Meet Dr. Anthony Yeung
Meet Anthony Yeung, MD
The ArMA Member Spotlight this month is Dr. Anthony Yeung. Dr. Yeung is a physician specializing in orthopedic spine surgery. He attended the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, has traveled internationally, and is the author of over 170 publications. Read ArMA's interview with Dr. Yeung below to learn more about him!
What inspires you?
My mother moved to Tucson from communist China in 1949 to raise her three children. For the sake of our family, I had to work hard to turn our family around in next generation. My mother was a radio broadcaster (the counterpart to Tokyo Rose during World War II) and my father represented China in swimming during the eastern Olympics in 1936.
What was the most memorable patient or event in your career?
I found that I had an affinity for orthopedic surgery after finishing medical school during a surgical internship at the Good Samaritan Hospital. I was destined to go to Vietnam in 1971; I was liked enough by my attending however, that I was offered an orthopedic residency by Tom Taber and Tim Louis, the latter of which was the heir to Johnson & Johnson. My last year of residency was spent in deformity spine surgery and cerebral palsy under Warren Colton at Cripple Children’s Hospital in Tempe. I subsequently entered the U.S. Navy as the first orthopedic spine surgeon in the Far East, just as the Vietnam War ended. I was recruited by the orthopedic clinic after my stint in the Navy.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
I developed a liking for teaching and traveling after embracing organized medicine. I worked my career from President of the Maricopa Medical Society to National and International Orthopedic Societies where I became the executive director of the International Intradiscal Therapy Society, a founding society for chymopapain.
How did you meet your spouse?
I met my wife at a dance in Phoenix after I was accepted to medical school; she was a beauty queen senior at West High. She finished college early so we could get married while I was still in medical school.
Do you speak any other languages?
I lost most of my Chinese trying to assimilate as rapidly as possible, but I took two years of German in both high school and college.
What place would you most like to visit?
I have been all over the world, mostly as an invited speaker on endoscopic MIS surgery, but I like traveling in the Far East the most.
If you weren't a physician, what would you be up to right now?
I would probably be an airline pilot.
What would you like people to remember about you?
I was so focused on being the best at what I do that I likely neglected to round off my life. I did take up tennis and skiing in my later years. I depended more on lonely sports like cross country that took more endurance than skill. I enjoyed martial arts but did not have the time to train.
What is one message you would give to your 18-year-old self?
Strive to be the best you can at what you love.
What prompted you to become involved in organized medicine?
I wanted to become involved in my chosen profession, but only to the extent that I could have an impact to impart my philosophy of physician autonomy and patient choice.
