Mikey is a good friend and has an unique story as he was hit by a car as a child. As a result he had to have an extensive hip surgery to fix a fracture in his hip. So working directly with hip surgeons now, his story has come full circle.

Mike Klein works for Stryker Corporation, a medical technologies company. He specifically works with hip surgeons and is in the operating room ensuring the equipment is operating smoothly for the surgeons involved.

You can tell how much he loves doing what he does as his knowledge of these surgeries equals what the surgeons are saying as well. There is even a new technology Stryker developed called “Hip Check” where surgeons can see (via infrared technology) the wear spots on the joint and will guide the surgeon to the highest points of wearing. This means better outcomes for patients as well as higher standards for surgeons. 

What this technology is doing for doctors is giving them a great picture of how the patient’s individual joint is wearing and where they need to operate for the best outcomes. Mikey also shares what Stryker is developing for surgical tables so the process of the surgery lessens the traction force on the patient’s hip. Stryker is leading the way to improve post-surgical outcomes by developing safer equipment during the operating procedure so patients don’t have neurological symptoms once they’re off the table.

A common thread we discuss is it’s not about what your bias is when it comes to patient outcomes. We see this quite a bit in conservative musculoskeletal healthcare but Mike talks about how these same issues are happening among surgeons as well. 

Mikey has always asked me great questions about his health and what his future looks like. Some of these questions were ones that people twice his age weren’t asking. He brings to light his experience with being injured and what led us to each other. He has a very mature perspective on life and how he uses his experiences to help others out now. I really enjoyed taking a walk down memory lane with Mikey and look forward to doing this again with him!