Dr. Howard Hirsch specializes in hip and knee orthopedic surgery at Ochsner Health. He was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, before moving to Rhode Island for his medical training. During his time in Rhode Island, he practiced orthopedic surgery and taught as a member of the faculty at Brown University. Dr. Hirsch's practice focuses on providing joint replacement services to patients with progressive arthritis of the hip and knee. As an orthopedic surgeon specializing in hip and knee replacements, he strives to enable patients to maintain their quality of life. Because joint replacement is almost never mandatory, he endeavors to explain the possibility of both surgical and nonsurgical care to my patients, along with the associated risks and expectations associated with each. He also tries to assist in the decision-making process, without ever pushing patients toward surgery, who might reasonably be managed without it. When a patient elects for a joint replacement, he strives to make the experience as minimally invasive as possible, by providing ample preoperative education, while eliminating unnecessary testing, performing efficient surgery, and managing postoperative pain effectively. Postoperatively, his goal is to safely discharge patients directly back to their homes and direct a rehabilitation process that enables them to return to their normal activities as quickly as possible.