MD Karolina Stępień

I provide conservative and surgical treatment of upper-limb injuries – the hand, wrist, elbow and shoulder – and of the knee and ankle joints. I treat fractures, sprains, dislocations and injuries to tendons and ligaments in these areas, particularly in people who are active in sport – both amateur and professional athletes.

I select treatment methods that have the greatest chance of success in a given case, using conservative methods (e.g. modern immobilisation) or minimally invasive methods (punctures, intra-articular injections) as well as surgical methods – both “open” and arthroscopic. Where possible and depending on the patient’s preference, I also perform procedures under local anaesthesia (WALANT – wide awake local anaesthesia no-tourniquet) – particularly hand surgery procedures.

I collaborate with various specialists (physiotherapists, radiologists, rheumatologists, etc.) in order to achieve the best possible treatment outcomes. I place strong emphasis on individualising treatment.

I care for patients with orthopaedic infections.

Education

• Completed Medicine at the 2nd Faculty of Medicine (2007–2013) and Dietetics at the Faculty of Health Sciences (2009–2011) of the Medical University of Warsaw.
• Postgraduate internship (2013–2014) at Czerniakowski Hospital in Warsaw.
• Specialist training in Orthopaedics and Traumatology of the Musculoskeletal System (2014–2020) at Carolina Hospital in Warsaw.
• Research fellowship at the Department of Orthopaedics at Centre Hospitalier in Luxembourg under the supervision of Prof. Romain Seil (02–03.2018)

Professional experience

Since 2014 I have been working at Carolina Hospital.

Since 2020 I have been consulting national-team athletes at the Central Centre for Sports Medicine.
I regularly care for athletes of various disciplines at European and international competitions as a physician of the Polish national team.

Publications

• Stepien K., Smigielski R.: 28-year-old woman training fencing with isolated rupture of radial collateral ligament of the metacarpophalangeal joint of the index finger. Sports Orthopaedics and Traumatology. Available online 31 July 2015 ahead of print. doi:10.1016/j.orthtr.2015.06.009
• Siennicka K, Zolocinska A, Stepien K, et al., “Adipose-Derived Cells (Stromal Vascular Fraction) Transplanted for Orthopedical or Neurological Purposes: Are They Safe Enough?,” Stem Cells International, vol. 2016, Article ID 5762916, 5 pages, 2016. doi:10.1155/2016/576291
• Stępień, K., Śmigielski, R., Mouton, C. et al. Anatomy of proximal attachment, course, and innervation of hamstring muscles: a pictorial essay. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc (2019) 27: 673. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-018-5265-z

Courses and training

• Specialist course in hospital epidemiology for doctors chairing hospital infection control teams, Warsaw 2016
• AOTrauma Course – Basic Principles of Fracture Management, Warsaw 2017
• Course “Practical aspects of the treatment of hand and wrist fractures” under the supervision of Dr Paweł Nowicki, Warsaw 2018
• Course “Shoulder arthroscopy” under the supervision of Dr Michał Drwięga, Warsaw 2019
• AOTrauma Course – Advanced Principles of Fracture Management, Szczecin 2019
• AOTrauma Masters Course – Current Concepts – Upper Extremity II, Davos, Switzerland 2019
• Course “Elbow arthroscopy” under the supervision of Dr Bartłomiej Kordasiewicz, Warsaw 2020
• Course “Wrist arthroscopy” under the supervision of Dr Paweł Nowicki, Warsaw 2020

Memberships in organisations

• ESSKA – European Society for Sports Traumatology, Knee Surgery and Arthroscopy
• FESSH – Federation of European Societies for Surgery of the Hand
• PTArtro – Polish Arthroscopy Society
• PTOiTr – Polish Society of Orthopaedics and Traumatology
• PTChR – Polish Society of Hand Surgery