Faculty:

Andrew J Wassef MD (Fellowship Director) & Prem N Ramkumar MD MBA

Location:

Long Beach, CA. Long Beach is a coastal city situated between Los Angeles and Orange County. After Downtown Angeles, it is the second largest city in Los Angeles County with a population of 460,000. Long Beach represents a central and heterogeneous zone of catchment within Southern California. Additionally, Long Beach has three international airports within an hour to accommodate patients far and wide. Understanding the geographic accessibility of the city helps better explain the extreme variety of cases  encountered during the fellowship. This location enables us to receive referrals from both academic and private practice settings.

Facilities:

Long Beach Memorial, UCI – Lakewood, MemorialCare Surgical Center, Commons Clinic Ambulatory Surgical Centers. Reconstructive procedures can be accommodated in both the ambulatory surgical setting, as well as the tertiary referral center setting for increased support.

Fellowship Experience:

The fellowship follows a classic mentorship model experience that reflects the deep breadth and complexity in the respective practices of Drs. Wassef and Ramkumar. The fellowship emphasizes:

  • Perioperative optimization for outpatient arthroplasty
  • Familiarity with all reconstructive approaches surrounding the hip
  • Expertise in kinematic and mechanical alignment balancing techniques
  • Comfort with robotic and enabling technologies
  • Indications and management of partial joint replacements
  • Most importantly: managing the failed joint replacement, including infection, fracture, and instability.

If desired, the fellow has the opportunity to engage with hip and knee sports medicine and preservation procedures, including cartilage transplants, ligamentous reconstructions, hip and knee osteotomies, hip resurfacing arthroplasty, and hip arthroscopy. If desired, the fellow has the opportunity to engage in research. If desired, the fellow has the opportunity to engage in the business of managing an arthroplasty practice in either the academic or private setting. For the avoidance of doubt, these are optional offerings as the fellowship is clinically focused on hip and knee arthroplasty education and technique.

Call is an option, should the fellow desire supplemental income. Weekend rounding and weekend cases are rare. Didactics and case conferences are held weekly.

At the conclusion of the year, the fellow can anticipate 400+ primary hip/knee joint replacements, 150+ revision hip/knee joint replacements, and 150+ outpatient hip/knee joint replacements.

Case Examples:

Below are radiographs of failed joint replacements or challenging cases referred to Dr. Wassef or Dr. Ramkumar from various centers – both private and academic – for complex/salvage reconstruction. These are examples of referrals we receive on a weekly basis. Both Dr. Wassef and Dr. Ramkumar have dedicated time allocated to the management and discussion of failed joint replacements in clinic and the operating room.