Find a Top Orthopedic Surgeon Near Me in Long Beach, CA – Book an Appointment Instantly

Dr. Kristofer J. Jones is a board certified, fellowship trained orthopaedic surgeon who specializes in sports-related musculoskeletal injuries of the knee, shoulder and elbow. As a former intercollegiate athlete, Dr. Jones understands the unique demands and concerns faced by athletes at all levels of participation (from professional to recreational) and his goal is to return patients back to their regular activities using evidence-based medicine to guide his treatment plan. He obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago, where he was a four-year letter winner and All-Conference tailback for the varsity football team. He was awarded the Howell-Murray Alumni Medal upon graduation. He received his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania where he received the Jonathan Rhoads Prize for Surgical Scholarship. Dr. Jones completed his orthopaedic residency training at the prestigious Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York City, frequently recognized as the #1 Hospital for Orthopaedic Surgery by US News & World Report. He subsequently completed a traveling fellowship and acquired further expertise in shoulder and cartilage surgery at specialized centers across Europe, including Lyon & Paris France. Dr. Jones returned to HSS to complete another fellowship in Sports Medicine and Shoulder Surgery. During this time, he served as assistant team physician for the Brooklyn Nets (NBA), New York Red Bulls (MLS), and Iona College Athletics as well as an orthopaedic consultant to the United States Tennis Association (USTA) and US Open Tennis Tournament. He is currently the Head Team Physician and Director of Orthopaedic Surgery for the Los Angeles Lakers (NBA) and a Team Physician for the UCLA Bruins athletic teams.

Dr. Jones is accomplished in both clinical and laboratory research and has authored more than 100 scientific manuscripts and textbook chapters that have received national recognition and awards within the field of sports medicine. He is frequently invited to teach and lecture on these topics both nationally and internationally. Dr. Jones is a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS), a diplomat of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery and has been recognized as an "Emerging Leader" within the field of orthopaedic surgery/sports medicine by the American Orthopaedic Association (AOA). He also holds memberships and committee positions in several professional organizations including the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM), S.T.O.P (Sports Trauma and Overuse Prevention) Sports Injuries Outreach Committee, the Arthroscopy Association of North America (AANA), the International Cartilage Repair Society (ICRS), Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS), the NBA Team Physicians Society, and the NFL Musculoskeletal Injury Committee. He serves on the Board of Trustees for the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (Am). 

Dr. Jones currently provides care at the UCLA Orthopaedic Center in Westwood on the main hospital campus, as well as the UCLA Orthopaedic Center in Downtown Los Angeles. 

Brandon A. Ortega, MD, is a fellowship-trained orthopedic spine surgeon who provides comprehensive and personalized spinal care to adults in Torrance and Long Beach, California. His dedication to helping each patient regain mobility, reduce pain, and improve their quality of life has earned the respect of everyone in the community struggling with neck and back pain.

Dr. Ortega received his medical degree from the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. He stayed at USC to complete his orthopedic surgery residency, where he served as chief resident.

He pursued specialized training in spine surgery, completing a fellowship at the prestigious University of California, Davis. During his fellowship training, he learned traditional, minimally invasive, and image-guided techniques for treating complex adult and pediatric spinal deformities.

Dr. Ortega specializes in diagnosing and treating all cervical (neck), thoracic (mid-back), and lumbar (lower back) conditions. His areas of interest include motion-preserving and minimally invasive surgery and using advanced technologies like navigation, robotics, and endoscopy to improve patient safety and outcomes.

He has published many peer-reviewed articles and textbook chapters and presented his research at national and international medical conferences. 

Taking a compassionate and patient-centered approach, Dr. Ortega believes in treating each patient as a person and tailoring treatment to meet their specific needs and goals. 

He creates treatment plans that integrate nonoperative interventions, including lifestyle and activity changes, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and pain management. His whole-person approach addresses each patient’s spine condition, optimizing conservative treatments and helping them avoid surgery whenever possible.

Dr. Ortega welcomes new patients and looks forward to providing ongoing care to his current patients, working with them to restore an active, healthy life.

Gregory Carlson, MD, of Restore Orthopedics and Spine Center in Orange, California, is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon with subspecialty training in spine surgery. He specializes in minimally invasive spinal surgery for rapid recovery, including diagnosis and repair of previously failed spinal surgeries, revision surgery, and artificial disc replacement and other motion preservation techniques. He also performs microsurgical procedures for herniated discs, spinal stenosis, and other neurocompressive problems.

After completing his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Biology at Southern University in Collegedale, Tennessee, Dr. Carlson attended medical school in California, at Loma Linda University, graduating with Alpha Omega Alpha honors. He did his residency and first year of spine fellowship at the University of California, San Diego, and then finished a second spine fellowship at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

Dr. Carlson has published numerous scientific articles on both basic science and clinical topics, and lectures extensively on spinal reconstructive topics. He continues to teach residents and orthopedic surgeons both locally and abroad. Dr. Carlson is also a Clinical Assistant Professor of Orthopedics at the University of California, Irvine.

Dr. Carlson serves on the editorial advisory boards for Spine and The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery and regularly provides peer review services for scholarly articles that have been submitted for publication. He has received research funding for clinical and basic research projects resulting in award-winning paper presentations at a number of spine society meetings.

He is a member of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, the California Orthopedic Association, the Orange County Medical Association, the American Orthopedic Association, and the Cervical Spine Research Society.

Navid Ghalambor, MD, is a Board Certified Orthopaedic Surgeon specializing in shoulder, elbow and wrist surgeries, with special emphasis on the treatment of shoulder and elbow conditions.
​He received his medical degree from the University of Southern California - Keck School of Medicine.
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He subsequently completed his orthopaedic surgery residency training at the University of Southern California – Los Angeles County Medical Center. Dr. Ghalambor underwent fellowship training in shoulder arthroscopy and reconstruction at the renowned Harvard Shoulder Program at the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Brigham and Woman’s Hospital in Boston. He also underwent an adult arthritis and reconstruction fellowship at the UCLA/Orthopaedic Hospital in Los Angeles.

​Dr. Navid Ghalambor was awarded the graduate research fellowship during his medical school training at USC. During his orthopaedic surgery training at USC, he was chosen by the faculty to be a chief resident of the program, which was one of the largest orthopaedic residencies in the country. Dr. Ghalambor has served as an Assistant Clinical Professor of orthopaedic surgery at USC for 12 years and during this time he has been involved in the training of orthopaedic surgery residents at the USC Sports Service. He has also served as an instructor of orthopaedic surgery at the Harvard Orthopaedic Surgery Program.

​Dr. Ghalambor has published numerous articles in peer reviewed orthopaedic surgery journals including articles on shoulder arthroplasty, instability and stiffness. He has given numerous local and national presentations including those at the annual meetings of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
His research has been presented at international orthopaedic surgery meetings. Dr. Ghalambor is a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, California Orthopaedic Association, Codman Shoulder Society, and Southern California Society for Surgery of the Hand. He has been voted as being one of the “top doctors” in Orange County by Orange Coast Magazine and Orange County Medical Association. Dr. Ghalambor has also been chosen as one of the Southern California’s top doctors by Castle Connolly Medical, LTD.

​​Dr. Ghalambor enjoys trail running and hiking. One of his most memorable sports experiences was being the head coach of his son’s AYSO soccer team for 4 years and leading his BU10 Team to local and regional finals. In his spare time, he enjoys traveling and oil painting.

Click to view Dr. Ghalambor's website

Considered one of the top physicians in his field, Dr. Steve Mora is a board-certified, fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon specializing in sports related trauma, knee, shoulder and arthroscopic treatment of the hip and the elbow.  He has a passion for treating and preventing injuries related to mixed martial arts and soccer. Dr. Mora has unique perspective on orthopedic surgery, having suffered from serious orthopedic injury himself that required multiple surgeries and a lengthy recovery time. He knows on a personal level what his patients are going through both physically and emotionally.

Although he has extensive surgical training, Dr. Mora takes a generally conservative, patient-tailored treatment approach, offering non-operative options wherever possible. However, when surgery is necessary, his patients can rest assured that it will be handled with leading-edge technology.

Because of his expertise, Dr. Mora is a frequent lecturer on sports injuries, and has been published extensively on sport injury related topics. He is a member of the Arthroscopy Association of North America (AANA) and the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. Dr. Mora speaks fluent Spanish and is the team doctor for the Pro soccer team the Anaheim Bolts, Foothill High School, and Professional UFC fighters.

For more info go to www.myorthodoc.com 

Specialty

• Orthopedic Knee and Shoulder Specialist
• Knee, Elbow and Hip Arthroscopy

Subspecialty

• Sport Medicine
• Cartilage Restoration

Special Expertise

• Complex Knee and Shoulder Reconstruction
• Partial Knee Replacement
• Complex Cartilage Injuries of the Knee
• Sports-Related Trauma
• Arthritis

Procedures and Services:

Arthroscopic Shoulder Surgery for:

– Rotator Cuff Tendon Tears including revision repair for failed Rotator Cuff Repair

– Rotator Cuff Tendon Impingement and Bursitis

– Rotator Cuff Calcium Deposits aka Calcific Tendinitis

– Shoulder Instability (Dislocations) and Labral Tears

– Shoulder Joint Arthritis and Loose Bodies

– Shoulder Joint Stiffness (Frozen Shoulder/ Adhesive Capsulitis)

– Acromio-Clavicular (AC joint) Arthritis and Pain

– Biceps Tendonitis and Tears

– Complications Resulting from Prior Shoulder Surgery 

Open Shoulder Surgery for:

– Total Shoulder Arthroplasty/ Replacement

– Partial Shoulder Replacement/ Hemi-Arthroplasty

– Shoulder Instability with Bone Loss or for failed arthroscopic repair

– Acromio-Clavicular (AC joint) Separation/ Dislocation

– Proximal Humerus Fractures

– Clavicle Fractures

– Pectoralis Major Muscle Rupture

– Acute Proximal Biceps Ruptures 

Arthroscopic Knee Surgery for:

– Meniscus Tear Repair or Excision

– Articular Cartilage Damage/ Chondromalacia

– Stiffness/ Catching After Total Knee Arthroplasty

– Patellar Pain

– Loose Bodies
 Synovitis

Open Knee Surgery for:

– Patellar Dislocation/ Subluxation (MPFL Reconstruction)

– Torn Patellar & Quadriceps Tendons

– Reconstruction of Collateral Ligament Instability

– Persistent Bursitis

– Cartilage Resurfacing including Genzyme, OATS, Fresh Allograft, Meniscus – Transplantation 

Elbow Arthroscopic and Open Procedures:

– Fractures including olecranon, radial head and coronoid fractures

– Elbow Stiffness due to arthritis and trauma

– Lateral Epicondylitis

– Persistent Bursitis

Hip Arthroscopy for the treatment of labral tears, impingement and loose bodies

Treatment of most fractures including ankle, forearm, tibia and wrist

Non-Operative Orthopedic Procedures include Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) and Bone Marrow Derived Adult Mesenchymal Stem Cell injections and Hyaluronic Acid Injections for the treatment of sports injuries and arthritis.

Education

University of California Irvine (UCI) School of Medicine

• Finished top of his class, earing the coveted Alpha Omega Alpha National Medical Honor Society

Residency

University of Southern California (USC/LAC) Medical Center

• Gained extensive experience taking care of high energy trauma and complex fractures

Fellowship

Santa Monica Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine Group

• Sports arthroscopy, shoulder, knee and cartilage

Message from Dr. Mora

"I hope to create a close patient-doctor relationship based on trust and mutual respect. I believe my patients’ medical treatment begins with their complete understanding of their condition, and I promise to do my very best to understand the cause of your pain and then provide a treatment approach that is tailored to meet your specific needs.

I believe that my success in diagnosing and treating orthopedic problems was borne out of my own personal traumatic injury to my legs. While living in Peru, I was struck by a commuter bus, severely injuring my legs and forever changing my life. I have experienced many of the same surgeries that I now perform on my own patients — and I believe this experience has allowed me to be more in tune with my patients’ concerns, symptoms and experiences.

My family heritage is Peruvian and I speak fluent Spanish."

About Us

Carlos Uquillas, MD, is an orthopaedic surgeon specializing in adult and pediatric sports medicine as well as arthroscopy. He serves patients across Southern California and Los Angeles at his office in Westchester, California.

Dr. Uquillas received his medical degree from the Stanford University School of Medicine, where he had a scholarly concentration in clinical research and received a Leland Stanford Junior University Outstanding Graduate Mentor Award. Dr. Uquillas completed his residency at the prestigious Hospital for Joint Diseases at New York University Langone Medical Center, where he received the Eleanor Kauffman Award for Research in Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgery. He continued his training with a fellowship in sports medicine at the Kerlan Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic and a pediatric orthopaedic surgery fellowship at Children’s Hospital – Los Angeles.

Areas of special interest to Dr. Uquillas include sports medicine, joint preservation, and fracture care. To better serve his patients, Dr. Uquillas is fluent in English and Spanish.

Dr. Uquillas has an appointment at the Cedars Sinai-Kerlan-Jobe Institute and is a team physician for the Los Angeles Angels. Dr. Uquillas is also the head team physician for the Los Angeles Black Storm. He has been an orthopaedic consultant to the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Los Angeles Kings.  Dr. Uquillas was previously the director of Sports Medicine at Shriners Hospitals for Children in Pasadena, CA. 

He is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, Pediatric Research in Sports Medicine and the Arthroscopy Associations of North America. He is Board Certified in Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine. 

Dr. Uquillas is active in research and education. He is part of the Kerlan-Jobe Fellowship academic staff as well as the Cedars Sinai Orthopedic residency program core faculty.

Welcome to Keck Medicine of USC, Orthopaedic Surgery, providing cutting-edge care for complex shoulder, elbow, and knee injuries in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. As sports medicine and orthopaedic specialists, we know how to treat musculoskeletal injuries effectively in athletes and nonathletes alike.

Our practice is built on three pillars –– excellence in clinical service, excellence in teaching, and excellence in research. We strive to be one of the preeminent orthopaedic centers in the world, offering high-quality care for various musculoskeletal problems, including sports injuries, joint stiffness, frozen shoulder, and knee injuries. 

We take a conservative, minimally invasive treatment approach whenever possible. Instead of automatically prescribing surgery, we first exhaust other options like orthobiologic treatment and physical therapy.

Our practice is conveniently situated near the University of Southern California and features plenty of on-site parking. We never rush appointments and make time to understand each patient’s symptoms, concerns, and treatment goals.

Whether you’re recovering from a sports injury or have a child suffering from a knee deformity, our compassionate and knowledgeable providers can help. Call Keck Medicine of USC, Orthopaedic Surgery, today to schedule an appointment, or book your visit online.

UC Davis Medical Center- Sacramento, California