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Last Month, Washington Orthopaedic Center welcomed Dr. Melissa Kounine. Dr. Kounine joins the team from Hillsboro, Oregon, where she worked at a private practice following her time working for Kaiser Permanente in the Portland area. Her career has taken her all over the U.S., but Dr. Kounine says she especially loves the Pacific Northwest for its natural beauty, which is ideal for hiking or winter sports.

Dr. Kounine is a board certified orthopedic surgeon who specializes in total hip and knee replacements. Additionally, Dr. Kounine also specializes in treating orthopedic cancer cases. She was fellowship trained in orthopedic oncology at the University of Miami and later spent time practicing and teaching at the University of Toledo Medical center in Toledo, Ohio, where she was the Chief of Orthopedic Oncology, an Assistant Professor, and Associate Director of the Orthopedic Surgery Residency Program.

WA Ortho Dr. Kounine
Dr. Melissa Kounine attained her medical degree from the University of New England and has trained and practiced medicine all over the United States. Photo courtesy: Washington Orthopaedic Center

Dr. Kounine says she loves working in a private clinic setting like Washington Orthopaedic Center because it allows her to spend more time with her patients and individualize their care. She aims to give her patients the best treatment for their specific case and explores with them both operative and non-operative plans to find the best fit for each person.

The Washington Orthopaedic Center serves patients at their new Olympia area clinic in Tumwater and at their Centralia location five days a week. Dr. Kounine is available to see patients at both locations.

Dr. Kounine treats patients of all ages and walks of life and provides each patient with quality care, finding the best treatment option that will allow them to return to whatever it is that they love to do whether that is a sport, caring for horses or livestock, gardening, or walking their dog on the beach. She finds that each patient comes with a unique story. Her goal to return people to the activity level they were at before and as quickly as possible.

With more than 300,000 hip replacement surgeries performed in the U.S. every year, surgeons like Dr. Kounine look for ways provide the best possible care for their patients. One of the ways they do that is with a newer approach to the surgery called a direct anterior approach, or DAA. When performing a DAA, Dr. Kounine goes in between the muscle for the joint replacement instead of cutting directly thought the muscle. This technique is less invasive, resulting in less down time so the patient heals faster and can resume their regular activity levels again. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota found that patients who had a DAA hip replacement had a faster recovery rate than patients who had traditional hip replacement surgery.

Dr. Kounine
Dr. Kounine says she especially loves the Pacific Northwest for its natural beauty, which is ideal for hiking or winter sports. Photo courtesy: Washington Orthopaedics

Another option Dr. Kounine offers is an outpatient joint replacement. For most joint replacement, patients can expect to spend two to three days at the hospital. While outpatient joint replacement is only available for selected cases, candidates for outpatient hip replacement can expect to go home the day of the surgery. Reduced hospital stays are associated with reduced downtime following surgical procedures.

Modern surgical techniques that are minimally invasive and outpatient care are just two of the ways that Dr. Kounine can help her patients return to the activities they enjoy.

On March 1, Dr. Kounine joined the Washington Orthopaedic Center team as Dr. Keith V. Anderson prepared to retire at the end of the month. Dr. Anderson practiced at the Washington Orthopaedic Center for 27 years, after service as chief of staff at Providence Centralia Hospital, and spent many years volunteering at numerous hospitals overseas. Dr. Anderson says that he leaves the practice in the capable hands of a great team, which includes Dr. Kounine. Speaking of his time practicing at Washington Orthopaedic Center, Dr. Anderson states, “It is a pleasure to work in an office that shows genuine care for each other and genuine concern for our patients.”

Washington Orthopaedic
Conveniently located just off of Capitol Boulevard, the Washington Orthopaedic Center Olympia location sees patients daily. Photo courtesy: Holly Reed

When I spoke with, Dr. Kounine, she had been at Washington Orthopaedic Center for a little less than a month, but she was happy to be a part of the practice, and was already feeling welcomed as a part of the local community. She looks forward to serving many patients in the Olympia and Centralia areas for many years to come.

Washington Orthopaedic Center Olympia is located at 150 Dennis Street SW in Tumwater. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 1-800-342-0205.

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