Department of Orthopaedic Surgery - UC Davis Health System

ORTHOPAEDIC SURGERY NEWS • SUMMER 2011Dr. Mauro Giordani joinsthe Department ofOrthopaedic SurgeryMauro Giordani,MD, has joinedthe Departmentof OrthopaedicSurgery asan AssistantProfessor,specializing in knee and hipreconstruction, shoulderreplacements, adultreconstruction, and mal-unions.Dr. Giordani completedhis medical degree at theUniversity of SouthernCalifornia and later, obtaineda second degree in medicinefrom the University ofRome, Tor Vergata, Italy. Hecompleted his residency atthe University of SouthernCalifornia Medical Center,Department of Orthopedicsand went on to becomethe Otto Aufranc Fellow,Instructor of Orthopaedicsat Tufts University. He alsocompleted an additional AdultReconstruction fellowship atLecco General Hospital, Lecco,Italy. Dr. Giordani is certifiedby the American Board ofOrthopaedic Surgery and isa member of the AmericanAcademy of OrthopaedicSurgeons.To schedule an appointment,please call the ACC clinic at916.734.2700.Portrait of a Grateful EmployeeCheryl O’Hara, RNFrequently our stories in OrthopaedicSurgery focus on grateful patients. Thisquarter, we speak with a retired employeeof UC Davis Health System.If you have seen an orthopaedicsurgeon in the region, chances areCheryl (Sherry) O’Hara has been partof their training.O’Hara worked as an operating roomnurse for 16 years with UC DavisHealth System before her retirementin 2000. While she specialized inthe spine area with the Departmentof Orthopaedic Surgery, she alsooverlapped and worked in traumasurgery and heart surgery.At the time of her retirement, O’Harawas a Clinical Nurse III with multipleresponsibilities that included assistingin surgeries, watching over ORsuites and managing care plans fororthopaedic surgery patients.“I really admired and loved workingwith the residents,” O’Hara says aboutworking with orthopaedic surgeonsin the OR. “They are so passionateabout what they do – so dedicated.”She also enjoyed the high degree ofprecision and logic involved. Duringher years in the OR, O’Hara did a“fair amount of training” of nurses –and admitted that she also helpedresidents learn a thing or two as well.“We all worked as a team,” she says.“If I had knowledge I learned fromone of the faculty – and we were allconstantly learning – I would pass italong to the residents as well as thenurses.”O’Hara admits that the hardest partof her job was watching residentsgraduate and move on. “I hatedsaying good-bye,” she says. “It gotto be very difficult every year whenthe residents and their familiesleft. I enjoyed the relationships webuilt over the years during theirresidencies.”O’Hara started her career workingwith developmentally delayedpatients as a psychiatric technicianat Porterville State Hospital, beforemoving on to work at the Alzheimer’sANNOUNCING DR. ERIC GIZA AS OUR NEWORTHOPAEDIC ACC CLINIC MEDICAL DIRECTORThis person serves as the clinical supervisor and leader,assisting in the development and coordination of asystem for the Clinic, which assures a multi-disciplinary,comprehensive, patient-oriented approach to patient care.The Clinic Director is accountable for the overall quality,appropriateness, efficiency, and effectiveness of medicalcare delivered within the Clinic.

DEPARTMENT OF INTERNAL MEDICINEunit at Napa State Hospital. She thenbecame an animal health technicianand worked for a local veterinarian,assisting in the clinic and operatingroom, for 11 years. She decided it wastime to go back to school and earnedher RN degree at American RiverCollege in 1983, which launched hercareer at UC Davis.As a retiree, she now enjoys her timecrocheting, knitting and sewing –which all help to keep her fingersnimble. Gardening at a son’s home isalso a favorite passion – he gives herlicense to be as creative as she wouldlike.“What a dream ‘job,’ ” she says. “I wisheveryone was as easy to please as heis.”With her husband, Jim, O’Hara alsoinvests in the past with collectablesthat are heartfelt, including gas stationmemorabilia (“My husband manageda Chevron Station for 25 years,”O’Hara says); mining hats with carbidelanterns (“Jim’s grandfather and fatherworked underground in Park City,Utah”) and family photos of “ancestorslong gone but still in our hearts.”When asked why she donated tothe Department of OrthopaedicSurgery O’Hara said, “We receiveda mailing suggesting donations tothe Department, specifically to theResidents Program. I value theseyoung dedicated people very highly.I’m grateful to have been given theopportunity to direct our contributiontoward their support. Make sure weremain on your mailing list!”Make a donation today and helpimprove the quality of lives ofpeople affected by orthopaedicinjuries and diseases.Contact Kathryn Keyes at:916-734-9673 orkathryn.keyes@ucdmc.ucdavis.eduAwards & RecognitionsCongratulations Dr. Michelle James, honoree ofthe 2011 Golden Apple Award! Given by HealthVolunteers Overseas, this award recognizes extraordinarycontributions of HVO volunteers in supportof educational activities at HVO’s training sites. Dr.James initiated a program in pediatric hand surgeryin Managua, Nicaragua in 2009 and has served assite director since then, returning biannually towork with the surgeons and patients.Dr. Hari Reddi was the invited plenary speaker atthe 11th International Conference of Frontiers inPolymers and Advanced Materials, which takesplace in Pretoria, South Africa from May 22 to27th. His lecture was on the Clinical Applicationsof BMPs in Bone and Cartilage Regeneration.Congratulations Dr. Joel Williams, who received firstplace in the ORS/OREF Resident Conference--BasicScience division for his work titled “BMP-7 InducesReproducible Healing in Rodent CSD Model Usinga Novel Fixator.” Joel has also been selected forfunding for an OTA Resident Research Grant in theamount of $10,000 for, “The Role of MechanicalEnvironment in a Rodent Critical Size Defect Usinga Novel Fixator”.*Check out the July issue of Sacramento Magazinefor a featured article on Dr. Williams (page 92-93)Congratulations Dr. Amanatullah! As one of thetop two WOA 2011 Resident/Fellow Award winners,Derek Amanatullah will make a podium presentationat the 2012 AAOS Annual Meeting, February7-11, 2012 in San Francisco.

ORTHOPAEDIC SURGERY NEWS • SUMMER 2011Save the DateOrthopaedic SurgeryResearch SymposiumCongratulations 2011 Graduates!Friday, October 21st7:30 amGuest speaker: Professor Linda J.Sandell, Ph.D.Director, Orthopaedic ResearchLaboratory, Washington UniversitySchool of Medicine“Transcriptional Regulation ofChondrogenesis”June 17th Graduation SymposiumGraduating Residents: Gaurav Abbi, MD, Jonathan Eastman, MD,Eddie Lo, MD, Tyler Nathe, MDGraduating Fellows: Jeffrey Arthur, DO (Adult Reconstruction), JoshuaEllwitz, MD (Spine), Thomas Jones, MD (Trauma), HoHyung Lee, MD (Sports),Lisa Maskill, MD (Pediatrics), William Min, MD (Trauma), Vivek Mohan, MD(Spine), Chukunenye Osuji, MD (Trauma), Meryl Singer, MD (Hand)Questions or comments? Contact us at:orthowebmaster@ucdavis.eduDepartment of Orthopaedic SurgeryUniversity of California, Davis4860 Y ST., Suite 3800Sacramento, CA 958172922