In our latest Making the Rounds interview, we sat down with Dr. Rasesh Desai, an orthopaedic surgeon with UK Orthopaedic Surgery & Sports Medicine who works at The Medical Center at Bowling Green. Dr. Desai sees patients of all ages and specializes in joint replacement surgery, spine surgery and pediatric orthopaedic surgery.
What kinds of patients do you see?
I see patients from all age groups – from newborns to adults. I’m in a unique position because of my variety of fellowship training. I’m fellowship-trained in spine surgery and joint replacement surgery, and it gives me an opportunity to see the patient as a whole person.
Sometimes a patient comes to your office with leg pain, hip pain or knee pain, and then you find out their actual problem is coming from the spine. Or sometimes it might be vice versa, where patients come in with back problems. But we find out the back problem is mainly the result of hip or knee arthritis.
Tell us about UK’s partnership with The Medical Center at Bowling Green
The UK orthopadic department has an agreement with The Medical Center at Bowling Green to provide orthopaedic service in this community. The main purpose of this affiliation is to provide the same level of care that you would get at a bigger hospital, right here in a smaller community.
What inspired you to get into medicine?
I saw my elder sister go into the medicine field, and it always inspired me to see her, how she treated her patients. You know, when you are a kid, when you are growing up, you go to the doctor when you are sick and they get you better and back to your life, and that always fascinated me.
During medical school, I worked with an orthopaedic surgeon. I saw the patients coming to the hospital with broken bones and severe pain, with arthritis, or not able to walk. And then getting them back on their feet was immensely satisfying, and that inspired me to become an orthopaedic surgeon.
What does your ideal weekend look like?
My ideal weekend is to be able to spend some time with my family and my 3-year-old son. Get him out to the park and play with him, because I don’t get much time to do that during the week. I also like to spend some time with friends and their families. Go out, watch a movie and maybe watch some sports on TV.
What’s your favorite movie?
I like all of the X-Men movies!
Check out our video interview with Dr. Desai, where he tells us more about working in Bowling Green and why teamwork makes a world of difference in patients’ recovery.
Next steps:
- Learn more about UK Orthopaedic Surgery & Sports Medicine, which provides leading-edge treatment for a variety of injuries and conditions.
