The adult human body is made up of 206 bones, give or take a few here and there. They form the framework of the body, from the top of your skull to the tips of your toes. When you damage or break a bone, OrthoKansas has experts that can help you get moving again.

Dr. Ryan Xiao is one of the orthopedic surgeons specializing in treating injuries to the 54 bones that make up your wrist and hand. Seeds planted while playing tennis during his youth led him to work in medicine and care for people.

“I had a lot of injuries, though nothing severe, when I played tennis. Going through physical therapy and treating my injuries gave me time to learn more about the musculoskeletal system and how it works,” he said. “It turns out I liked that, so orthopedics is the path I went down.”

While Xiao enjoys all aspects of orthopedics and finds mending bones throughout the body gratifying, mentorship is what really directed him to his specialty. He completed a residency in orthopedic surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and a fellowship in hand and upper extremity surgery at Harvard Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

“I had really great, inspiring mentors in residency, specifically in the hand departments, and they were both very knowledgeable and technically proficient. And one of them told me the best surgeons were hand surgeons, so here I am,” he said.

Having a hand specialist like Dr. Neal Lintecum on staff at OrthoKansas has provided another source of support and mentorship. Xiao said that while you can read about certain things in textbooks, having someone who has seen and done them and works in the same clinic is invaluable.

“Things may not be as simple as they’ve been described or the outcome might not be what you read about. It’s amazing to have Dr. Lintecum available as a base of reference when I’ve got some of those more complex, difficult or unusual cases,” Xiao said.

Keeping you on your feet

If your foot or ankle is the issue, Dr. Cole McGregor takes care of those 29 bones.

“You don’t really appreciate how important your feet are until something goes wrong with them. I love being able to help people recover from an injury that’s limited them and get them back up walking or playing sports,” he said.

McGregor completed his residency at Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago and a clinical fellowship in Foot & Ankle Reconstruction at The University of Tennessee Health Science Center-Campbell Clinic in Memphis. He said that the variety of foot and ankle conditions and injuries he treats in the clinic and operating room also keeps things interesting.

“If I have ten surgical cases in a week, it can translate to eight or nine different procedures that I’m doing. It keeps my job challenging and makes me excited to go to work,” he said.

What’s the best part about being an orthopedic surgeon? McGregor loves being able to see a problem, discuss treatment options and fix the issue.

“It’s rewarding to care for a patient, see their improvement and tell them to come see me as they need me,” he said. “If that patient doesn’t come back because I’ve fixed their problem, that’s incredibly gratifying and something that not a lot of jobs can provide.”

Same start, same clinic

Within any month, you’ll frequently find more than one doctor who began working at LMH Health, but it’s less common to have multiple doctors join the same clinic in a month’s time. OrthoKansas bucked that trend as Xiao and McGregor both joined the OrthoKansas team in September 2024.

“It’s been great for us to start new roles at the same time,” McGregor said. “We’re able to bounce ideas off each other and talk about those things that we’re both going through, like the board certification process. Having someone here who is in the same boat has been wonderful.”

Xiao said being part of the team is a great experience. Everyone on staff is knowledgeable, kind and caring. He’s confident recommending patients get care at OrthoKansas.

“Our whole team is amazing from top to bottom, and I’m honored when people come see me. Our hand therapists, physician assistants, medical assistants — everyone is willing to listen and we’re here to help you get better,” he said.

McGregor agreed that patients will get outstanding care at OrthoKansas.

“We have musculoskeletal experts, whether that’s foot and ankle, hand and wrist, shoulder, trauma or sports medicine. And for a community of this size, that’s fairly unique,” McGregor said. “We have a singular focus on taking care of people and that that leads to good outcomes.”

— Autumn Bishop is the marketing manager and content strategist at LMH Health, which is a sponsor of the Lawrence Journal-World health section.