VAIL, Colo., July 08, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Orthopaedic surgeon Kris Alden, M.D., Ph.D., who specializes in joint replacement surgery and treating hip and knee arthritis and related disorders, joined The Steadman Clinic surgical staff on July 1. Dr. Alden’s medical background includes education and training at prominent medical institutions including Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins University. He joins the team from the Fort Myers, Florida, area, where he practiced after many years serving in his native Chicago region.
Dr. Alden will be seeing patients at the clinics located in the Steadman Philippon Orthopaedic Center in Basalt and Aspen Valley Hospital.
“Bringing an outstanding hip and knee specialist such as Dr. Alden into our roster continues to strengthen our team of surgeons here at The Steadman Clinic,” said Marc Philippon, M.D., managing partner of The Steadman Clinic and chair of Steadman Philippon Research Institute (SPRI). “Dr. Alden provides us with an outstanding hip and knee surgeon in Aspen and Basalt and adds significant expertise and experience to our talented group of surgeons and doctors there.”
“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Kris Alden to our community,” said Dave Ressler, CEO at Aspen Valley Hospital. “Dr. Alden’s extensive expertise in comprehensive hip and knee care, combined with his commitment to patient-centered care, will significantly enhance our ability to provide top-tier orthopaedic services. His innovative approach and dedication to restoring patients’ mobility align well with our mission to deliver extraordinary healthcare. We look forward to the positive impact he will bring to our community.”
Dr. Alden’s emphasis on patient care makes him a perfect fit. “When I first talked to the physicians at Steadman, I was extremely impressed with not only the clinical expertise of the group, but also their overall dedication to outstanding patient care,” said Dr. Alden. “The extremely high caliber of orthopaedic care that they offer to patients is something that I strongly believe in and want to be a part of.”
Dr. Alden’s background includes training at a number of very prestigious and respected universities and clinics. A graduate of the University of Chicago, he later completed a highly competitive dual degree program in which he received his M.D. and Ph.D. (biophysics) concurrently at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Following medical school, Dr. Alden trained in orthopaedic surgery at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. During his final year of residency at Johns Hopkins, he served as chief resident. Upon completion of his residency, he began his fellowship in hip and knee reconstruction surgery at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. As a fellow-in-training at Mayo Clinic, he worked with some of the best surgeons worldwide in the latest approaches to hip and knee replacement, minimally invasive surgery and complex revision hip and knee replacements.
Years of an academic and private practice followed near his suburban Chicago hometown of Hinsdale, Illinois, after which he moved to southwest Florida to live and work near his retired parents.
“I was in the Chicago area for school and work for most of my life and really wanted to try something new. My parents were my focus and, like a lot of Chicagoans, they had retired to Florida. They needed some help healthwise, so that's why I moved down there for the last several years.”
The opportunity to move to The Steadman Clinic was a prospect that Dr. Alden could not turn down.
Dr. Alden’s surgical skills and approach to his practice complement The Steadman Clinic’s mission and philosophy. With a particular interest in using innovative techniques, he strives to achieve the best results for active patients with hip and knee arthritis, offering both non-surgical and surgical treatments to resolve pain and restore function.
“I believe that life is about movement, mobility and fitness,” said Dr. Alden. “And a sedentary lifestyle can lead to multiple detrimental health implications. I love what we are able to accomplish with hip and knee replacement procedures because that enables people to become more active and get back to doing the activities that they enjoy, which is what life is about.”
Dr. Alden is also known for his customization techniques in knee replacement surgeries.
“I found that customizing the surgery, tailoring it to each individual patient, is an effective way to help them achieve their recovery goals,” said Dr. Alden. “Patient-specific instrumentation is a mechanism that we can basically customize the total knee to fit each patient individually and adjust for their sizes, anatomic dimensions and deformity so we can correct it in an optimal way”.
“Hip and knee replacement is one of the most successful procedures in all of medicine,” continued Dr. Alden. “There are obviously a lot of ways to achieve the desired outcome, but I happen to really believe in this technology and the rapid recovery associated with newer techniques in hip and knee replacements. I think it's a fabulous way to offer patients a rapid recovery and a relatively simple way to achieve their overall mobility goals and rehabilitation.”
Dr. Alden also looks forward to working side-by-side with the doctors and researchers at SPRI as he makes the move to the Roaring Fork Valley.
“I did my Ph.D. in biophysics and I've always enjoyed research,” noted Dr. Alden. “I think it's a way to help advance the field of orthopaedics by answering questions and doing clinical trials. Having access to a world-class research facility is just a phenomenal part of the position at The Steadman Clinic and I'm thrilled to be a part of it.”
For further information, contact Lynda Sampson, vice president of external affairs at The Steadman Clinic/SPRI (lsampson@sprivail.org).
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