BELFAST — MaineHealth Waldo Hospital welcomes Zethariah Zielinski, DO, to its Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Belfast practice. Dr. Zielinski specializes in a procedure called anterior hip replacement, a minimally invasive total hip replacement that is done without cutting into the muscles and tendons surrounding the hip, allowing for a faster recovery time.

There are many additional patient benefits to anterior hip replacement, according to MaineHealth, in a news release.

"Patients who have this kind of hip replacement do not have the same movement restrictions as those who have a traditional total hip replacement and typically experience less pain and faster return to everyday activities," said MaineHealth. "Patients are usually up and walking around within a few hours after surgery."

Dr. Zielinski will perform the procedure on a new orthopedic surgery table, which the hospital acquired in January through philanthropic gifts from Tom and Sally Savage and Wayne Hamilton, longtime friends and Belfast-area residents. They teamed up to bring this orthopedic table to Waldo Hospital, reflecting generations of family commitment to supporting local health care and strengthening the community they love, according to the release.

“I grew up here, and I have always believed in taking care of your community,” said Wayne Hamilton of Hamilton Marine. “Waldo Hospital is an essential part of this region, and I am proud to help strengthen local care.”

Said Savage: “I was glad to join with Wayne to make this gift possible. Working together on something that will help our neighbors and improve care at Waldo Hospital was important to both of us.”

Dr. Zielinski is the first orthopedic surgeon to offer anterior hip replacement at Waldo Hospital and is now seeing patients.

“We are excited to be able to offer this procedure at Waldo Hospital,” said Mark Eggena, MD, PhD, chief medical officer for MaineHealth’s coastal region. “Having this procedure available at Waldo Hospital, along with Pen Bay Hospital, makes it even easier for patients to seek care close to home. In the past, they would have had to drive more than an hour away and now have multiple options locally.”

Dr. Zielinski completed his residency in orthopedic surgery at Michigan State University, McLaren Greater Lansing Hospital in 2025. He earned his medical degree from the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine in Biddeford in 2020 and holds a bachelor's degree in exercise physiology from the University of New England.

For more information, call MaineHealth Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Belfast at 505-4398.