Carpenter gave a lecture at Swedish Hospital’s Cherry Hill facility about disk replacements. Pat Halpin at a westside Olympia clinic that merged with the existing Olympia Orthopaedic Associates practice in 1998.
At the beginning of his career, Carpenter spent three years at Madigan Army Medical Center as a teacher, training residents. The mechanical nature of orthopaedics appealed to his problem-solving abilities, and he discovered a talent for spine surgery.
“My dad said, ‘We can’t afford to send you to medical school, so you’re going to have to study hard and get scholarships.’” That’s exactly what Carpenter did, earning full scholarships to both college and medical school. “I didn’t come from a wealthy family,” he explains.
When he let his parents know about his newfound passion, they made one thing clear: he would have to figure out a way to pay for schooling on his own. He’s also published multiple studies on factors that impact patient outcomes in spine surgery.Ĭarpenter first became interested in orthopaedics after meeting a famous surgeon in his hometown of Salt Lake City. During his tenure, he’s participated in Federal Drug Administration (FDA) trials focused on outcomes for new devices used in spine surgery, invented a patented artificial disc for the lumbar spine called the Anatomic Total Disc Replacement, and treated patients from around the United States as well as from Mexico and Guam. After 21 years as one of the early members of Olympia Orthopaedic Associates (Oly Ortho), Carpenter is retiring at the end of 2021. Photo courtesy: Olympia Orthopaedic Associates
Carpenter joined OlyOrtho in 1998 and has participated in FDA trials, published research on factors affecting outcomes in spine surgery, and invented a patented artificial lumbar disc during his tenure. Apart from one journey to Europe 10 years ago to visit his children, stationed at military bases, it’s been a long stretch of short breaks. When he became a full-time orthopaedic surgeon, family trips were one week, during which he would worry about his patients back home. He began working at age 12 and held summer jobs throughout high school and college, eventually moving on to medical school and beyond. Clyde Carpenter never took a 2-week vacation.