Ahmed Thabet Hagag, MD
Associate Professor of Orthopedic Surgery
Orthopaedic attending specialized in:
-Limb lengthening and limb deformity correction/limb restoration
-Pediatric Orthopaedics
-Orthopaedics trauma and complex post traumatic reconstruction
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
El Paso Children Hospital
University Medical Center at El Paso
El Paso, TX
Why did you join AAOS?
I joined AAOS to communicate and share experiences with my peers that have similar interests. This helps a lot to incorporate new orthopaedic techniques and technologies in my daily practices. I am always committed to excellence in education, patient care and research. The AAOS membership is helping me to continuously achieve these goals and advance my career.
How do you define success?
Success is not only having impact on my patients’ activities and daily lives but also continue to contribute to orthopaedic surgery research and education. Learning to challenge myself in situations in order to change a patient’s life where I was previously unsure if it was possible. Balance between life and work is another aspect of defining success.
Who is your biggest inspiration and why?
My father and my family are my biggest inspirations. I learned that hard work, respect of science, and good work never goes away. Self-motivation should be the drive for success. One of the values that my father taught me is “You harvest what you plant”.
How has the AAOS helped you throughout your career?
The AAOS makes a huge difference in advancing my career. These points show how the AAOS helped and educated me throughout my career. The AAOS helped me to expand my orthopaedic knowledge and showed me how to:
-Generate perform and present orthopaedics research.
-Teach and educate orthopaedics knowledge.
-Build interpersonal and communications skills.
-Adopt, improve and apply new technology to have impact on patients.
What advice would you give to new members of AAOS?
To get maximum engagement in AAOS as organization. Serve as volunteers to AAOS committees and join the AAOS Leadership Institute. It is huge opportunity to build future orthopaedic leaders.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself that not many people know?
I enjoy my time with my wife and kids. Soccer, tennis, and ping-pong are my favorite sports. I love helping others to pursue their dreams. That is why I like working with students and Residents.