The picture of success: Dr. Mitchell Sheinkop
September 18, 2008
By Elizabeth Hofheinz, MEd, MPH September 15, 2008
An unusual life indeed. Dr. Mitchell Sheinkop, Professor Emeritus at Rush University Medical Center and Director of Joint Replacement at the Neurologic & Orthopedic Hospital of Chicago, has been on the front page of Saudi Arabia’s Al Jazeera newspaper and knows the ins and outs of orthopedics in China. The second-born son of Eastern European immigrants, Mitchell Sheinkop and his brother were the first in his family to attend college. “I grew up in an environment where my parents struggled to survive economically,” says Dr. Sheinkop. “Their highest goal was to ensure the education of their children. Whatever goal I had in life, they were determined to sacrifice in order to make sure it was realized.”
Not yet in the field, Mitchell Sheinkop started out on the field. “I went to college on a football scholarship, but during the first year realized that it was not for me. I set my sights on achieving academically, graduated with honors, and entered the Chicago Medical School in 1963. The forces at work were not only that I was being influenced by my peers at college, but that I desired stimulating work and knew I didn’t want the difficult life of a laborer like my father.”
And while he knew what he didn’t want, Mitchell Sheinkop wasn’t yet sure exactly where he was headed. “After completing medical school in 1967 I began an exciting internship at Chicago’s Cook County Hospital. It was a real eye-opener to see life as it really is…the nitty-gritty of day-to-day challenges and joys at a hospital. At the time the single most significant happening in the U.S. was the Vietnam War. The day you finished medical school was when you tried to position yourself to get into the Barry Plan Deferred Medical Service Lottery, whereby you could postpone going to Vietnam until you were specialty trained. I was able to delay my military service until completion of an orthopedic residency at Northwestern University School of Medicine, which I finished in 1972. How I got into orthopedics was essentially a gamble. When you went into the military medical lottery system you had to choose a specialty. Because in my internship I had had more exposure to surgical subspecialties than anything else, I went with it. Today, unfortunately, people choose a specialty in medical school before they have had a chance to sample different specialties. I then did one year of active medical duty in the Air Force followed by seven years in the Air Force Medical Reserve. Being in the military gave me a realization that anything that came afterwards is a blessing; it is a thrill to have come from my roots and been able to enjoy the privileges of my professional career.”
Like many orthopedists, Dr. Sheinkop enjoys building things. Many years ago, it was a department. Dr. Sheinkop: “In 1973 I was recruited to Rush, just after the Orthopedic Department’s start-up, where I was asked to help develop a new department of orthopedic surgery. I was the second member of that program and was in charge of resident education for 10 years. I was just awarded the title of Emeritus Professor after 35 years of education, research, and integrated practice.”
He has earned the right to dictate his time. Says Dr. Sheinkop, “In 2001 I began focusing less on resident education and shifted more of my educational time to international work. I wanted new challenges and the excitement of influencing health care in other countries. Although I have always been proud of my contributions to the orthopedic community in the U.S., I felt a growing desire to contribute to health care in emerging nations.”
In undertaking his new work, Dr. Sheinkop would further his initial goal of leading a stimulating life. “I performed the first-ever total knee operation done in Morocco. The surgery was transmitted live on television so that orthopedic surgeons all around the country could see it. It was a particularly exciting day as I was operating in the capital on the day that the King’s firstborn son arrived. Also in the Middle East, I introduced minimally invasive knee replacements to Saudi Arabia. (Hence my cameo on the front page of Al Jazeera.)”
Dr. Sheinkop, several times given the Golden Apple Award for Resident Education by the Rush residents, has taught in 72 cities in 45 countries in the past seven years. Of the future he says, “Besides introducing the first types of joint replacement, my next initiatives are to teach physicians in other countries how to perform minimally invasive surgery and how to work with cementless technology. When appropriate, I will instruct in how to revise hip and knee prostheses. I am thrilled to have been invited by ministries of health, hospitals, and doctors to visit various countries. American orthopedic companies have also been generous in sponsoring these educational missions. My recent trip to China was at the request of Stryker and I have been invited to return to China this November by the Chinese orthopedic community.”
Breaking new ground on the healing front, Dr. Sheinkop has introduced the world of physical therapy to patients around the globe. “In many places?for instance Central Europe, Eastern Europe, and China?there is no physical rehabilitation whatsoever. The extent of it is that your doctor comes by after surgery and asks you to get out of bed and try to move around a little bit. And the patient is totally dependent on family for assistance with no monitoring of outcomes. As part of my recent trip to China I brought along a physical therapist in an attempt to focus the orthopedic community on our rehabilitation methodology. The nurses and doctors were very excited about this and lined up to listen to the physical therapist. The next step will be to help them formulate plans to open a school of physical therapy.”
And some of the intricacies of the Chinese system? “Patients have a choice as to where to go for surgery, and competition between hospitals is fierce but based on word of mouth, as healthcare marketing is illegal. The Chinese government covers part of the typical three-week hospital stay and the patient pays for the surgeon and the implant. A patient is admitted 10 days before surgery so as to be made healthy for the procedure. Routine examination and prevention is still not part of standard practice; health care is interventional. The net result is a need to minimize the adverse influence of preoperative comorbidities. Although outcomes are not routinely recorded or monitored as in the West, I have found a high degree of the protection of patients’ dignity and privacy when compared to the West. And sometimes one finds more attention to cleanliness in Chinese hospitals than in ours. For example, before we could enter the hospital, off went the shoes and on went the slippers.”
An internationalist at heart, Dr. Sheinkop takes particular pride in the Dr. David Applebaum International Humanitarian Award, an honor bestowed on him in 2006 by Israel for working and building connections in Arab countries. States Dr. Sheinkop, “I have never had an unpleasant experience working in the Arab world. When I returned to the United Arab Emirates after September 11th, the people there couldn’t thank me enough for coming to assist them.”
When stateside, Dr. Sheinkop can be found in the mountains, on the open road, or beside a stream. “My hobbies are ultimate skiing, long distance bike touring and fly fishing, all of which I do alongside my wife and children. I am an avid reader as well. My greatest pride is 43 years of marriage to a beautiful and wonderful woman; I’ve been blessed. As far as accomplishments, the most important is the legacy I will leave, namely three fabulous children. Jonathan, who is 39 and works in wealth management, is newly engaged. Joanna, age 35 with a doctorate in physical therapy, is the proud mother of our first grandchild. Little Talia is now six months old. Our youngest is Eric, age 25, who has a graduate business degree with an emphasis on music.”
His final thoughts? “We Americans often fail to appreciate that people around the world are not that dissimilar. We all share many of the same hopes and aspirations for ourselves and our children. When I travel I do so not as a tourist, but as someone immersed in the healthcare delivery system. These are intense opportunities to study a population and the microcosm that is the hospital system. I have truly found that most people around the world look to us as models of the type of society they want. They want to come to America and send their children here to obtain an education. These are the ultimate compliments.”
Dr. Mitchell Scheinkop…fostering the continuance of global health care for generations to come.
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Thrill-seeker receives first mobile knee in U.S.
September 10, 2008
By Laura Castle, lcastle@mysuburbanlife.com
Burr Ridge Suburban Life
Fri Sep 05, 2008, 10:55 AM CDT
Burr Ridge, IL -
Dropping from a helicopter on skis to a mountain side blanketed with powder white snow ahead of him, it would appear David Thompson’s hunger for life seems to be fed by his desire to move.
Between the hundreds of miles he can bike in a week and his passion for heliskiing, the Burr Ridge resident realized his left knee was not keeping up with the rest of his body. Read more
Preventing ACL injuries in female athletes
July 16, 2008
COMPLIMENTARY SPORTS INJURY PREVENTION PAMPHLET FOR WOMEN
(Click here to request a Knee Injury Prevention pamphlet)
It’s estimated that more than 1.4 million women tear an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) every year. That’s double the number from a decade ago. Responding to a recent increase in sports injuries among female athletes, the Neurologic & Orthopedic Hospital has introduced a new informational pamphlet for female athletes. The pamphlet, entitled “Leveling the Playing Field: Knee Injury Prevention Strategies for Female Athletes, “ includes tips for reducing an individual’s risk of injuries and strengthening exercises for improving balance, coordination, power, strength and speed.
The Neurologic & Orthopedic Hospital of Chicago welcomes Harmony Health
June 2, 2008
Acupuncture practitioner Kellylee Whiteside of Harmony Health provides treatments in a calming environment much different from a physician’s clinic. Once stepping beyond the red entrance door nobody would suspect they are actually in a hospital. “Most of my patients sleep during treatment,” she says. The comfortable, spa-like treatment rooms are much like those used for massage therapy, featuring soft lighting, candles and soothing music or the sounds of nature playing on the audio system. Preconceptions of painful therapies involving needles begin to fade away as Whiteside explains the simple concepts underlying acupuncture and oriental, or Chinese, medicine and how they relieve pain very effectively. Read more
Custom joint surgery…to fit your sport!
June 2, 2008
A rare new breed of surgeons now “customizes” joint surgery for a patient’s specific sport. The result is a second chance for injured golfers, baseball players, swimmers, and other athletes.
At just 18 Jamie Panfil’s dream of playing championship college soccer was over. Her shoulder was slipping in and out of its joint. It was the result of the high school goalie’s unique totally overhead throwing motion. The New Lennox native was told her surgery would repair her joint…but end her career. Read more
Hip resurfacing techniques offer alternative to total hip replacement
May 16, 2008
Baby boomers with hip pain who want to stay active in their later decades now have an alternative to hip replacement surgery without its inherent limitations. A new surgical option, called hip resurfacing, is offered to middle age people who have osteoarthritis in the hip and want to return to outdoor sports, such as biking, golf, hiking, skiing, swimming, fishing and tennis, that have been curtailed because of the pain.
The procedure, which involves reshaping the head of the femur (bone in the upper leg) and capping it with a smooth metal ball, rather than sacrificing the bone, has a quicker recovery time than total hip replacement where the worn bone is cut away, a metal stem is placed inside the femur and the hip socket is replaced. Read more
Hip resurfacing techniques offer alternative to total hip replacement for local resident Scott Fields
April 20, 2008
Kenosha, WI, April 20, 2008
NEW SOLUTION FOR ACTIVE PEOPLE WHO SUFFER FROM HIP PAIN
Baby boomers with hip pain who want to stay active in their later decades now have an alternative to hip replacement surgery without its inherent limitations. A new surgical option, called hip resurfacing, is offered to middle age people who have osteoarthritis in the hip and want to return to outdoor sports, such as biking, golf, hiking, skiing, swimming, fishing and tennis and other sports that have been curtailed because of the pain. Read more
Chicago surgeon trains Chinese doctors in hip and knee replacement to meet china’s fast-growing demand
March 31, 2008
CHICAGO, IL, March 31, 2008 – Neurologic & Orthopedic Hospital of Chicago’s Mitchell Sheinkop, MD to train doctors in Beijing (view Dr. Sheinkop’s Blog entries from his trip) The Neurologic & Orthopedic Hospital of Chicago’s (NOHC) director of joint replacement, Dr. Mitchell Sheinkop, has been invited by the Chinese orthopedic community to travel to Beijing and Shanghai, China to train Chinese orthopedic surgeons in large joint replacements, including hip and knee. Dr. Sheinkop has performed more than 20,000 knee and hip reconstruction surgeries, including over 300 of the new hip resurfacing procedures. From June 6-12, 2008, Dr. Sheinkop will perform live surgeries and a series of lectures at hospitals in Shanghai and Beijing. In addition, he will bring physical therapists to train and educate participants on the importance of post-operative physical therapy as part of the overall recovery process. Read more
Neurologic & orthopedic hospital of chicago ranked no. 1 in illinois, among top in nation for spine surgery
March 3, 2008
CHICAGO, IL, March 3, 2008 —The Neurologic and Orthopedic Hospital of Chicago (NOHC) has been ranked No. 1 in Illinois and is among the top five percent in the country for spine surgery according to the Tenth Annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality in America study. The HealthGrades Research analyzed patient outcomes at all of the nation’s hospitals over the past three years. The study also concluded that NOHC is:
- A recipient of the HealthGrades Spine Surgery Excellence Award
- The only hospital in Illinois to receive spine surgery excellence award
- Five-star rated for spine surgery
- Five-star rated for back and neck surgery two years in a row
- Five-star rated for spinal fusion
A new hip, but without the limp
February 25, 2008
BY ERIKA ROSE, Times Correspondent
NW Indiana Times, Date posted online: Monday, February 25, 2008
Jack Callahan is about as active as a person can get.
The 52-year-old Hammond firefighter trains professional boxers, works out six days a week and has quite a collection of marathon and half-marathon medals.
Hard to believe he’s kept up this pace even with his hip held together with metal hardware.
Like Callahan, the Baby Boomers are coming of age. And whether they’re suffering the consequences of an overly active lifestyle, or their hip joint has deteriorated for whatever reason, they’re simply too young for a total hip replacement, not to mention unwilling to accept the physical restrictions that come along with it.
Dr. Mitchell Sheinkop, director of Joint Replacement Surgery at the Neurologic and Orthopedic Hospital of Chicago, says hip resurfacing is an alternative to the traditional total hip replacement, providing an option for younger people in need of a new hip but not willing to give up their active lifestyle. Read more
