CLERMONT—When Michael Messieh, MD, was growing up in New Brunswick, Canada, a fishing village of 1,500 residents located on the Atlantic coastline, the small-town boy dreamed of becoming a doctor and practicing medicine in a much warmer climate.

 

With a thriving orthopedic practice—Messieh Orthopedics specializes in joint replacement surgery with offices in Clermont, The Villages and at Dr. Phillips Hospital—Messieh achieved his goal.

 

The middle of three children born to Chuck, a marine researcher for the Canadian government who recently retired after 30 years of service, and Samia, a homemaker who taught by example, Messieh and his siblings all became doctors. His brother, Sam, is a joint replacement orthopedic surgeon in Haines City; his sister, Mary, is an internist specializing in allergy/immunology in Canada.

 

Messieh’s interest in biology and mechanics led him to Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on a full scholarship. After only two years of undergraduate studies, Messieh was accepted to the Ottawa School of Medicine in Ottawa, Ontario. He returned to Ottawa to complete his orthopedic residency. 

 

“I followed in my brother’s footsteps and chose orthopedic surgery,” said Messieh. “I was intrigued by the combination of biology and mechanics and encouraged by the pain relief that joint replacement patients obtained.”

 

In 1992, Messieh completed a joint replacement fellowship specializing in hip, knee and shoulder reconstruction at New England Baptist Hospital in Boston, Mass., and also began publishing peer-reviewed papers.

 

After “enduring the cold in Minnesota for 10 long winters,” he recalled, performing total joint replacement and arthroscopy procedures at hospitals in St. Paul and Minneapolis, he relocated to Central Florida, where he performs advanced techniques in knee, hip and shoulder joint replacement, including minimally invasive surgery. He’s on the orthopedic surgery staff at South Lake Hospital in Clermont and Dr. Phillips Hospital in Orlando.

 

Board-certified by the Canadian and American Boards of Orthopedic Surgery, Messieh is involved in the Florida Medical Association, American Shoulder and Elbow Society, and American Academy of Orthopedics, and maintains ongoing research projects.

 

Among other notable local achievements, Messieh developed expertise with the anterior hip approach without using a traction table, and performed the first reverse shoulder replacement at Orlando Regional Medical Center. He routinely hosts patient seminars as a way to share news and new technologies and advances in joint replacement surgery with the community.

 

Messieh also has an avid passion for computers. He bought his first Apple Macintosh computer 10 years ago, and has been a loyal user since then. Five years ago, he joined the Hyper Card User group online and learned how to create simple but effective programs called stacks. “Hyper Card,” he explained, “introduced in 1987, was one of Apple’s most successful tools for creating custom software solutions for users of all skill levels.”

 

Messieh then became interested in Javascript and recently developed software that he uses in his daily office practice written in Visual Basic. The program makes use of userforms, templates and auto-entries to construct notes in PDF format that are easily searched. He has developed his company website using iWeb, which markets his services and provides patients with online surgical and post-operative videos and a list of seminar dates.

 

Messieh and his two children—Jayson, 11, and Jordan, 8—have embraced the sub-tropical climate, where he is an avid runner and tennis player. For adventure, the family explores Florida beach towns on both coasts.

 

In his free time, he not only enjoys cozying up with a good book, Messieh is also writing one: Reflections, based on his life experiences as a father, entrepreneur, and surgeon, peppered with anecdotes and words of wisdom and values learned from his parents.

 

“Insights are provided regarding focus, visualization, motivation, positive thinking, and accepting the blessings of each day,” he shared. “Success is measured by asking: Have you helped someone today or done something positive? Ask yourself: Are you are better in the afternoon than you were when you woke up? The book is a work in progress. I invite any of my colleagues for their insights and contributions.”