orthonam

Research

Research and Publications

Hee Seung Nam, MD, Orthopedic Surgeon · Updated

I test the questions that arise in clinic through research and bring the results back into practice. The research is organized by field, done with the knee team at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital and the bone and soft tissue tumor team at the Korea Cancer Center Hospital.

23 articlesJournal articles
6 articlesFirst-author articles
5 articlesPublished in KSSTA
(official journal of the European Society of Sports Traumatology, Knee Surgery and Arthroscopy)
4 articlesArtificial intelligence studies

Featured research

Level of evidence 1 · Randomized controlled trial · First author

If you explain “realistic expectations” before surgery, does satisfaction after joint replacement rise?

172 patients about to have joint replacement were randomly divided into two groups. One group received the usual education only; the other received additional education that explained the recovery course and realistic expectations in detail. One year after surgery, 83% were satisfied, compared with 65% in the group that received only the usual education. The difference was larger in people with a constitution especially sensitive to pain (central sensitization).

I also did a follow-up randomized study (2025) tracking the same patients to two years. The difference in satisfaction at one year had disappeared at two years. The effect of less pain and stiffness appeared from 6 months, and the effect on pain lasted to one year. It means that explanation before surgery helps people get through the hardest first year of recovery.

That is why I take time to explain before surgery. The first study was published in KSSTA (2023), the official journal of the European Society of Sports Traumatology, Knee Surgery and Arthroscopy (ESSKA), and the follow-up in the same journal (2025).

See the 2023 paper →   See the 2025 follow-up paper →

Analysis of 863 patients · First author

Do iron injections after joint replacement help?

I compared 863 patients who had joint replacement, between those who received an intravenous iron injection afterward and those who did not. In the iron group, hemoglobin fell less and recovered better at 2 and 6 weeks after surgery, and among those who had both knees done in separate operations, the hospital stay was also shorter. However, there was no difference in transfusion rate, complications or final functional outcome.

Only by knowing both the effect and the limits can I recommend it to the people who truly need it.

Artificial intelligence · 3 first-author articles

Reading the outcome in advance from a single image and preoperative information

I built a deep learning model that predicts whole-leg alignment from an ordinary knee X-ray alone, and it showed accuracy similar to values measured directly on a full-leg film. I also developed a model that predicts satisfaction after joint replacement from preoperative information, and a model that picks out cases in bowed-leg correction that need a two-level osteotomy.

I think of artificial intelligence not as a tool that replaces clinical care but as a tool that double-checks information easily missed in the same image.

Bone and soft tissue tumors: 4 articles

The rarer the tumor, the more important the record

At the Korea Cancer Center Hospital I analyzed the treatment results of extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcoma and myxoid liposarcoma, and the survival and complications of patients with a malignant bone tumor whose entire femur was replaced with a prosthesis. For tenosynovial giant cell tumor of the knee, I summarized how effective arthroscopic excision is depending on the extent of spread.

Related column: A lump you can feel: lipoma or sarcoma? →

By field

  • Joint replacement8
  • Bowed-leg correction and alignment5
  • Meniscus, ligaments and arthritis5
  • Bone and soft tissue tumors4
  • Other1

Joint replacement

8 articles

Satisfaction, recovery and technique in knee replacement

  1. A randomized controlled trial of whether preoperative “realistic expectations” education raises satisfaction after joint replacement

    Preoperative education on realistic expectations improves the satisfaction of patients with central sensitization after total knee arthroplasty: a randomized-controlled trial

    Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy · 2023First author

  2. A follow-up randomized controlled trial tracking the same education effect to two years: the effect at one year had disappeared by two years

    The preoperative education on realistic expectations does not continually improve patients' satisfaction after total knee arthroplasty? A randomized controlled trial with serial assessment

    Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy · 2025

  3. The effect of an intravenous iron injection after joint replacement on hemoglobin recovery

    Postoperative Intravenous Iron Supplementation Increases Hemoglobin Level in Total Knee Arthroplasty

    The Journal of Knee SurgeryFirst author

  4. A machine learning model predicting satisfaction after joint replacement from preoperative information

    The development of machine learning algorithms that can predict patients satisfaction using baseline characteristics, and preoperative and operative factors of total knee arthroplasty

    The KneeFirst authorArtificial intelligence

  5. Predicting the need for ligament balancing in joint replacement of bowlegged knees from innate leg alignment

    Constitutional alignment predicts medial ligament balancing in mechanically aligned total knee arthroplasty for varus knees

    Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy

  6. How the reference-setting method for joint replacement affects size, position and gap balance

    Does referencing system affect the selection of implant size, position and gap balance in total knee arthroplasty?

    The Knee

  7. Comparing whether an anatomically shaped tibial component covers the bone well while also preserving rotational alignment

    The use of an anatomic tibial baseplate in total knee arthroplasty optimizes coverage without compromising rotation: A propensity-matched evaluation

    The Knee

  8. Comparing mid-term results of two joint replacement designs

    Clinical relevance of roll-back replacement of ultra congruent total knee arthroplasty: comparison of mid-term outcomes with posterior stabilizing design

    Archives of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery

Bowed-leg correction and alignment

5 articles

Proximal tibial osteotomy and leg alignment analysis

  1. A machine learning model that picks out cases in bowed-leg correction that need a two-level osteotomy

    Development of a machine learning model for identifying the optimal situation favoring double-level osteotomy over single-level high tibial osteotomy

    The KneeFirst authorArtificial intelligence

  2. Deep learning that predicts whole-leg alignment from an ordinary knee X-ray alone

    Key-Point Detection Algorithm of Deep Learning Can Predict Lower Limb Alignment with Simple Knee Radiographs

    Journal of Clinical Medicine · 2023First authorArtificial intelligence

  3. Predicting alignment change after osteotomy from the tilt of the joint line

    Constitutional and postoperative joint line obliquity can predict serial alignment change after opening-wedge high tibial osteotomy: analysis using coronal plane alignment of the knee classification

    Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy

  4. Comparing kneecap alignment according to the osteotomy site

    Retro-tubercular Bi-planar Medial Opening-Wedge High Tibial Osteotomy Results in Superior Patellofemoral Alignment Versus Supra-tubercular Osteotomy

    Arthroscopy

  5. Tracking how the load on the knee shifts after osteotomy

    Serial Quantitative Assessment of Load Redistribution After Medial Open-Wedge High Tibial Osteotomy

    Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine

Meniscus, ligaments and arthritis

5 articles

Discoid meniscus, meniscus transplantation, cruciate ligaments and progression of arthritis

  1. Factors that predict lateral-side arthritis in discoid meniscus, a machine learning analysis

    Age and medial compartmental OA were important predictors of the lateral compartmental OA in the discoid lateral meniscus: Analysis using machine learning approach

    Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, ArthroscopyArtificial intelligence

  2. Alignment and joint changes after surgery for discoid meniscus in adults

    Arthroscopic Meniscal Repair and Meniscectomy for Adult Discoid Lateral Meniscus Results in Progression to Valgus Alignment and Lateral Compartment Degeneration Compared With Nonoperative Treatment and Nondiscoid Lateral Meniscus

    Arthroscopy

  3. Comparing anatomical restoration and outcomes of medial and lateral meniscus transplantation

    Assessment of Anatomic Restoration and Clinical Outcomes Between Medial and Lateral Meniscal Allograft Transplantation

    Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine

  4. The relationship between tunnel position and graft condition in posterior cruciate ligament reconstruction

    Association Between Tunnel Position, Tunnel Angle, Graft Signal Intensity, and Graft Thickness in the Reconstructed Posterior Cruciate Ligament

    Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine

  5. Can progression of knee arthritis be predicted from conditions that differ for each patient?

    Do Individualized Patient-Specific Situations Predict the Progression Rate and Fate of Knee Osteoarthritis? Prediction of Knee Osteoarthritis

    Journal of Clinical Medicine

Bone and soft tissue tumors

4 articles

Treatment outcomes of sarcomas and bone tumors

  1. Tenosynovial giant cell tumor of the knee: the effect of arthroscopic excision according to the extent of spread

    Effectiveness of arthroscopic excision based on the distribution of the tenosynovial giant cell tumor around knee joint

    The Knee

  2. Treatment results of extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcoma

    The Clinical Outcome of Extraskeletal Myxoid Chondrosarcoma

    Journal of the Korean Orthopaedic Association

  3. Survival and complications in patients whose entire femur was replaced with a prosthesis for a malignant bone tumor

    Factors for Survival and Complications of Malignant Bone Tumor Patients with a Total Femoral Replacement

    Journal of the Korean Orthopaedic Association

  4. Myxoid liposarcoma: the experience of a single institution

    Myxoid Liposarcoma: A Single Institute Experience

    Journal of the Korean Orthopaedic Association

Other

1 article

Basic research

  1. Inhibitory effect of a peptide on pigmentation (basic research)

    Hypopigmentary Effects of Dipeptides in B16 Melanoma Cells

    Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of KoreaFirst author

About this list

  • I have organized the journal articles in which I took part as an author by field. Correction notices for the same article are not counted separately.
  • Click an article title to go to the original publication information. The original PDFs are under the publishers' copyright and are not posted on this site.
  • The descriptive titles are paraphrased to aid understanding and are not the articles' official titles.