Jakub Tatka, MD - Hip and Pelvis Reconstruction Fellow
It’s funny how a certain event in your life can shape your future. Such was the case with Dr. Jakub “Kuba” Tatka. After studying music and technology at Connecticut College, he was accepted to SUNY Stony Brook School of Medicine, where he began traveling to South America on medical missions, including Peru and Nicaragua. “I was able to assist in a total knee replacement in Nicaragua and as a medical student, you don’t usually get that kind of hands on experience. I immediately fell in love with it.” Falling in love with knee surgery may sound strange to some outside of the medical world, but coming from a music and technology background, surgery just made sense.
“Music is like surgery, in that you have to be in tune with what is happening, observe, and then be able to make adjustments according to what you are experiencing,” he said. Coming from a family of architects, Dr. Tatka was born to look at the world with deeper insight into all of its working parts. “My dad could fix anything,” he said laughing. “One of my favorite things to do was watching him fix cars and stuff around the house. I knew at the age of seven I wanted to be a doctor. I just didn’t know that orthopedics would be what would resonate with me for until much later.” He grew up just outside of New York City in Bedford, NY, but spent time in the city working as a neuroscience researcher, cementing his love of asking questions and looking outside the box for answers.
And why did he want to come to Vail to further his skills as a fellow? To join Dr. Joel Matta at the esteemed Steadman Clinic. “He is a legend in the orthopedic world. He literally revolutionized the hip replacement. To be able to work closely with someone like him, someone as kind and as generous with his time and ideas, there is no better place to be.” He especially hopes to learn from Dr. Matta in the types of modern techniques he uses during surgery and take these concepts back to his future patients in New York City, where he plans on residing with his wife, who is completing her residency training in dermatology in California. “I know being apart is hard now, but it will all be worth it,” he said. “To be able to tell my patients that they are getting the best techniques because I get to learn from the best is just a wonderful feeling.”