Dr. Haloman serves a large role as POA’s in-house hip preservation specialist, within our knee and hip services, where he treats a variety of ailments through arthroscopic surgery of the hip, shoulder, and knee. After several months practicing at POA, we realized it was time for a check-up with our newest orthopedic surgeon.
Catch up with Dr. Haloman and learn more about hip preservation in our Q&A:
What led you to join POA?
I gained a sense of the POA group’s reputation during my residency at the University of Washington – they were known as outstanding, well-trained surgeons. I was in residency with a few of the POA surgeons prior to joining, so I heard firsthand what a quality organization they were. Initially I thought I would end up in Southern California, but decided to join POA because I was excited by the fact that they’re so forward-thinking, not only in how they treat patients, but also in how they get those patients access to care.
What’s been your favorite part about working with POA?
My favorite part is how collaborative everyone is. From the front desk all the way up to the partners and CEO, everyone is consistently positive and works with the same goal in mind – to provide the best care for our patients. As to what makes me excited about my job: anytime a patient comes back with a positive result from surgery or a non-operative treatment plan it gets me pretty fired up! For me, the ultimate sense of work satisfaction comes when someone is injured or experiencing pain and isn’t sure if they can return to the activities and sports they enjoy – or even their day-to-day functions – and we are able to fix them.
What is hip preservation?
Hip preservation is a relatively new field in orthopedic surgery – this innovative approach addresses hip deformities, injuries, and conditions that can cause pain and in some instances will later increase risk of hip arthritis. It focuses on relieving pain and protecting the hip from future complications, ideally delaying or preventing arthritis and the need for hip replacement surgery. Hip preservation includes both surgical and non-surgical treatments centered around correcting alignment and mechanics, and restoring normal anatomy.
What led you to choose your hip preservation specialty?
It’s an intriguing challenge to diagnose what’s causing hip pain, due to the complexity of the hip as the intersection of several muscles, soft-tissues, tendons, and nerves and I enjoy that challenge. Also, since hip preservation is a relatively new field, I can help innovate to come up with better treatment solutions for patients to relieve their pain. It’s exciting to think that we can potentially prevent the hip from developing arthritis or other complications by treating certain aspects that haven’t traditionally been treated.
What is your background and training in hip preservation?
It all started during my fellowship at the Southern California Orthopedic Institute, where we had two surgeons who were leaders in the field: Carlos Guanche and Brian Dierckman. They taught hip arthroscopy as a way of treating hip preservation, which got me interested in thinking about related hip issues like impingement and dysplasia. I traveled to Bern and Zurich, Switzerland to further enhance my knowledge completing another fellowship with two of the experts who are pioneers in the field – Klaus Siebenrock and Michael Leunig.
How do you overcome challenges in your work and where do you look for inspiration?
I’ve got amazing partners – anytime I have questions about a patient’s treatment or diagnosis, they will stop what they’re doing and review MRIs or X-rays with me and give quality feedback. Outside of the clinic, I have mentors from medical school, residency, and fellowship who are especially hardworking individuals that I draw inspiration from. Of course, if I’m ever feeling stressed, my wife always knows how to get me back on track.
What’s your overall philosophy towards providing care?
My philosophy is to see how my patients are experiencing their pain, and how it affects their quality of life, because not everyone experiences pain the same. I learn what motivates my patients, review what previous treatment efforts have been made, and work with them to create a treatment plan that best suits them, decreases their pain, and ideally gets them back to doing what they enjoy.
At Proliance Orthopedic Associates, we are committed to quality care. Schedule an appointment to learn more about hip arthroscopy, hip preservation, and other services Dr. Haloman provides.