This award honors clinical faculty whose dedication to the compassionate, respectful delivery of exceptional patient care has garnered the highest degree of patient trust and satisfaction.

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Katherine Raspovic, D.P.M.

Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Plastic Surgery

The human body is a true feat of engineering, with its complex systems of muscles, bones, nerves, and organs all working in harmony. But it all rests on our feet. And when the ground beneath them begins to crumble, due to injury, arthritis, or nerve damage from severe diabetes complications, life can feel incredibly fragile.

That’s often when patients meet Dr. Katherine Raspovic, Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Plastic Surgery at UT Southwestern, and she helps them find their footing.

“Dr. Raspovic’s positivity is infectious,” one colleague wrote in her nomination for the Patient and Family Recognition Award. “She consistently radiates warmth, compassion, and competence that secure her patients’ trust and confidence in her.”

Many patients see Dr. Raspovic for a second opinion after being told that amputation is their only option or that their case is too complex. Colleagues say she takes on these challenges without hesitation, working with patients to pursue the best possible outcome – typically limb preservation.

“Patients will always tell me, ‘When my feet hurt, everything seems to hurt,’” Dr. Raspovic said. “It is incredibly rewarding to be able to save someone’s foot and get them back walking again. Oftentimes it is a very long journey, but there are really no words to describe how happy I am to be able to help them.”

People with severe diabetes can develop major complications in their lower extremities caused by nerve damage, poor blood flow, and a reduced ability to fight infections. Among these is Charcot neuro-osteoarthropathy, also known as Charcot foot, in which bones can fracture or shift, leading to deformities, wounds, and infections.

Dr. Raspovic has treated countless patients in these situations, saving their feet through reconstructive surgery and limb-sparing procedures whenever possible.

Inspired to pursue foot and ankle surgery to help people “get back on their feet,” Dr. Raspovic said even small procedures can dramatically improve a patient’s quality of life.

Those in her care take comfort in feeling valued, supported, and never rushed – whether she’s treating them in the University Hospital Wound Care Clinic or the Orthopaedic Surgery Center.

Shelly Shipman, a former ballet, tap, and jazz dancer, has had five foot surgeries with Dr. Raspovic since 2021. She began suffering from severe arthritis in her right foot in her early 40s.

“Dr. Raspovic literally had to put my foot back together,” Ms. Shipman wrote in her nomination. “The reassurance and guidance she’s given me is incredible. She cares for me and makes me feel like family. She is the smartest, kindest, most genuine doctor I’ve had in a long time.”

Dr. Raspovic’s empathetic bedside manner extends to her patients’ loved ones.

“She proactively updates family members, ensuring they understand the care plan and feel supported during stressful times,” a faculty nominator wrote. “Whether it is taking a few extra minutes to comfort an anxious spouse or ensuring a family has the resources needed upon discharge, she treats the family unit as an integral part of the healing process.”

When amputation does become the only option, her patients and families accept it because they trust she has exhausted every alternative.

While Dr. Raspovic’s primary focus is reconstructive foot and ankle surgery and Charcot reconstruction, she also treats patients with other complications related to diabetes and neuropathy that require surgery, such as diabetic foot ulcerations and osteomyelitis, helping patients preserve their mobility and independence.

“It’s not just the physical issues that our patients deal with, but the mental component has a huge impact as well,” Dr. Raspovic said. “So our team and I strive to be the doctor and providers that we would want taking care of our family members or ourselves, to be there for them in every way possible.”

After earning her doctoral degree in podiatric medicine at Des Moines University College of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery, Dr. Raspovic completed her residency in podiatric surgery and a fellowship in foot and ankle surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. She joined the UTSW faculty in 2017 and is a Fellow of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons (ACFAS). Dr. Raspovic is Secretary of the Charcot Working Group of the International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot and a section editor for The Journal of Foot & Ankle Surgery.