Episode 2: Hill Hastings II, MD

AO Trauma Hand Sage on Stage Series

Tis week's sage Hill Hastings II, M.D. completed Orthopedic surgery training at Harvard University and practiced as a Clinical Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at the Indiana Hand to Shoulder Center and Indiana University Medical Center from 1981 until his retirement to Telluride, CO in 2015. During his career, he helped train more than 200 fellowship hand surgeons, published over 100 chapters and articles, and delivered over 500 national and international presentations.

Dr. Hastings has special expertise in arthroscopy of the elbow and wrist; reconstruction and replacement surgery of the elbow, wrist and hand; fracture management; elbow and wrist reconstruction, and the treatment of paralytic upper extremity disorders. He contributed to the development of fracture repair systems for the clavicle, radial head, distal radius, wrist, and hand. He designed, in collaboration with the AO Hand Study Group, the AO Wrist Fusion Plate, the AO Distal Radius Plating System, parts of the AO Modular Hand Set, and the Phalangeal Percutaneous Screw Fixation System. He is co-inventor of the Discovery™ Elbow Replacement System (Zimmer/Biomet, DJO & Lima). Much of his research has centered upon the biomechanics and repair of PIP joint fractures and dislocations. He co-designed the Hemi-Hamate Resurfacing Arthroplasty. In 1994, he was awarded the Sumner L. Koch award by the Chicago Society for Surgery of the Hand and also the Emanuel B. Kaplan award by the New York Society for Surgery of the Hand for his investigations on the vascularity of the distal radius and vascularized techniques for bone grafting to the carpus. He co-developed the Lateral Collateral Preserving Approach to the Elbow for Release of Complex Contractures and a New Classification System for Primary Osteoarthritis of the Elbow.

He is a member of the AAOS, ASSH, ASES, and past member of the AO International Foundation and AOA. He has been awarded honorary memberships to the Canadian Hand Society, the Venezuelan Hand Society, and the Hellenic Society for Surgery of the Hand and served as a Medical Consultant for the USA Gymnastics National team.

In 1989, he represented the ASSH as the Sterling Bunnell Traveling Fellow. Dr. Hastings competed in three sports in college. He enjoys a number of outdoor activities including hiking and mountain climbing, horseback riding, skiing, biking, windsurfing/kite boarding, kayaking/stand up paddle boarding, photography and international travel with his family.