Knee Surgery & Sports Medicine

Below is a complete guide to the knee procedures Dr. Strickland performs. Each section links to a dedicated page explaining the condition, treatment options, surgical and non-surgical decision-making, recovery timeline, risks, and expected outcomes for that specific procedure. Many patients navigate these pages by symptom — for example, kneecap dislocation → patellar instability; an ACL pop → ACL tear surgery; MRI-confirmed cartilage damage → MACI cartilage repair or cartilage transplantation. If you are unsure where to begin, the “How to Choose Among the Procedures” section below can help guide you to the most relevant area.

Why a Sub-Specialty Knee Surgeon

A sub-specialty knee surgeon concentrates on a narrower range of knee conditions and procedures, building deeper experience with the more complex versions of those problems — including revision surgery, multi-procedure planning, cartilage restoration, and patellofemoral disorders that are often referred out for advanced evaluation. Dr. Strickland’s practice reflects that focused approach:

• Hospital for Special Surgery — the #1 ranked orthopedic hospital in the United States, where the sports medicine and cartilage faculty operate as a multi-disciplinary team across patellofemoral, ACL, cartilage, and joint preservation
• International Patellofemoral Study Group (IPSG) membership — the global academic society for patellofemoral surgery
• JUPITER multi-center cohort contributor — the largest adolescent patellar instability research collaboration
• Cartilage-restoration faculty at HSS — performing MACI, OATS, osteochondral allograft, and CartiHEAL within an evidence-based decision tree, with concurrent realignment and ligament work in the same operation when needed
• Active clinical-trial investigator — including the FDA-approved Patella LIFT trial for full-thickness patellar cartilage defects and BEAR-implant outcomes research
• State licensure in New York and Connecticut — supporting in-person consultation across both states

For straightforward problems, a community orthopedist is reasonable. For revision cases, multi-procedure planning, complex patellofemoral anatomy, cartilage restoration decisions, and clinical-trial access, a sub-specialty opinion changes the plan.

Knee Conditions, Procedures & Treatment Areas

The sections below cover the major knee conditions, procedures, and treatment areas within Dr. Strickland’s practice. Each card links to a dedicated page explaining diagnosis, non-surgical and surgical treatment options, consultation expectations, recovery, rehabilitation, risks, and insurance considerations for that specific topic.

When to See a Sub-Specialty Knee Surgeon

A sub-specialty knee opinion is particularly worth seeking when the case is harder than a routine community-orthopedic case. Common reasons patients are referred or self-refer to Dr. Strickland include:

• Failed prior surgery — revision MPFL, revision ACL, revision tibial tubercle osteotomy, or persistent symptoms after a prior arthroscopy
• Recurrent patellar dislocation — especially after a first dislocation before age 25, or with abnormal patellofemoral anatomy on MRI
• Cartilage damage on MRI — full-thickness chondral or osteochondral defects, particularly of the patella or trochlea, where MACI vs. OATS vs. osteochondral allograft vs. CartiHEAL needs to be matched to lesion size and biology
• Multi-procedure decision-making — cases that need MPFL plus TTO plus cartilage work, or ACL plus meniscus plus alignment correction in the same operation
• Complex anatomy — patella alta, trochlear dysplasia, varus or valgus malalignment driving cartilage failure, generalized ligamentous laxity
• Clinical-trial candidacy — the Patella LIFT trial for full-thickness patellar cartilage defects, the Hyalex synthetic cartilage trial, the BEAR implant within 50 days of acute ACL injury, BMAC and other biologic adjuncts
• Active patient unwilling to accept activity restriction — high-demand pivot athlete, dancer, climber, skier, weekend warrior unwilling to settle for "live with it" advice
• Second opinion before surgery — especially before patellectomy, full knee replacement at a young age, or aggressive non-anatomic reconstruction

How to Choose Among the Procedures

If you are not sure which procedure page is relevant for your problem, the triage guide below maps common presentations to the right starting page. This is a starting point only — final treatment is decided in person after imaging review and physical examination.

Imaging Dr. Strickland Reviews Before Consultation

The consultation is materially more productive when imaging is available the day of the visit. Bring whatever you have:

• Standing weight-bearing X-rays of both knees — AP, lateral, and Merchant or sunrise views of the patella; a long-leg standing alignment film if alignment is in question
• MRI of the affected knee — ideally on disc or via a portal we can access (the actual DICOM images, not just the report). Recent MRI within the last 6 to 12 months is most useful. For cartilage cases, dedicated cartilage-sequence MRI is preferred
• CT scan — if you have one, particularly for revision cases (prior tunnel positions in revision ACL), patellar instability planning (TT-TG measurement), or trochlear dysplasia evaluation
• Prior operative reports and intra-operative photographs — if you have had any prior surgery on the affected knee
• Physical-therapy records — protocols and progress notes if you have been through a structured rehab program
• Medication list and prior injection history — cortisone, hyaluronic acid, PRP, or any biologic injections

Imaging that is more than a year old or that did not include patella-specific views can usually be supplemented at HSS without repeating the entire MRI study.

Prehabilitation Before Knee Surgery

Across procedures, the single most under-discussed factor in surgical outcomes is what the knee looks like the day before surgery. Patients who arrive at surgery with full extension, minimal swelling, and good quadriceps activation have substantially better post-operative recovery than patients who arrive with a stiff, swollen, quadriceps-inhibited knee. Prehabilitation is universal across most knee procedures and includes:

• Range of motion restoration — particularly full extension, which is the most important single mechanical predictor of post-op recovery
• Effusion control — ice, compression, activity modification, anti-inflammatories where appropriate
• Quadriceps activation — ending quadriceps shutdown before the operation, not after
• Core and hip strengthening — the knee inherits forces from the hip and core
• Nutrition and weight optimization — for elective joint preservation and arthroplasty cases
• Smoking cessation — particularly important for cartilage healing, osteotomy nonunion risk, and infection risk
• Education on the post-op protocol — so the patient hits the ground running rather than learning the rehab plan in the recovery room

For most procedures, this means several weeks between the decision to operate and the operation — not because surgery should be delayed unnecessarily, but because the knee benefits from being well-prepared for it.

What to Expect at the Initial Consultation

The first visit is a sub-specialty consultation, not a same-day surgical decision. Surgery is not scheduled on the day of the visit — the consultation is for review, discussion, and planning. The typical patient experience:

• Arrival and intake — arrive 15 to 20 minutes early to complete intake forms, review insurance, and have your prior imaging uploaded for review
• History — how the symptoms started, how they have evolved, what activities make them worse, what treatments have been tried, what your activity goals are
• Physical examination — range of motion, ligament stability, patellar tracking, joint-line tenderness, hip and core assessment
• Imaging review with you — Dr. Strickland reviews your X-rays and MRI on the screen with you, points out the relevant findings, and explains what they mean
• Discussion of options — non-surgical, surgical, and the trade-offs of each. For complex cases this includes a frank discussion of the procedure-selection decisions covered on the relevant procedure page
• Plan — the next step is sometimes physical therapy, sometimes additional imaging (CT, alignment films, cartilage-sequence MRI), sometimes scheduling surgery, and sometimes a return for repeat evaluation after a non-surgical trial
• Time for questions — including the questions about insurance, recovery timelines, and second-opinion considerations that almost everyone has

For surgery-day expectations, see the procedure-specific "What to Expect on Surgery Day" section on the relevant procedure page — the experience differs meaningfully between, for example, ACL reconstruction, MPFL reconstruction with TTO, and Mako partial knee replacement.

Insurance and Cost

The practice is in-network with most major commercial plans. Out-of-network and self-pay arrangements are also accommodated. The variables that drive your specific out-of-pocket cost are the same across procedures:

• Your plan's deductible and coinsurance — the structure of cost-sharing differs significantly between plans
• In-network vs. out-of-network status — for the surgeon, the facility (Hospital for Special Surgery or affiliated outpatient surgery center), and the anesthesia group
• Bundled vs. separate billing — for the surgeon, facility, anesthesia, imaging, physical therapy, and any concurrent procedures
• Out-of-network benefits — if you have them and choose to use them; the office is happy to provide the codes you need to verify benefits in advance

Major commercial plans accepted include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield (PPO, HMO, POS), Cigna, Connecticare, EmblemHealth GHI and HIP, Oxford, UnitedHealthcare, and UnitedHealthcare Compass. Before any surgery, the office verifies benefits, obtains pre-authorization where required, and reviews the estimated out-of-pocket cost with you. If your plan does not cover a specific aspect (some biologics or out-of-network components), it is discussed openly before the operation, not after.

For benefits verification or to discuss self-pay arrangements, call the office at (646) 960-7227 or contact us.

Common Patient Concerns

The questions we hear most often before a sub-specialty knee consultation, with honest answers:

Access & Office Locations

Dr. Strickland sees patients at two offices, both of which accommodate patients traveling in from outside the immediate area:

• New York City (primary): Hospital for Special Surgery, East River Professional Building, 523 East 72nd Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10021. On the Upper East Side, accessible from Manhattan, the outer boroughs, Long Island, Westchester, and northern New Jersey via the Queensboro and Triboro bridges and the FDR Drive. Phone: (646) 960-7227.
• Stamford, CT (satellite): Stamford Chelsea Piers, 1 Blachley Road, Stamford, CT 06902 — convenient for patients in Fairfield County, lower Connecticut, and Westchester.

Surgery is performed at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan and at affiliated outpatient surgery centers, depending on the procedure and patient factors. Out-of-state and international patients are accommodated; the office coordinates consultation, imaging review, and surgery scheduling to minimize travel.

Patient Outcomes

The point of all of the above — sub-specialty case mix, cartilage decision-making, alignment-first joint preservation, and structured rehabilitation — is to get the right patient back to the activity that matters to them. Dr. Strickland's patient success stories include athletes returning to climbing, skiing, soccer, and basketball after ACL reconstruction; patellar-instability patients back to dance and competitive sport after MPFL and TTO; and cartilage-restoration patients back to high-impact activity after MACI and OATS.

Research & Publications

Dr. Strickland is an active clinical-trial investigator and academic contributor with publications in The American Journal of Sports Medicine, Arthroscopy, Cartilage, The Journal of ISAKOS, The Journal of Knee Surgery, Arthroscopy Techniques, Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine, and others. Active research areas include patellofemoral instability outcomes (the JUPITER multi-center cohort), cartilage restoration (MACI, OATS, osteochondral allograft, CartiHEAL aragonite scaffold), the BEAR implant for ACL restoration, tibial tubercle osteotomy outcomes, and patient-education quality in cartilage surgery. For the full bibliography, see research and publications.

Frequently Asked Questions

All Procedure Pages

Flat list of all 14 procedure pages, in alphabetical order, for easy navigation:

• ACL Tear Surgery
• Anterior Knee Pain
• Cartilage Transplant (OATS, OCA, CartiHEAL)
• Joint Preservation & Osteotomy
• Knee Arthritis
• MACI Cartilage Repair
• Meniscal Tear (Repair, Root Repair, Allograft)
• MPFL Reconstruction
• Patellar Instability
• Patellar Pain & Patellofemoral Arthritis
• PRP & Regenerative Medicine
• Mako Robotic-Assisted Surgery
• Sports Injuries
• Stem Cell Therapy (Academic Trials)