Meet Dr. Jeff Sundblad, ThedaCare Orthopedic Care
An orthopedic surgeon is a specialist in the treatment of injury and ailments of the body’s bones, joints, and soft tissues (muscles, tendons, and ligaments). Dr. Jeff Sundblad of ThedaCare Orthopedic Care is an orthopedic trauma surgeon, also known as a fracture specialist. His additional training enables him to treat traumatic injuries like multiple broken bones, compound fractures, fractures near a joint, or pelvis fractures. “I am working with the sickest, most broken patients. Many are victims of severe accidents. There are so many ways we can help them, and I love being part of that healing and recovery process,” he said.
Dr. Sundblad vividly recalls a patient he met during his orthopedic surgery trauma fellowship at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Chattanooga. The wake boarder had broken the cup portion of his hip joint and couldn’t bear any weight on the injured joint for three full months. Sundblad helped restore the strength and alignment of the joint’s surfaces so it could return to healthy function. “I met the patient in my first month there and within six months, he was back to normal activity. It was a fantastic ending to a very daunting situation.”
Dr. Sundblad grew up in West Bend and attended the University of Wisconsin where he entered the UW Medical Scholars program, a program to admit undergrads to the UW School of Medicine and Public Health based on their high school academic merit, volunteer work, and demonstrated interest in medicine. Now discontinued, the initiative was established to attract aspiring Wisconsin physicians to both learn and serve in the state after graduation. “And it did work out that way,” he said. “My wife and I looked at big cities during our job search, and we chose ThedaCare because we know Wisconsin is a great place to raise our family.”
Dr. Sundblad completed his orthopedic surgery residency at Detroit Medical Center after medical school. There he met the woman who became his wife. Tiffany is a master’s-degreed counselor and at the time she was working as a child life specialist, a person who helps children cope with their hospital stays and the anxiety-producing medical procedures they must often undergo.
When not in surgery, responding to ER calls, or seeing post-surgery patients in the clinic, Sundblad and his wife are busy parents of a one-year-old little girl. Running, bicycling, travel, and appreciating good food are favorite family activities.
