My 16 yr old daughter broke her ankle climbing and now needs cartilage
replacement surgery. She is a competitive climber. We understand that
culturing her own cartilage is the best bet. Who ARE rated the best
surgeons to perform this surgery? The original  surgery was at Boston
Children's but I want someplace better in the U.S. Preferably in the
West. We live in Alaska.

Hello,

Regarding your question about Westcoast surgeons that perform
autologous chrondocyte implantation, I located Dr. Bert Mandelbaum in
Los Angeles, Ca. Dr. Mandlebaum is also known for his research on
injuries that involve girls your daughter's age including sports
related injuries:

  "According to Dr. Mandelbaum, parents and educators alike must must
help girls avoid burnout and the injuries that come from overactivity.
This requires an understanding of girls' unique development and
physiology ? evident, for example, in landing technique in jumping, as
well as training exercises such as the shuttle run and backward
running. The bottom line, according to Dr. Mandelbaum: "The female
athlete is not just a 'small male.'"

http://www.ncgs.org/type0.php?pid=170

Dr. Mandelbaum is considered an expert who lectures other orthopedic
surgeons in this area:

"Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation-Expanding the Indications"
Speaker: Bert Mandelbaum, MD, Santa Monica Orthopedic & Sports Medicine
Group, Santa Monica, California, USA"
http://tinyurl.com/dq5sq

A note of interest is that Dr. Mandelbaum treated Arnold Shwarzenegger:
"Dr. Bert Mandelbaum treated Mr. Schwarzenegger, who was admitted to
the hospital for surgery yesterday, January 29, 2003."
http://tinyurl.com/cba4t

Contact information: I have found two different phone numbers from two
different directories.

Mandelbaum, Bert R, MD 
Santa Monica Orthopedic
1301 20TH St Ste 150
Santa Monica, CA 90404-2092  
(310) 829-2663

Bert Mandelbaum, M.D.
Santa Monica Orthopedic Sports Medicine
1301 20th St., Suite 150 
Santa Monica, CA 90404
(310) 315-0136 (phone)
(310) 315-0326 (fax)
 
===========================================================================

In case you become interested in surgeons that are not located in the
West, there are two other highly respected surgeons. One is Dr. Tom
Minus.

Dr Minus is located at Brigham and Woman's Hospital which is highly ranked:

"Brigham and Women?s Hospital, for the 13th consecutive year, appears
in the U.S.News & World Report Honor Roll of America?s Best
Hospitals."
http://www.brighamandwomens.org/

Dr Tom Minus was featured on a television news report:

Dr. Tom Minas, Brigham & Women's Hospital
"As time goes by their cells grow inside the defect, they mature, they
form a hard tissue and eventually their pain resolves. In six to eight
weeks, MRI's show the new cells filling in cartilage holes the size of
nickels, even quarters. The procedure is about 90 percent successful
with 70 percent of patients able to enjoy their favorite sports again.

"Some of them do become competitive athletes again, not at the same
level of competition... The important thing is to enjoy your day to
day with your family and your kids.

"He is an Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic at the Brigham and
Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School and Director of the Cartilage
Repair Center at the Brigham.

Dr. Minas received his medical degree from the University of Toronto
in 1982 and his Masters degree in Epidemiology from the Harvard School
of Public Health in 1991. Dr Minas has completed two different
fellowship programs, one in Joint Trauma and the other in Joint
Reconstruction.

Dr. Minas sits on the Executive Board of the International Cartilage
Repair Society, where he chairs the Outcomes Committee. He is also on
the Board of Directors for the Cartilage Research Foundation. A
prolific writer on the subject of cartilage repair, involving over 30
publications, in 1996 he introduced the first treatment algorithm for
cartilage repair."

http://tinyurl.com/dlup9

Contact information for Dr Minus
http://www.cartilagerepaircenter.org/

===============================================================

Another top cartilage repair surgeon is Dr. Brian Cole in Chicago:

"Chicago, IL - Brian J. Cole, MD, MBA, director of the Rush Cartilage
Restoration Center, demonstrates cartilage restoration cutting edge
techniques in streaming video. Using a talk-show format, the video,
featuring Dr. Cole and his colleagues, shows surgical techniques used
in cartilage repair, marrow stimulation, osteochondral grafting,
autologous chondrocyte implantation, and allograft meniscus
transplantation."

http://www.or-live.com/rush/1102/content/faculty.cfm

===============================================================

I hope this is helpful. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance. jdb-ga

Check medicalcountries.com as it lists most of the sources of lists of
quality medical providers in several countries, including the U.S. and
India, etc. Some of these countries cost 1/20 of what would be charged
in the U.S. with equal, better or worse results depending on the
medical provider you pick. All the best doctors do not only reside in
the U. S. Via telemedicine, from your home, you can consult with
doctors and hospitals all over the world for little or no cost. For
example, India vets consult for as little at 40 cents per hour.