UH Orthopedic Surgeon Relishes Fusion of Spatial Geometry and Patient Impact in the Specialty

UH Clinical Update | December 2023

When Rikesh K. Patel, DO, first decided to pursue a medical education, he wasn’t sure what kind of physician he wanted to be, though he was drawn to procedure-based fields.

Rikesh K. Patel, DO

“When I got to medical school, they tell you to keep an open mind,” he recalls. “But it turns out I already had blinders on. I had spent some time with an orthopedic surgeon during college and I knew from day one that I wanted to be an orthopedic surgeon.”

He realized that some of his inherent skills suited orthopedic surgery. “My father was a mechanical engineer and he was always working on projects around the house and insisted I help him,” says Dr. Patel. “I quickly grew to love tools and realized I was good with my hands.

“Also, my strongest points in education were math and sciences. I understood mechanics and geometry. I have a very visual memory and seemed to excel at spatial awareness. All of that kind of drove me to it – as well as the fact that I would have patient interaction, which I knew I would like.”

Dr. Patel grew up in Schaumburg, Ill., where his parents moved after emigrating from India. His father was an engineer who worked in IT development for The Joint Commission, and his mother was a radiology technician, who he sometimes shadowed at the imaging facility where she worked.

His sister also went to medical school and became a gastroenterologist. “My sister was also influential in my decision to become a physician as she was always supportive of my path toward medicine,” Dr. Patel adds.

Dr. Patel’s education was somewhat atypical for a physician. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Food Science and Human Nutrition from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. That was followed by a post-baccalaureate degree in Physiology and Bioscience from Georgetown University, before he headed for the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine, which is part of Midwestern University.

He did his residency in orthopedic surgery locally here at Cleveland Clinic Foundation, followed by a fellowship at the Hedley Orthopaedic Institute in Phoenix. There his focus was on rapid recovery protocol, outpatient joint arthroplasty, complex primary/revision surgery and robotic applications to total joint arthroplasty.

His then-girlfriend – soon-to-be wife Lauren – grew up in Youngstown and had already completed her residency and fellowship in Cleveland. She had taken a position as a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Cleveland Clinic. He soon followed, joining UH in 2020.

Today, he sees patients and performs joint replacements at UH Beachwood and UH Portage medical centers. He also participates in taking care of community orthopedic trauma.

Dr. Patel uses advanced minimally-invasive and muscle-sparing surgical techniques for total hip, total knee, and partial knee replacements. He also utilizes robotic technology for his joint replacements. Most of his patients have same-day surgery, arriving in the morning and being discharged by evening.

Among other hip and knee conditions he treats are failed joint replacements, periprosthetic fractures, rheumatoid arthritis and avascular necrosis.

Making a difference in a patient’s daily life is what drives him.

“Patients are so appreciative and grateful when you give them back their mobility,” he says. “The halo effect of eliminating a painful and debilitating joint is priceless.

“A painful hip or knee due to arthritis affects your quality of life in so many ways, such as being unable to sleep, unable to participate in sporting activities, and exacerbating mental health conditions. One of my patients couldn’t golf anymore and golf was what made him happy. The ultimate reason you undergo a large elective surgery like a joint replacement is for quality of life.”

As a doctor, he adds, “You give them their life back.”

Helping with community trauma offers a different kind of satisfaction. “It’s more like putting the pieces of a puzzle back together,” Dr. Patel says. Most commonly, the trauma patients he sees might have fractures in the upper or lower extremities.

His attraction to joint replacement surgery has grown even stronger with the robotics technology now in use. “That was one of the big focuses in my fellowship,” he says. “Now I use it every week.”

Robotics, he explains, makes implant positioning even more precise. “The added technology make an already good operation even better,” he says.

He estimates that about 75 percent of the joint replacements he performs are outpatient. “It’s not because we’re doing the surgery so much better, but because the education this kind of surgery requires has gotten better – such as having a ‘joint education class’ for patients ahead of the surgery,” he says.

Advancements in pain control with anesthesiology have also significantly added to the ability to do outpatient joint replacements. Using robotics has also made a difference.

“It all seemed to naturally evolve,” he adds. “Outpatient joint replacement really succeeds because of multidisciplinary involvement.”

In his nomination, Truax wrote that Dr. Patel “promoted development of the rapid recovery/same day discharge process, working with orthopedic coordinator Rachael Kilkenny, RN. The program is successful in delivering exceptional care in areas of quality and service.”

And, he added, Dr. Patel also took a close look at supply expenses at UH Beachwood and analyzed his own use of supplies in the OR. The result: his direct cost per case decreased 10 percent in one month.

Dr. Patel explains that he was able to reduce the use of several trays during surgery. This was aided by changing workflow and eliminating redundancies

“From a supply aspect, we could save a significant amount of hospital operating costs,” he says. “And by using robotics, there is equipment we no longer need to use during the operation that has greatly increased operating room efficiencies.”

To nominate a physician for this honor, please visit the Digital Workplace. The next deadline is January 19.