Spotlight on John Jiganti MD

Dr. Jiganti tells me about why he wanted to become an orthopedic surgeon: “I’ve always been interested in bio-sciences. It sounds cliché, but I started off catching frogs as a kid and I guess things just unfolded this way.” After chasing frogs as a kid, schooling, and another twenty-six years of private practice Dr. Jiganti is now finally retiring. “Being an orthopedic surgeon is gratifying to say the least. You actually get to see people get better, and the effects are more immediate,” he says with a smile.

Dr. Jiganti has built up his fan base of patients who come to him to solve their problems. I’ve personally run into people while out in my Puget Sound Orthopaedics uniform and they notice the logo and explain what a blessing Dr. Jiganti has been to them. In return he adores the patients he sees, saying the most important thing to know for any aspiring physicians is that every patient is unique. They have different personalities, different injuries and different goals; they are not cookie-cutter. With this knowledge comes multiple trials and Dr. Jiganti welcomes them, always excited to take on a challenge.

“I have a challenging procedure at least once a year, but the one that I am most proud of is doing a hip revision on a patient who was turned away from multiple other physicians in the area.” This patient had a failed hip that no one wanted to brave fixing. The patient was unable to walk but Dr. Jiganti decided to do the operation. He explained that for a surgery that was so big he never had to be more gentle during an operation because of fear that the femur would break. Only a few weeks later the patient arrived for their post-operative visit and was walking. Dr. Jiganti recalls it as his most fulfilling patient outcome.

In his last month of working, Dr. Jiganti is itching to get outdoors. The biggest activities he’s looking forward to are kite boarding, windsurfing, cycling, snowboarding, skiing and golf. As we get into winter I am sure Dr. Jiganti will be ready to strap on his skis and get into the mountains, but his newest adventure has been kite boarding. While doing his fellowship in Australia he got into windsurfing – must have been a rough life getting off work and going to the beach – but now he’s upgraded to kite boarding which he describes as crazy and wild. “I won’t jump 50 feet like you see on YouTube, but I’ll do 20 feet” he says with an exhilarating tone. I guess you’re never too young to retire or too old to jump 20 feet into the air with nothing more than a kite and a board. The most important thing Dr. Jiganti is looking forward to is spending time with his wife and kids and he says the feeling amongst his family is more than mutual. He and his wife want to visit relatives on the East coast and go hiking through the national parks.

His last thoughts regarding his time well-spent here were: “Puget Sound Orthopaedics has a great base and will be strong for years to come. There are lots of young guys looking forward to joining our practice and they’ll enjoy their experience just as I have.” Thank you, Dr. Jiganti, for your years of service and dedication. You are greatly appreciated and will be evermore missed.