Dr. Charles David Hightower talks about his new business, Enhance Orthopedic Surgery, on Thursday, Jan. 3, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Dr. Charles David Hightower talks about his new business, Enhance Orthopedic Surgery, on Thursday, Jan. 3, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

New practice meets growing demand for orthopedic care

Alaskan surgeon opens Enhance Orthopedic Surgery near Juneau airport

Dr. Dave Hightower was born and raised in Fairbanks and Anchorage, and when he got to Juneau, he found an extremely active population.

“One of the things I thought was remarkable was that you guys are a hearty bunch,” Hightower said. “Most people are active, they’re doing a lot of stuff, and what comes with that is a lot of sports-related type of injuries.”

Fortunately for Hightower — whose full name is Charles David Hightower — repairing those injuries is his business. Hightower, 40, has been an orthopedic surgeon and doctor in Alaska for years and recently opened his own practices in Anchorage and Juneau. The practices, called Enhance Orthopedic Surgery, aim to provide another option for people in those communities.

In Juneau, Hightower said, the demand for orthopedic care is fairly high. Demand across the country is high, as the baby boomer generation ages and needs joint care, medical experts have said. The doctors at the Juneau Bone and Joint Center have been serving the local community for years, and Hightower said he hopes to provide patients with another option.

“I think everyone’s doing good orthopedics,” Hightower said. “The big thing is, there’s a fairly strong need in the community. I think when those needs are present, there are going to be needs for different ways of looking at the problem.”

[Juneau doctor helps treat patients in Africa aboard hospital ship]

Hightower’s path to Juneau winds through Alaska with stops at Western Washington University and Columbia University. He then attended the University of Minnesota Medical School and did his residency there.

He and his wife then moved back to Alaska, where he ran the Alaska Native Medical Center (ANMC) Orthopedic Surgery Department for five years. At the ANMC, Hightower traveled all around the state and saw how many people had such dire needs for access to treatment.

He currently works out of an office near the airport, sharing a spot with the Aurora Chiropractic Center, run by Dr. Steven Messerschmidt. Hightower splits his time between Anchorage and Juneau, and said he’s considering being in Juneau full-time if there’s enough demand for his services.

“I think the guys in town are good guys. I think adding a little more access to people, people have been appreciating that so far,” Hightower said. “My hope is if it turns into something that people are enjoying here, it will be more of my home base and I can do more stuff intermittently as it needs to be done back in Anchorage.”

Hightower’s proud of another aspect of his practice: the technology.

On Thursday, Hightower sat in his office in front of a large screen that displayed a screensaver of a virtual view of the Dubai skyline. Hightower grabbed a tablet and quickly, the image on the screen went from Dubai to a virtual view of a human knee. With a wave of his finger, Hightower could switch to a different view of the knee, simulate a fracture or simulate a procedure to repair a ligament.

Hightower uses a technological approach called Technology Cost Management (TCM) that helps patients track the status of their bones and joints. The on-screen demonstrations give people an up-close, easy-to-understand look at what exactly is going on under their skin. He can save the demonstrations and give them to patients or send them to family members who can’t make the appointments.

Enhance Orthopedic Surgery is the first practice in Alaska to use this kind of technology, Hightower said. The practice’s website, www.enhanceorthopedicsurgery.com, states that the practice will also be employing TCM technology that can evaluate a patient without having to do an MRI, thus saving patients money. Perhaps even more valuable than that, Hightower said, is ensuring patients understand their injuries and feel comfortable with their treatments.

“Patient education is a huge part of my practice,” Hightower said. “The business that we have, it’s a lot about patient one-on-one time.”


• Contact reporter Alex McCarthy at 523-2271 or amccarthy@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @akmccarthy.


More in News

(Juneau Empire File)
Aurora forecast for the week of Nov. 27

These forecasts are courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute… Continue reading

Angie Flick (center), finance director for the City and Borough of Juneau, provides details of an early draft of next year’s municipal budget to Assembly members as City Manager Katie Koester (left) and Budget Manager Adrien Wendel listen during a Finance Committee meeting Wednesday night in the Assembly Chambers. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Assembly members prepare to retreat so they can move ahead on next year’s budget

“Very draft” $190 million spending plan for FY25 based on status quo has $1 million deficit.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
Police calls for Monday, Nov. 27, 2023

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

The front page of the Juneau Empire on Nov. 30, 2005. (Photo by Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Empire Archives: Juneau’s history for the week of Dec. 3

Three decades of capital city coverage.

Cheyenne Latu (left), a pharmacy technician at Ron’s Apothecary Shoppe, and business co-owner Gretchen Watts hang a poster at the front counter Thursday announcing the store’s closure after Dec. 6 as Jessica Kirtley, another pharmacy technician, works at the front register. The nearby Safeway supermarket has agreed to take the prescriptions of all customers as well as hire all of the independent pharmacy’s employees, according to the co-owners who are retiring. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Ron’s Apothecary Shoppe closing after nearly 50 years as co-owners retire; last day is Dec. 6

Safeway taking over all prescriptions and offering jobs to all employees, according to owners.

Attendees at the Friends of NRA — Juneau’s banquet in 2019 talk near auction tables at Centennial Hall. The fundraising event is resuming Saturday after a four-year COVID-19 disruption. (Photo courtesy of Friends of NRA — Juneau)
Friends of NRA — Juneau fundraising banquet returns Saturday after four-year pandemic absence

New Zealand hunting safari, signed Ted Nugent guitar among items being offered.

Wade Bryson, a Juneau Assembly member, explains why he favors giving local businesses a “sales tax holiday” for at least one day next year, targeting Feb. 29 as a suitable date, during the Assembly’s Finance Committee meeting Wednesday night. The committee voted to hold onto the proposal for further study rather than sending it to the full Assembly. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
A local sales tax holiday? Don’t pack your shopping bags yet

Proposal to waive taxes for a day or two each year isn’t a quick sale to most Assembly members

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Choir members rehearse Tuesday night for a Bach holiday concert at Ḵunéix̱ Hídi Northern Light United Church. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Quartet of Bach compositions joins lineup of local large-ensemble performances this season

Concerts this weekend part of resurging “wealth of riches” by choruses and orchestras, director says.

Most Read