ORC Chicago Is Offering Personalized Orthopaedic Care To Patients

Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Centers is a private orthopaedic surgery and rehabilitation practice in Chicago. The center provides cutting edge, state-of-the-art orthopaedic care by board certified, highly trained orthopaedic specialists.

Gabriel S. Levi, MD, director of Joint Replacement and Sports Medicine prides himself and the practice on providing personal care to the patient and making a lasting impact on their well-being. Dr. Gabriel Levi is the chief of orthopedic surgery at Presence Saint Francis Hospital, as well as Presence Saints Mary and Elizabeth Medical Center. Learn more about ORC and Dr. Levi in this exclusive Patch one-on-one.

Patch: How long have you been doing business in town?

Dr. Levi: ORC was founded over 35 years ago by our current director, Roberto E. Levi, MD. Dr. Roberto Levi is a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon. He is originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina, and did two residencies and a hand surgery fellowship. Dr. Roberto Levi, Dr. Gabriel Levi, Dr. Jennifer Connor, Dr. David Saper and the staff at ORC have cared for thousands of patients in the Chicagoland area and have provided orthopaedic trauma care to many hospitals in Chicago throughout the past four decades.

Patch: What attracted you to the line of work you’re in, and how did you get started?

Dr. Levi: I knew that I wanted to be a doctor from childhood. Having been exposed to orthopaedics throughout my whole life, it was a natural decision as I always gravitated towards orthopaedics throughout my entire training. In orthopaedics we can really make an impact on peoples quality of living and this is why a enjoy it so much.

I am especially fascinated by knee, hip, and shoulder injuries. For that reason I did an additional training at the Insall Scott Kelly Institute (ISK), in Manhattan. The Insall Scott Kelly Institute was the birthplace of the first total knee replacements in America.

I joined ORC to work with my father, the founder of ORC, Roberto E Levi MD. At ORC we have maintained a personal family type feel in our practice together with our other highly trained orthopaedic specialists: Dr. Jennifer Connor (foot and ankle specialist) and Dr. David Saper (co-director of sports medicine).

Patch: If you had to sum up your business mission to a stranger, what would you say?

Dr. Levi: At ORC we pride ourselves in personal care to the patient. We are highly trained and highly skilled specialists, that are committed to excellence. We have been dedicated to rapid recovery and minimally invasive surgery, including outpatient joint replacements and minimally invasive sports medicine procedures. Together with our physical therapists, we are caring for the patient from injury to full recovery with a team approach.

In today's ever changing environment of medicine, we believe that patients do best when they are heard by their doctors, and the staff at ORC is dedicated to providing personal state of the art care to our patients.

Patch: What’s the most satisfying part of your job?

Dr. Levi: The most satisfying part of my job is that I am fortunate to have patients that allow me to participate in their lives and make an everlasting impact on their well-being. Many of my patients cannot even walk a few feet on their own when they arrive at our office for their first visit. After they recover, these very same people can walk without even the assistance of a cane.

At ORC we are truly able to provide a service to the community. By working at community hospitals we are very involved in our patient's care from start to finish. We can utilize our knowledge and skill to improve the lives of people that are truly in need. We often see workers that are injured and we are called upon to help them get better so they can get back to work again and provide for their families. Other times we are caring for someone’s mother, sister or brother and it is our job to help their loved ones get better and recover quickly so they can better enjoy their lives.

I especially enjoy providing rapid recovery orthopaedic care. At ORC, we have developed protocols and systems that are based on the most current research and technology. Today we are able to replace knees, hips and shoulders. Patients are walking and climbing stairs the same day and even going home within hours of the procedures.

One of my favorite procedures that we are performing today is partial joint resurfacing. In these surgeries we resurface only part of the joint surface and leave the rest of the joint in its native form. This allows patients to return to their regular activities and recover much more quickly.

Patch: How would you say your business or organization distinguishes itself from the others?

Dr. Levi: Our business distinguishes itself from others because we feel we provide very personal care by our physicians. We operate at community hospitals in which we are the leading and most trusted providers in those hospitals. Because of this, our doctors actually learn about their patients and are 100 percent involved with your care. We perform all of our surgeries and we take great pride in our very low complication rate and our very high rate of success and satisfaction.

We feel that we are very much an all-inclusive practice of orthopaedics where we can provide specialized orthoapedic care for almost every body part or orthopaedic injury.

Finally, we have a long standing reputation of caring for the Latino community of Chicago. Because of my background and my father's background, being from Argentina, the Hispanic community has relied on ORC for its orthopaedic care for over 35 years.

Patch: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given when it comes to success?

Dr. Levi: The best advice I have been given when it comes to success is the following: The most important thing you can do as a doctor is be honest and caring. It's important to focus on being a good doctor and focus on achieving the best result for each patient. If you do this, you will always be successful in medicine because patients and their families will always recognize and appreciate this.

Patch: What are your areas of expertise in orthopaedics?

Dr. Levi: The most exciting areas of orthopaedics that we are involved with at ORC today are:

1. Rapid recovery and outpatient joint replacement surgery
2. Partial joint resurfacing
3. Minimally invasive sports medicine and joint replacement surgery
4. Stem cell treatment and biologics for non-operative orthopaedic care of arthritis and tendon and muscle injuries
5. Robotic and patient specific joint replacement surgery
6. Non-operative, non-invasive new techniques for pain management and treatment of arthritis, tendon and joint pain, as well as back and neck pain

Patch: Are there any new projects or endeavors you’re working on that you’re extra excited about?

Dr. Levi: I am very excited about our rapid recovery and minimally invasive joint replacement program. I have worked with the hospitals as well as surgicenters to develop a state-of-the-art joint replacement program that is protocol driven and is achieving excellent results in rapid recovery and outpatient, or short stay joint replacement surgery with very low complication rates.

My focus is currently on outpatient and rapid recovery joint replacement surgery.

We are also very focused on providing minimally invasive sports medicine and foot and ankle care to a wide range of patients, from highly competitive athletes to weekend athletes to injuries that occur doing regular every day activities.

Patch: How can Patch readers learn more about your work and business?

Dr. Levi: Please visit ORC Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Center's website or learn more about me on my website. We can be reached at 773-878-6233.

This Patch article is sponsored by Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Centers

Image Credit: Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Centers