Biography

Dr. Harry E. Jergesen's interests include reconstructive surgery and hip and knee replacement. His research has focused on osteonecrosis (death of bone tissue) of the hip and on stimulating bone growth in the body (osteoinduction) by demineralized bone matrix.

Jergesen graduated from Harvard College in 1968 and received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School in 1972. He completed two years of general surgery residency at Massachusetts General Hospital and a residency in orthopedic surgery in the Combined Harvard Orthopedic Residency Program. He was chief resident at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston. In 1978, he was appointed assistant director of Rehabilitation Engineering Research and Development at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, where he now serves as chief of Orthopedic Surgery. In addition to his work at the Veterans Hospital, Dr. Jergesen works as an attending arthroplasty surgeon in the UCSF Arthritis Center where he specializes in surgery of the hip and knee.

A recent focus in Dr. Jergesen's clinical work has been in the area of overseas healthcare. In addition to participating in medical missions to Central and South America, he is active in the orthopaedic section of the UCSF Global Health Sciences Program, designed to promote academic ties with UCSF and medical schools in developing countries and in providing care in underserved areas in our country.

Career

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California, San Francisco

• 1978 - 1981 Clinical Instructor
• 1981 - 1984 Assistant Clinical Professor
• 1984 - 1992 Assistant Professor in Residence
• 1992 - 1998 Associate Professor
• 1998 - Present Clinical Professor

Veterans Administration Medical Center, San Francisco

• 1978 - 1982 Assistant Director, Rehab Engineering Research & Development Program
• 1978 - Present Attending Physician
• 1991 - Present Vice-Chief, Orthopaedic Surgery
• 1998 - 2001 Acting Chief, Orthopaedic Surgery
• 2001 - Present Chief, Orthopaedic Surgery

Education

• 1968: AB, Harvard College, Cambridge, Mass.
• 1972: MD, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass.
• 1972 - 1973: General Surgery Internship, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Mass.
• 1973 - 1974: General Surgery Residency, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Mass.
• 1975 - 1977: Orthopaedic Surgery Residency, Harvard Combined Orthopaedic Residency, Boston, Mass.
• 1978: Orthopaedic Surgery Chief Residency and Fellowship, Peter Bent Brigham Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass.

Research

• Co-Investigator, Orthopaedic Director: Decompression Coring vs. Conservative Therapy for Avascular Necrosis of the Hip in Sickle Cell Disease. (Principal Investigator: Elliot Vichinsky, M.D.)
• A multi-center prospective study evaluating surgical treatment of symptomatic patients with sickle cell-associated osteonecrosis of the hip. Funded by NIH, 1998-present.
• Principle Investigator: Use of the Athymic Rat Subcutaneous Pouch Model in the Study of Repair Mechanisms in Human Osteonecrotic Bone.
• This is a pilot study to establish an animal model to elucidate the effects of growth factors on the recruitment of osteoprogenitor cells in the presence of diseased human bone. Funded through Departmental research funds, 2002.

Presentations

• Jergesen HE, Khan AS: The natural history of untreated asymptomatic hips in non-traumatic osteonecrosis. JBJS 79A:359-63, 1997.
• Ries, M.D. and Jergesen, H.E.: An inexpensive molding method for antibiotic-impregnated cement spacers in infected total hip arthroplasty. J. Arthroplasty, 14(6):764-5, 1999.
• Ries, M.D., Barcohana, B., Davidson, A., Jergesen, H.E., Paiement G.D.: Association Between Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Osteonecrosis of the Femoral Head. J. Arthroplasty, 17:135-139, 2002.
• Jergesen, H.E. and Karlan, J.W.: Clinical Outcome in Hip Arthroplasty Using a Cemented Titanium Femoral Prosthesis. J. Arthroplasty, 17:592-599, 2002.
• Aguilar, C.M., Neumayr, L.D., Eggleston, B. ED., Earles, A. N., Robertson, S.H., Jergesen, H.E., Stulberg, B.N., Mazor, M.B., and Vichinsky, E.P., Clinical Evaluation of Avascular Necrosis in Patients with Sickle Cell Disease: Children's Hospital Oakland Hip Evauation Score- A Modification of the Harris Hip Score, Arch Phys Med Rehabil. , Jul;86(7):1369-75, 2005.

Grants and Awards

• 1965, Harvard College Scholarship
• 1968, Harvard College A.B. cum laude
• 1972, Honor Medical Society, Harvard Medical School Chapter of Alpha Omega
• 1998, Department of Veteran's Affairs Service Award
• 1999, James M. Morris Award, UCSF Orthopaedic Residency Program
• 2002, James O. Johnston Teaching Award, UCSF Orthopaedic Residency Program

Membership & Committees

• American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
• American Association of Tissue Banks
• American Orthopaedic Association
• Association of VA Orthopaedic Surgeons
• Bay Area Knee Society
• Bioelectrical Repair and Growth Society
• California Medical Association
• California Orthopaedic Association
• LeRoy C. Abbott Orthopaedic Society
• San Francisco Medical Society
• Western Orthopaedic Association
• Wilson Bost Interurban Orthopaedic Club