WOGO Surgeons

                              AudreyTsao, MD, Arizona

Dr. Audrey Tsao is a fellowship-trained orthopaedic surgeon who specializes in total joint reconstruction of the hip and knee, minimally invasive surgery and in the revision of total joint replacement surgeries. She received her medical training at Cornell University and Johns Hopkins University. Currently in private practice at the Sun Valley Orthopaedic Surgeons Center in Arizona, Audrey has published over one hundred articles and abstracts, lectures extensively at industry conferences and has earned multiple awards.

Audrey’s passion for her profession is demonstrated through the three faces of Audrey: the physician/clinician, the academic/researcher and the mentor/teacher. As a healthcare provider, her first priority is to give her patients the best possible orthopaedic care, making them healthy as soon as she can. As a result, any issues or unanswered questions that pose a limitation or obstacle to this goal drive her as an academic. Then, once she has a better understanding, she feels a responsibility to share her knowledge with others. Audrey enjoys the reciprocity of teaching and mentoring and the cycle of learning where the teacher can become the student.

With the insights gained from her extensive career of caring for female patients, Audrey is excited about responding to the special needs of the women served during WOGO Missions. In many parts of the world, women’s health is not a priority, not in their community, and sadly, not even to themselves as they are always focused on taking care of others, she explains. “Sometimes it takes another woman to reach out and to help them look inward. I hope our small efforts grow into something more grand than any of us even dreamed of, that 100 years from now people will remember how six women provided orthopaedic care to women in need and it helped to create a global collaborative women’s health movement”.

                           Jennifer Cook, MD, Florida

Dr. Jennifer Cook is a fellowship-trained orthopaedic surgeon and a member of the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons. She received her medical training from both MIT and Harvard University and is currently in private practice at the Florida Joint Replacement and Sports Medicine Center in New Port Richey, FL. She has completed the Insall Scott Kelly Fellowship in adult reconstruction and sports medicine in New York City and has published numerous articles in prominent orthopaedic journals. Her areas of expertise include primary and revision knee replacements, hip arthroplasty, minimally invasive surgery, arthroscopy of the knee and shoulder, ligament reconstruction and fracture management.

The youngest member of the WOGO team, Jennifer started her professional career in the biomedical engineering field designing orthotic and prosthetic limbs. During her undergraduate time at the University of Michigan, she applied for a summer fellowship in an orthopaedic biomechanical laboratory. This lab had close ties with the hospital and Jennifer was afforded the opportunity to participate in rounds with orthopaedic surgeons. This experience made her realize that she wanted to develop her skills to allow her to directly impact the lives of patients. Now, she thrives on making human connections every day and makes sure that her patients feel her concern for their quality of life.

Jennifer is excited about the opportunity to give back so early in her career. “My vision for our Outreach is to see the difference I can help to make in people’s lives by performing successful surgeries, sharing ideas with in-country surgeons and meeting with Health Ministry government officials. In some countries, women who are unable to walk are often outcasts in their communities. If I can improve their lives, they will be better able to take care of themselves, their families and contribute to their communities.” To learn more about Jennifer, visit www.drjennifercook.com.

                           Rinelda Horton, MD, Maryland

Dr. Rinelda Horton is a fellowship-trained orthopaedic surgeon in the Orthopaedics Department at the Kaiser Permanente Mid-Atlantic Medical Group in Maryland. A member of various medical societies, her expertise is in conservative and operative treatment of osteoarthritis, arthroscopic and reconstructive surgery of the knee, hip and shoulder and newer techniques of minimally invasive reconstructive surgery.

Rinelda has been opening doors throughout her career and she was the only African-American woman in her orthopaedic residency group when she graduated, and she became the first African-American woman to complete a fellowship in joint replacement surgery at the University Hospital of Cleveland. She makes time to mentor female medical students interested in a career in orthopaedics and encourages other female orthopaedic surgeons by sharing advice that she received from a mentor who told her, “I don’t know anyone who doesn’t appreciate hard work, excel at that, and you will succeed anywhere you go”.

Rinelda is exited about her WOGO Missions abroad. “The challenges I experienced during my medical training and my desire to be the best at what I do has uniquely prepared me for this type of medical mission. I look forward to leaving behind happy patients, stronger women and strong communities in WOGO Mission served Destinations.””

                             Robyn Hakanson, MD, N. Carolina

Dr. Robyn Hakanson is a fellowship-trained orthopaedic surgeon and a fellow in the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. She received her medical training at the Duke University School of Medicine and the Insall Scott Kelly Institute in New York, NY in a fellowship for adult reconstruction and sports medicine. Earlier in her career, she served as a team doctor for the Charlotte Sting of the WNBA and the University of Northern Colorado football team. She is now part of a private practice at Tri-County Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine in North Carolina, where her specialties are joint replacements and sports medicine.

Robyn learned the importance of caring for others early in life, and as a person of faith, she has always felt that God has placed her where he wants her to be. So she cares for athletes, both professionals and every day athletes, like the men and women in her community that want to rejoin their walking club, or their friends on the golf course or those who want to resume their “weekend warrior” activities. She answers calls on weekends when kids in her neighborhood are hurt playing sports, and she volunteers at the free clinic in the community. Despite her busy schedule, she knows her children understand because she is teaching them that “when your life in blessed, you take time to care for others”.

As one of the founding surgeons of WOGO, she is excited about seeing her dream come to fruition. She explains, “My life will be forever changed by being a part of their lives.”

                            Amanda Marshall, MD, Texas

Dr. Amanda Marshall is a fellowship-trained orthopaedic surgeon in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, where she is also the Director of the Resident Clinical Research Community. She received her medical training at the University of Texas Medical School and completed a fellowship at Rush University in Chicago. Amanda has authored multiple peer-reviewed articles and textbook chapters, as well as presented research at scientific conferences in the U.S. and Canada, and has received several research awards over the past decade. Her expertise is in geriatric bone health, complex hip and knee reconstructions and revision surgery to correct failed replacements.

In addition to her busy schedule as a surgeon, Amanda also engages in extensive research, helping to bridge the gap between the hospital bedside and the research bench. As a physician, she sees chronic arthritis and joint problems every day and being a researcher gives her the opportunity to work with academia to study these problems and develop the tools and technologies that help her do a better job. “The usual perception of surgery is that it’s delicate, and it often is. But orthopaedic surgery is hard work, it’s very physical, and I am always amazed that such a powerful process and robust tools could be a part of the beautiful art of healing and restoration of the body.”

Early in her life, Amanda’s mother told her that her destiny was to care for the elderly. Now, as she performs surgeries during WOGO Missions, she is honored to care for WOGO Mission Patients, many of them elderly women, and restoring their independence and quality of life.

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