Dr. P. Douglas Kiester, MD

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Get to know Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. P. Douglas Kiester, who serves patients throughout the State of California.

Dr. Kiester is a seasoned orthopedic surgeon who sees patients at UCI Medical Center in Orange, California & at The Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine Center in Costa Mesa/Newport Beach. He does major spinal reconstruction including spinal stenosis, scoliosis, tumors, complex revision surgery, and trauma. He is also an expert in microsurgery.

UCI Health is home to some of Orange County’s most highly trained and experienced orthopaedic surgeons, nurses, and therapists treating disorders and injuries of the musculoskeletal system. Superior comprehensive care under one roof allows patients to achieve the highest degree of functional outcome possible. The surgeons have received top awards for their work and authored more than hundreds of peer-reviewed publications in the world’s leading textbooks and journals representing the best scholarship currently available in the field.

While Dr. Kiester has been on the forefront for developing new surgical devices and is a technical consultant to industry, he is very conservative and will often choose not to implant any device if he feels that is what is best for the patient. Microsurgery is very effective in some cases, and in others it should be avoided. He is very excited that the new fusion technology has almost completely eliminated the need for taking bone graft, thereby eliminating a major source of pain for the patient. 

One of the reasons that Dr. Kiester is in a University practice (serving as a Professor in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine) is because he loves to teach. This includes teaching the patients how to best care for themselves, and simple, detailed discussions about any surgery.

Upon receiving his undergraduate degree from the University of Utah, Dr. Kiester went on to graduate with his medical degree from the Indiana University School of Medicine. He completed his surgical internship at the University of Southern California and his residency in orthopedic surgery at Bronx-Lebanon Medical Center in New York City. He did a fellowship in spine surgery at Rush-Presbyterian St. Luke’s in Chicago, and a one year fellowship in pathokinesiology (biomechanics) at Rancho Los Amigos Hospital in Downey, California. He was also in the PhD program in Biophysics and Computing at the University of Utah when he entered medical school. 

A Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, he is a member of the Western Orthopaedic Association, the Orange County Medical Association, the California Orthopaedic Association, the California Association of Accident Reconstruction Specialists, the Accident Reconstruction Communications Network, and the European Spine Society.

Named one of America’s Top Doctors by Castle Connolly, Dr. Kiester is board-certified in orthopedic surgery by the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery, an organization with the goal of establishing educational and professional standards for orthopedic residents and surgeons as well as evaluating the qualifications and competence of orthopedic surgeons.

Orthopedic surgery is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgical and non-surgical means to treat musculoskeletal trauma, spine diseases, sports injuries, degenerative diseases, infections, tumors, and congenital disorders.

Among his research interests, Dr. Kiester filed 4 patents in 2008. His research on how the lumbar spine (low back) rotates helps explain why the lumbar artificial disk replacements have had such poor results, and suggests how adult scoliosis is caused and progresses. His discovery of the mechanical cause of adolescent scoliosis promises to eventually (not for a few years yet) eliminate the need to fuse teenage spines for routine scoliosis. This model suggests that bracing in this type of scoliosis may do more harm than good. He has taught himself 5 different computer 3-D software programs over the past several years to better understand the fine points of spinal mechanics, improve spinal tools and technology, and assist in his research. 

On a more personal note, Dr. Kiester is a father and family man with six children.

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