surgeon at Harborview Medical Center.
Dr. Sigvard T. Hansen is a pioneer in medicine and is credited with creating techniques to repair feet and ankles that are copied around the world.
In Baker's surgery, the team moves part of a tendon from his arch and uses it to replace tendons around the ankle. It is simple in terms of what Dr. Hansen can do.
The challenge, he says has become enduring long days in the operating room.
He is now 74-years old and modest about his legacy as he nears retirement.
"What's most important to me is, I've got people all around the world that have trained here with us in both trauma and foot and ankle that are doing very very well, and that's tremendously gratifying to me," Hansen said.
Jeff Baker counts himself lucky getting on Hansen's schedule. The wait can be up to a year.
But Baker's stepmother had been one of Hansen's patients and recommended him.
"At that time what I got from my stepmom was he's one of the best. And I said 'okay I'll wait,'" Baker said.
Harborview will present Dr. Hansen with its Mission of Caring award at the hospital's annual gala event next month.
For more information
http://depts.washington.edu/meddev/harborview-gala/welcome.php
He has chronic sprained ankles, and the smallest thing will trigger a tumble.
"You're walking along and all of the sudden your ankle just rolls," he describes. "No warning, none. Just happens."
Baker had surgery years ago, but it didn't help.
So he's going under the knife again, this time with a world-renowned orthopedic surgeon at Harborview Medical Center.
Dr. Sigvard T. Hansen is a pioneer in medicine and is credited with creating techniques to repair feet and ankles that are copied around the world.
In Baker's surgery, the team moves part of a tendon from his arch and uses it to replace tendons around the ankle. It is simple in terms of what Dr. Hansen can do.
The challenge, he says has become enduring long days in the operating room.
He is now 74-years old and modest about his legacy as he nears retirement.
"What's most important to me is, I've got people all around the world that have trained here with us in both trauma and foot and ankle that are doing very very well, and that's tremendously gratifying to me," Hansen said.
Jeff Baker counts himself lucky getting on Hansen's schedule. The wait can be up to a year.
But Baker's stepmother had been one of Hansen's patients and recommended him.
"At that time what I got from my stepmom was he's one of the best. And I said 'okay I'll wait,'" Baker said.
Harborview will present Dr. Hansen with its Mission of Caring award at the hospital's annual gala event next month.
For more information
http://depts.washington.edu/meddev/harborview-gala/welcome.php