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Mikel Sánchez

Doctor Mikel Sánchez graduated in Medical Studies from the University of Bordeaux (France) and validated his degree to obtain a degree in Medicine and Surgery from the University of the Basque Country in 1979. He took the specialty in Traumatology and Orthopedic Surgery at the Santiago Apóstol Hospital in Vitoria-Gasteiz. During this time he was responsible for the facial trauma injuries service at the aforementioned hospital and was also assigned to the rheumatology and neurosurgery services to complement his specialty training. He worked as a specialist for the hospital's traumatology service until 1986. Since 1993 he has worked exclusively in the private sector and in the year 2000, he started work at the La Esperanza Clinic following his appointment as head doctor and as head of the traumatology, orthopedic and arthroscopic surgery service. That year he also set up the Arthroscopic Surgery Unit (UCA) within the clinic facilities.

He has pioneered the advance of Arthroscopic Surgery in Europe and in Spain. He is a member of the Leeds-Keio work group, Rheumatism Research Unit, University of Leeds, UK and Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Keio University, Japan. The Leeds-Keio group was an Anglo-Japanese collaborative project whose aim was to promote the development of arthroscopic surgery in Europe and Japan, especially knee and shoulder ligament replacement surgery.

He has worked with renowned names in the field of arthroscopic surgery such as Hideo Matsumoto and Bahaa Botros Seedhom. He has developed surgical instrument prototypes for anterior (ACL) and posterior (PCL) cruciate ligament reconstruction as well as techniques and instruments for treating recurrent shoulder dislocation. This technology and the functional and biological concepts on which it was founded remain in force today. At international level he was the first doctor to understand the therapeutic potential of PRP and to apply it to the field of traumatology. He founded the Arthroscopic Surgery Unit (UCA) and the Biological Therapy Unit (UTB).

Mikel Sánchez discovered the impact of PRPs in Sports Medicine and initially intended to use this in the arthroscopic treatment of a knee cartilage avulsion in a young footballer (Sánchez M, 2003). Furthermore, he also innovated in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction surgery, inventing a method for Intra-Operative preparation of bioactive grafts for reconstructive surgery of the anterior cruciate ligament using the tissue engineering paradigm (Spanish Society for Arthroscopic Surgery Prize, 2003). The aim of this surgery is to achieve rapid  (transformation of the tendon into ligament) and also to rapidly fasten the ligamentoplasty to the bone (Sánchez M, Arthroscopy 2010).

Currently he is a member of the Basque-Navarrese Society of Orthopedic Surgery and Traumatology (SVNCOT). Likewise, he is also a member of the "International Society of Arthroscopy, Knee surgery and Orthopaedic Sports medicine" (ISAKOS).

As a result of all this care and research work, Dr. Mikel Sánchez has published more than 170 scientific articles in high impact factor journals, which have generated around 10,000 citations in numerous scientific papers, reaching an h-index of 44. He has also been included in recent years by Standford University in the “World's Top 2% Scientists ranking”, so he is considered one of the most influential orthopedic surgeons in the world. In addition, he is a regular speaker at countless national and international congresses and conferences, and has led numerous research projects and participated in the development of a dozen international patents. Always with the aim of sharing research, experiences and best practices in order to improve the quality of life of patients and develop more effective therapeutic solutions.  His recent appointment as Academician of the Royal Academy of Medicine of the Basque Country (RAMPV) is a well-deserved recognition of an exemplary career that will continue to inspire the global medical community.

Among the awards received throughout his career, the following stand out:

• 2002 Diputación Foral de Álava for his contribution to scientific promotion.
  2002 First prize U.S.P. Sports Medicine.
• 2003 Prize for the best article published in the journal Cuadernos de Artroscopia, for his innovation in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction surgery.
• 2003 Euskadi Sports Award for his “Scientific and Technical Contribution to the Development of Sport.
• 2003 Third National Award for Research in Sports Medicine, University of Oviedo.
• 2007 Gold Medal of the City of Vitoria-Gasteiz for his work as “Ambassador of Vitoria in the International Medical Field”.
• 2011 Mapfre Medicine Foundation, “Development of Applied Traumatology” Award, for his “Innovation in the Treatment of Tendon Injuries”.
• 2012 Award for the best research paper published in the Arthroscopy Journal in 2012 for the work: A randomized Clinical Trial Evaluating Plasma Richin Growth Factors (PRGF-Endoret) Versus Hyaluronic Acid in the Short-Term Treatment of Symptomatic Knee Osteoarthritis.
• 2014 Spanish Sports Press Association Award.
• 2015 National Award for Arts and Sciences Applied to Sport 2014.
• 2019 Extraordinary Doctoral Award in the 2018/19 academic year, for his doctoral thesis entitled: Plasma rich in growth factors to  treat Knee Osteoarthritis, defended on June 1, 2017 in the PhD Program Biomedical Research.
• 2023 Sabino Arana Foundation Award.
• 2023 Second National Award for Research in Sports Medicine, University of Oviedo.
• 2023 Gold Medal ICOMA (Official College of Physicians of Alava).
• 2024 LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD, 15th Annual TOBI Orthobiologic Symposium in USA.

 Mikel has both the ability and the vocation to teach and for this reason he has devoted a great deal of energy to teaching his surgical skills and experience in arthroscopic techniques to those currently forming part of his team.