Kevin Himschoot, M.D., orthopedic surgeon, is the newest member of the team at Norton Orthopedic Institute – Brownsboro, specializing in knee and hip replacements.

Dr. Himschoot recently completed a joint replacement fellowship at Norton Brownsboro Hospital, where he learned anterior approach hip replacement surgery using intraoperative fluoroscopy. The technique allows for precision down to the millimeter.

“It’s more precise than it’s ever been done before,” Dr. Himschoot said. “Compared with 20 years ago, it’s a night and day difference. It certainly leads to better patient outcomes.”

Dr. Himschoot’s training also included a robotic-assisted knee replacement surgery using the ROSA Knee System being pioneered at Norton Orthopedic Institute, the first and currently only provider in the Louisville area using the leading-edge technology.

Robotic-assisted surgery is the future of total knee arthroplasty, according to Dr. Himschoot, who used four different robotic systems over the course of his residency and fellowship.

“The future is starting to be realized,” he said. “The robots we’re using are much better than the human eye at being able to make adjustments by a millimeter or half a degree at a time.”

Without the advanced technology, knee replacement can be primarily a matter of feel. With robotic-assisted procedures, the surgeon can achieve precision based on each individual’s anatomy, according to Dr. Himschoot.

In addition to total hip and total knee replacements, Dr. Himschoot also does revisions and partial knee replacements.

According to Dr. Himschoot, he feels lucky to be training at a time of enormous changes in joint replacement.

“I’m benefiting hugely from decades of other people’s experience,” he said.

Originally from Sanford, Florida, a suburb of Orlando, Dr. Himschoot said he wanted to be surgeon since he was in high school.

“Surgery was my first dream, my first and only passion of what I wanted to be when I grew up,” he said.

Surgery was a natural fit since he spent a lot of time growing up working with tools with his father, and with his uncle, who fixed houses for living.

“When I did my orthopedics rotation in medical school, it felt like it was back home,” he said. “It just clicked.”

Dr. Himschoot attended Florida State University College of Medicine in Tallahassee, and did his medical residency at the University of Louisville before his fellowship in hip and knee replacement at Norton Brownsboro Hospital.

“I think the biggest the reason I went into the reconstruction work is giving people back what they had in terms of a functionality and quality of life,” Dr. Himshoot said. “That’s how I try to approach patients. I’m lucky to be in a field where I can do that.

“Whether it’s getting back to skiing or kneeling and playing with their grandkids, I have the tools and the training to help.”