Stephen S Tower

Title : A surgeon sings the cobalt blues

Abstract:

I will present a chronological account of my experience as patient, surgeon, researcher, and patient safety activist concerning Orthopedic-Implant-Cobaltism (OIC). My goals are to familiarize those listening with the following.

1. Cobalt’s toxidrome
2. Risk stratification for cobalt exposure based on implant type
3. Use of urine-cobalt and blood-cobalt to monitor patients at-risk
4. Use of the Cobaltism-Symptom-Inventory to screen patients for cobaltism
5. Approximate at-risk population
6. Remediation
7. Alternative orthopedic implant materials
8. Flawed pre-market and post-market orthopedic-implant regulatory processes
9. Role of Conflict-of-Interest in promotion of flawed orthopedic implants

Biography:

Stephen S. Tower, MD received his medical degree from the University of Washington (Seattle) and completed internship in Internal Medicine at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (Lebanon, NH) followed by 4 years of service at a General Medical Officer for the Indian Health Service. He then completed residency in Orthopedic Surgery at Oregon Health Sciences University (Portland). He is a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and is a current Diplomate of the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery. He has practiced Orthopedic Surgery in Anchorage since 1992 and is an affiliate Professor of Medicine at the University of Alaska. He works with Dartmouth Biomedical Engineering Center on research defining the failure mechanisms of modern hip replacements. This collaboration has resulted in multiple peer-reviewed publications.

Dr. Tower authored the index case report of cobaltism from modern primary hip replacement in 2010 followed by additional publications concerning this common yet underappreciated entity. His experience with arthroprosthetic cobaltism as patient, surgeon, and researcher has been featured in three book chapters, the Netflix’s documentary The Bleeding Edge, and episodes on the medical TV serials House, Gray’s Anatomy, and New Amsterdam. Dr. Tower continues to practice arthroprosthetic surgery in Anchorage, Alaska.