Sometimes a visit to the doctor literally can change your life.
“I had a patient come in who was in a wheelchair, who couldn’t walk,” said orthopedic physician Dr. William Payne. “But now the patient is able to dance. That’s why I’m doing this. Things like that inspire you to want to help as many people as you can.”
Payne, a Flossmoor resident and Specialty Physicians of Illinois doctor, has helped countless patients get better.
“I can’t make you an Olympic athlete if you weren’t one, but if you want to ice skate with your friends,” he said, “I can help you get back there.”
Payne, who is originally from Compton, California, came to Flossmoor 26 years ago. He and his wife, Tina, have two adult sons, William and Chris.
“I love the fact that I live, work and play in the same community,” Payne said. “When I help take care of a person, I fully expect to see them at church or in the grocery store. I’m mindful that these are my neighbors and my friends and I want the best for them.”
Dr. Leonard Robinson, another well-respected Specialty Physicians of Illinois doctor, has seen Payne’s commitment to his community firsthand.
“Dr. Payne has been a colleague of mine for over 20 years. His professionalism and expertise in orthopedics has been indispensable to my internal medicine patients,” Robinson said. “He has been a pillar to this community, and we are extremely proud to have him.”
Payne attended UCLA for medical school, did an internship at Harvard-UCLA Medical Center, a residency at Charles R. Drew University in Los Angeles and a spine fellowship at the University of Minnesota.
During his career, he’s seen major advances in orthopedics. They include the use of robotics in orthopedic surgeries, computerized technology, advanced imaging, the use of endoscopes and surgery under the microscope.
In an average month, Payne does about 30 surgeries.
“I love doing surgery. I also love the immediacy of what we do,” he said. “When a bone is broken, you see that it’s fixed right before your eyes. We see a shattered bone, and now it’s back in perfect alignment.”
Payne said his uncle, who was also an orthopedic surgeon who practiced in Washington, D.C., had a huge impact on him.
“I could see someone who looked like me who was doing it,” Payne said.
In addition to his uncle’s influence, Payne says he was drawn to orthopedic medicine for a few other reasons.
“You treat the full spectrum. You treat people from the cradle to the grave. You treat men, women, children and adolescents,” Payne said. “I like the fact that you’re helping people restore lifestyles, to live their best version of their own life.”
In the last few years, Payne has observed several trends in the kinds of injuries he’s treating. Some are sports specific, such as the increase in non-contact ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) injuries in women’s soccer. He’s also been seeing lots of pickleball injuries, such as torn rotator cuffs, torn meniscus and backs being thrown out.
When it comes to car accidents, he says he doesn’t see the same kinds of injuries he’s seen in the past. Today’s cars have more safety features, which results in him treating fewer long bone injuries and more injuries in the foot, ankle and hand.
A big global trend is that everything is moving to outpatient surgery, Payne said. Small incision surgery is preferred and less invasive arthroscopic surgeries are performed more often.
There have been major improvements in pain management, too, he said. All of those things are making recovery times shorter.
For example, hip replacement surgery used to mean being in the hospital for days. Advances in pain management have changed that, allowing many patients to go home the same day.
“Spine surgery was historically pretty painful, but now we can better manage your pain, which allows you to go home the same day,” he said. “Even in the spine, we’re doing minimally invasive surgeries.”
So when should a patient consider spine surgery? If spine surgery can improve your life, it’s definitely worth considering, Payne said.