Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Failure is part of advancing health care

Kevin R. Stone, MD
Conditions
February 17, 2015
100 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share

“Failure is not an option,” people sometimes say. I don’t agree.

I certainly have failed far more often than I have succeeded when I sought to do novel risky business adventures and/or create new products.  Without failure, I would never have learned the lessons of life or the lessons of business necessary to succeed in these spaces. As a physician and surgeon, I can tell you that failure is part of advancing the field.

So much of medicine is both a science in constant development and an art, elegantly practiced by the best of doctors. When I hear a doctor say, “I only do what is approved and permitted,” I hear a doctor stuck in the middle of the field.

When I see a regulation coming from an insurance company stating that they only will pay for proven medicines or procedures, I recognize an insurance business that does not understand that most of the practice of medicine has not been proven by any level 1 high-quality quality study, and those procedures that have been proven may have evolved since that study was completed. In fact, less than 5 percent of all papers submitted to one major sports medicine journal, Arthroscopy, were graded as level 1 studies.

Failure is the fuel of smart innovation. Taking risks means accepting that a certain percentage of the efforts won’t work, especially in surgery and patient care. Horrified? Think about it this way. The patients who come to see me from all over the world come because we have developed novel ways to replace the meniscus, articular cartilage and ligaments in their knees, even in people with osteoarthritis. The most common request is “Doc, isn’t there a shock absorber you can put in my knee. I still want to run marathons, play squash, walk without pain and am not ready for a knee replacement.” The answer is often yes.

We keep track of the success rates of the surgeries we perform. Data published by our research group demonstrated that 79 percent of 120 osteoarthritic patients who had their meniscus replaced were still enjoying all the benefits of their meniscus replacement up to 12 years from surgery. Based on the results seen up to the end of the study, we estimated that patients can expect an average of nearly ten years of pain and function improvements before having to consider joint replacement. Of the 49 high-level athlete patients that we studied, over 77 percent of them were still doing well up to 15 years after surgery.

Yet take note, almost a quarter of these patients did not achieve the level of success we were aiming for. In that sense, failure was part of the risk we both took as physicians and patients

These procedures, despite the successes and 30 years of experience developing them, remain in continuous development.  Although they are constantly improving, most recently with the additions of growth factors and stem cells, they don’t always work. Some knees and some patients will fail our best efforts. Our patients are counseled about this before surgery. We partner with them in the experience of solving difficult problems in novel ways and, fortunately, we have developed salvage procedures in the event the first try fails.

However, failure is our teacher. Failure teaches us which patients, which procedures will work and how to improve them. Without failure the field does not advance and patients are stuck with metal and plastic solutions, which, while not bad, are not for everyone. Worse still, many patients are told to live with their pain and wait until they are older for a joint replacement. Is the fear of failure really worth having people live in pain for a decade or more?

So push the envelope. Accept that things might not work out. Embrace failure as a great option because it permits the success of novel solutions that otherwise would not occur, as long as failure can be corrected later. Seek out success, even on the leading edge of science. And most importantly, reject the systems that prevent you from doing so.

Kevin R. Stone is an orthopedic surgeon and chairman, Stone Research Foundation.

Prev

Learning the language of Patient and Doctor

February 17, 2015 Kevin 9
…
Next

Are safe harbors the answer to medical malpractice?

February 17, 2015 Kevin 9
…

Tagged as: Orthopedics

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Learning the language of Patient and Doctor
Next Post >
Are safe harbors the answer to medical malpractice?

More by Kevin R. Stone, MD

  • What new doctors don’t realize. And it’s holding them back.

    Kevin R. Stone, MD
  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    Relax the rules for approving medical devices

    Kevin R. Stone, MD
  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    Quantified health and the great digital divide

    Kevin R. Stone, MD

More in Conditions

  • Why patients write: stress relief, self-care, and sharing experiences

    R. Lynn Barnett
  • Misinformed claims and the offensiveness of discrediting COVID-19 vaccine development

    Angel Garcia Otano, MD
  • Family support is pivotal in the treatment of schizophrenia

    Frank Chen, MD
  • Exploring disfigurement and self-worth

    Kathleen Watt
  • Are we doing enough to help chronic pain sufferers?

    Adam Strohl, MD
  • Lessons taught by Bell’s palsy

    Alexander Rakowsky, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • I’m a doctor, and I almost died during childbirth

      Bayo Curry-Winchell, MD | Physician
    • Balancing efficiency and compassion [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Motorcycle helmet laws: Balancing freedom and financial impact

      Stephen Cohn, MD | Conditions
    • A message of hope for physicians

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • The link between orofacial myofunctional disorders and dental health

      Stephanie Jeret | Conditions
    • How compassionate leadership saved this physician [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Medical gaslighting: a growing challenge in today’s medical landscape

      Tami Burdick | Conditions
    • Balancing opioid medication in chronic pain

      L. Joseph Parker, MD | Conditions
    • I want to be a doctor who can provide care for women: What states must I rule out for my medical education?

      Nandini Erodula | Education
    • Navigating the broken medical system: challenges faced by foreign medical graduates

      Anonymous | Physician
    • Mourning the silent epidemic: the physician suicide crisis and suggestions for change

      Amna Shabbir, MD | Physician
    • The essence of medicine: genuine connections in practice

      Jennifer Tillman, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Balancing efficiency and compassion [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Reigniting after burnout: 3 physician stories

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • Why patients write: stress relief, self-care, and sharing experiences

      R. Lynn Barnett | Conditions
    • Inside the grueling life of a surgery intern

      Randall S. Fong, MD | Physician
    • Misinformed claims and the offensiveness of discrediting COVID-19 vaccine development

      Angel Garcia Otano, MD | Conditions
    • Bitcoin’s role in diversified portfolios [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

Leave a Comment

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

CME Spotlights

From MedPage Today

Latest News

  • Did Gabapentin Improve Post-COVID Olfaction?
  • Fentanyl Death Trends; Food Additives and Heart Disease
  • What If the Doctor Is Out?
  • Reduced Mortality Seen in Cancer Survivors Who Meet Exercise Guidelines
  • CDC Advisors Endorse Maternal RSV Vax to Protect Newborns

Meeting Coverage

  • Loneliness Needs to Be Treated Like Any Other Health Condition, Researcher Suggests
  • Stopping Medical Misinformation Requires Early Detection
  • AI Has an Image Problem in Healthcare, Expert Says
  • Want Better Health Outcomes? Check Out What Other Countries Do
  • ERS Roundup: Cell Transplant Boosts Lung Function in COPD Patients
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • I’m a doctor, and I almost died during childbirth

      Bayo Curry-Winchell, MD | Physician
    • Balancing efficiency and compassion [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Motorcycle helmet laws: Balancing freedom and financial impact

      Stephen Cohn, MD | Conditions
    • A message of hope for physicians

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • The link between orofacial myofunctional disorders and dental health

      Stephanie Jeret | Conditions
    • How compassionate leadership saved this physician [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Medical gaslighting: a growing challenge in today’s medical landscape

      Tami Burdick | Conditions
    • Balancing opioid medication in chronic pain

      L. Joseph Parker, MD | Conditions
    • I want to be a doctor who can provide care for women: What states must I rule out for my medical education?

      Nandini Erodula | Education
    • Navigating the broken medical system: challenges faced by foreign medical graduates

      Anonymous | Physician
    • Mourning the silent epidemic: the physician suicide crisis and suggestions for change

      Amna Shabbir, MD | Physician
    • The essence of medicine: genuine connections in practice

      Jennifer Tillman, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Balancing efficiency and compassion [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Reigniting after burnout: 3 physician stories

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • Why patients write: stress relief, self-care, and sharing experiences

      R. Lynn Barnett | Conditions
    • Inside the grueling life of a surgery intern

      Randall S. Fong, MD | Physician
    • Misinformed claims and the offensiveness of discrediting COVID-19 vaccine development

      Angel Garcia Otano, MD | Conditions
    • Bitcoin’s role in diversified portfolios [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Leave a Comment

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...