Dr. Ichtertz's goal is to keep people feeling youthful and productive by preventing and eliminating painful or debilitating musculoskeletal conditions. Dr. Ichtertz attended the University of Southern California (USC) graduating with a Bachelor's degree in biology. He then attended Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), the anchor of the Texas Medical Center- the largest medical center in the world. After graduating from medical school Dr. Ichtertz completed his orthopedic residency at the University of California in San Francisco (UCSF). At UCSF Dr. Ichtertz spent a rotation with numerous experts in each of the subspecialties of orthopedics and general surgery. During his residency, Dr. Ichtertz won awards for clinical research on anterior cruciate ligament injury as well as x-ray techniques in the evaluation of knee arthritis. He also did additional research on ankle fracture management leading to the publication of revolutionary ankle fracture management without a cast but allowing immediate weight-bearing! His research proved that casts are not necessary after operative stabilization of fractures in ankles. Thus, Dr. Ichtertz's ankle fracture patients are able to return to work almost immediately consistently outperforming patients treated by his contemporaries not following the research. After residency, Dr. Ichtertz completed an upper extremity fellowship at Loma Linda University Medical Center under the tutelage of five skilled hand surgeons lead by Virchel Wood, MD, the emeritus chief of the hand division and renowned pediatric hand surgeon and thoracic outlet syndrome researcher. With Dr. Wood, Dr. Ichtertz published a landmark research study on the reconstruction of the rheumatoid hand in the Journal of Hand Surgery as the opening article. This was presented by Dr. Ichtertz at the American Society of Surgery Hand Meeting in 1987 and also at the American Society for Hand Surgery in Puerto Rico also in 1987 and by Dr. Wood internationally. The treatment protocol proved that rheumatoid hand deformity could be corrected and the need for small joint replacement of the hand could be prevented. Dr. Ichtertz has been practicing orthopedics and hand surgery with an emphasis on peripheral nerve entrapment of the hand and feet as well as rotator cuff problems of the shoulder since 1987. He is American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery (ABOS) certified in orthopedics and has earned his Certificate of Added Qualifications in Surgery of the Hand (CAQ Hand). Dr. Ichtertz has been innovative in developing better techniques for clinical diagnosis and treatment protocols. He holds the national record when compared to English medical literature for getting patients back to work most promptly, keeping them on the job, and maintaining the best outcome. Dr. Ichtertz was among the first to adopt knee meniscus repair in 1984. He invented the percutaneous wrist denervation in about 1989, endoscopic carpal tunnel release in 1991, percutaneous trigger finger release in 1997, and endoscopically-assisted cubital tunnel release in 2010 with a steadily growing patient base. In his spare time, Dr. Ichtertz enjoys flower gardening and culinary adventures with his wife, a native Nebraskan, trying to improve his photography skills, and skiing. He is also a certified scuba diver and a sailboarder.