Aaron Leininger, MD, is an orthopaedic surgeon who specializes in hip and knee replacement.
“I treat people with arthritis or a wide range of other diagnoses who are having trouble getting around or functioning because of problems with their hip or knee,” Dr. Leininger explains. “I primarily perform replacement surgery, whether that’s a first time hip or knee replacement or a revision surgery.”
Medicine was a second career for Dr. Leininger. “I started out in engineering, but in large part, that was going to be a desk job, and I wanted to be hands-on, and medicine, specifically surgery, allows me to do that. It’s a field I find engaging and interesting,” says Dr. Leininger, who also served in the military.
When he meets a patient, Dr. Leininger says his priority is to treat them with respect. “I get to know them and find out what they are missing out on and what they want to get back to,” he says. “I try to treat every patient as I would treat someone in my own family.”
Dr. Leininger says he has a particular interest in complex and revision surgeries using the anterior approach for hip replacements. “Revision surgery refers to a wide range of surgeries. It can be an existing hip or knee replacement that needs a part changed out. Or it can be something that's extremely complicated, where a patient has already had numerous surgeries,” he explains. “What I like about revision surgery is that we have new technology, which allows us to operate with much higher precision.”
The most rewarding part of his job, Dr. Leininger says, is seeing the difference surgery can make in someone’s life. “It really is profound,” he says.
