Lisa Lattanza spreads knowledge to doctors in Peru

Lisa Lattanza is a physician that treats hand, arm and shoulder deformities at UCSF. (Mike Koozmin/Special to The Examiner)

The physician treats hand, arm and shoulder deformities at UCSF. She recently returned from a trip to Peru, where she taught doctors how to save the extremities of accident victims.

When did you know you wanted to be a doctor? I came from a family of five kids with two parents who were teachers. I was told point-blank they couldn’t afford medical school. I became a physical therapist. I spent a day watching surgery and I was hooked.

What do you like about your job? Having the skill and the capability to actually help someone get over something that’s been traumatic in their life.

What was it like teaching Peruvian doctors? The skill levels of many of the physicians were superb, but they don’t have the resources to do a lot of continuing education. It was incredible to step back from health care in America and just go be a doctor again, without the red tape and paperwork and fear of malpractice.

Tell me about your focus on elbow surgery for children. One of the niches I’ve started to fill is to look at elbow and forearm problems in children with a different eye, being more careful and thoughtful about trying to intervene surgically to prevent deformities and problems in adulthood. When they reach adulthood, there’s sometimes no answer if their elbow has healed in an inappropriate way.