Searching for a top orthopedic clinic in Kansas City may prove difficult if you don’t know what to look for. Many facilities offer surgical and non-surgical procedures to treat musculoskeletal issues, but not all are as effective.
As leaders in the orthopedic field, KCOA understands that becoming the best of the best doesn’t happen overnight. Each of our providers dedicate their time and effort toward their practices to make accurate diagnoses and effective care. We aren’t simply about short-term relief; rather, we find solutions that provide long-lasting results for pain-free living.
1. Experienced, board-certified orthopedic physicians
One of the most important qualities you should seek in a top orthopedic clinic is training and experience. Joint and muscle aches and pains require delicate care, regardless of whether you have an acute or chronic condition. Therefore, you should always make sure your physician has the right qualifications to give you the care you need.
Choosing KCOA Orthopedics as your preferred clinic not only ensures you gain access to the most capable doctors, but also we are a practice that houses multiple specialized orthopedic physicians. That means, you are able to choose exactly which provider will serve you best.
Dr. Scott Abraham
Speciality: Robotic-Assisted Knee and Hip
Dr. Abraham is a general orthopedic surgeon with a focus on total and partial knee joint replacement procedures and hip replacements. After fine tuning his craft for over 15 years, he began using robotics to create more precise and accurate outcomes for knee replacements and has been doing so since March 2018. He is now a leading physician who also trains other orthopedic surgeons on the merit of robotics and best practices.
Dr. David Clymer
Speciality: Hip and Knee
Dr. Clymer specializes in upper and lower extremity general orthopedics, along with total joint arthroscopy, lumbar spine treatments, and sports medicine. For decades, he has successfully provided hip osteoarthritis treatments for a variety of patients to help them move and feel better.
Dr. Valerie Deardorff
Speciality: Hand and Upper Extremity
Dr. Deardorff is our only wrist and hand specialist at KCOA, and she completed a Hand and Upper Extremity fellowship at the University of Miami. She specializes in chronic and acute conditions of the elbows, forearms, wrist, and hands. Her practice centers around her patients, and she believes being an educator is her most important role as a physician.
Your Guide to Orthopedic Hand Care in Kansas City
Dr. Michael Khadavi
Speciality: Regenerative Medicine, Sports Medicine, Interventional Spine
Dr. Khadavi is the only physician in the Kansas City area who is triple board certified in Sports Medicine, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and Musculoskeletal Ultrasound (RMSK). He not only specializes in regenerative medicine, he is also a field leader who teaches best practices to other physicians across the country.
Dr. Matthew Kneidel
Speciality: Foot and Ankle
Dr. Kneidel is our only physician who focuses on orthopedic foot and ankle diagnoses and treatments. In 2002, he gained a fellowship in foot and ankle at the American Sports Medicine Institute. Since then he has grown his practice to serve young children, adolescents, and adults. With his dedication to his patients and passion for foot and ankle complexities, he offers the best treatments for his patients’ needs.
Learn about common ankle and foot conditions.
Dr. Michael McCabe
Speciality: Sports Medicine, Shoulder and Knee, Hip and Elbow
Dr. McCabe obtained his fellowship in sports medicine and arthroscopy. He has a special interest in high school athletes, though he treats patients from a wide age range. Currently, Dr. McCabe acts as the designated sports physician for Belton High School, Ray-Pec High School, and Grandview High School. In addition to high school sports, he also works as a consultant for Sporting KC and KC Ballet.
Dr. Brittany Moore
Speciality: Sports Medicine, Regenerative Medicine
Dr. Moore is our newest addition to the KCOA team and one of the only two sports-fellowship trained PM&R physicians in the Kansas City area. With subspecialties in sports medicine and musculoskeletal ultrasound, Dr. Moore has the credentials and tools to treat most musculoskeletal injuries from acute injuries to chronic overuse injuries.
Her time at Mayo Clinic has ingrained in her the importance of using an evidence-based approach while remaining ahead of cutting-edge medical advancements. In her practice, she utilizes therapeutic and diagnostic ultrasound-guided injections, regenerative and orthobiologic treatments, and advanced minimally invasive tendon procedures such as Tenex.
Dr. Greg Van den Berghe
Speciality: Shoulder and Knee, Sports Medicine
Dr. Van den Berghe is one of the few fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeons who specializes in shoulder injuries and surgical treatments. In his practice, he treats just about everything to do with the shoulder—fractures, arthritis, people who need a total shoulder replacement, reverse shoulder replacements, etc. He will also examine and treat knee injuries such as meniscus or ACL tears.
With his passion for the complexity of the shoulder and offering the best treatments for his patients, Dr. Van den Berghe builds a unique rapport and relationship with every person he works with. He doesn’t believe he should be the sole decision maker in treatment; rather, he allows the patient to decide what they believe is best based on his expert recommendations.
2. Variety of specialities and subspecialties
Going to an orthopedic clinic in Kansas City with a limited speciality range might not do you much good. When a facility offers a broad range of services to treat patients of all ages, then you will be on the right path toward high-quality care.
Think about it this way: Say you visit a clinic for knee pain you believe to be osteoarthritis, and the place you choose only has providers that specialize in arthritis. However, after running a few tests, your doctor reveals your pain stems from an untreated injury. There may be a chance that clinic could still help you, but there’s also a chance they’d have to refer you to another orthopedic clinic. Then you would have to start over again.
On the other hand, if the same situation occurs at a clinic with multiple specialties, they would only have to refer you to a different provider within the clinic rather than you having to go somewhere completely different.
At KCOA, if one of our providers isn’t the best fit, more than likely, another KCOA physician will be the one for the job. Our diverse orthopedic services include (but aren’t limited to):
Sports Medicine
Sports medicine focuses on orthopedic medical practices to diagnose and treat sports-related musculoskeletal conditions. The primary goal for any sports medicine physician is to help athletes return to play as quickly and safely as possible. Keep in mind that just because you already work with athletic trainers and other healthcare professionals, it doesn’t mean you won’t need an orthopedic specialist to fill in gaps for advanced diagnoses. For example, you may require imaging to differentiate between a stress fracture and joint and muscle overuse. A physician can utilize tools such as X-rays and MRI scans to gain insight into your injury.
The Ins and Outs of a Top Sports Medicine Clinic in Kansas City
Common sports-related conditions include:
- Ligament sprains or tears
- Tendonopathy
- Tendon tears
- Muscle strains
- Knee injuries
- Rotator cuff injuries
- Spinal injuries
- Concussion-related brain injuries
- And more
Sports medicine treatments vary from patient to patient. Whenever you suffer an injury, your doctor will consider factors like your age, sport, lifestyle goals, and more to determine which treatment option will work best, such as:
- Physical therapy
- Injections
- Medications
- Regenerative medicine
- Arthroscopy
- Joint replacement
- And more
Regenerative Medicine
Regenerative medicine involves treatments that use live cells, platelets, and other biologically active molecules to heal an injury.
Physicians like Dr. Khadavi and Dr. Moore who stay on top of the research curve understand that regenerative medicine and orthobiologics can treat many musculoskeletal conditions without surgery. For example, a cutting-edge stem cell treatment can help repair a rotator cuff injury that would have normally required a surgical fix.
As a result, orthobiologics allows doctors to treat patients with less pain, less rehabilitation, and less expense. Plus, regenerative treatments are nearly risk-free. The risk for a major complication is about 7 in 1,000,000, while the same risk from surgery is between 1 to 2%.
Regenerative treatments can heal and/or improve:
- Rotator cuff tears
- Hip bursitis
- Patellar tendonitis
- Ganglion cysts
- Ligament tears in the foot and ankle
- Tears in the knee
- Tennis elbow
- Impingement
- And more
An important thing to note is the type of regenerative medicine and orthopedic clinic uses in their practice. Whenever you’re searching for a top orthopedic clinic in Kansas City for orthobiologics here’s the key to remember: Regenerative treatments work best when they come from your own body.
Some places will offer outside-sourced treatment such as allografts, which are cells or tissues transplanted from one person to another (i.e. amniotic fluid). Unfortunately, these kinds of treatments become non-viable after they are frozen, thawed, and stored. While both options can help an injury or damaged tissue due to growth factors, the results are dampened compared to treatments derived from your own cells.
Joint Replacement
A partial or total joint replacement replaces the damaged and/or arthritic joint with an artificial prosthesis. These are typically made of metal, plastic, or ceramic. The artificial joint effectively mimics the motion patterns of a healthy joint to improve your range of motion. Most commonly, people receive joint replacements on their hips and knees.
Even if you feel you have a severe condition, don’t assume joint replacements are your only choice. A top orthopedic clinic has the diagnostic tools needed to truly understand the severity of your arthritis or injury. Oftentimes, physicians can resolve joint pain through conservative measures such as injections, medications, and physical therapy. Joint replacement surgery is usually the last resort.
3. Dedication to value-based care
Medical treatments could cost a lot of money, especially for those with high deductibles. Many people don’t think about cost factors when choosing an orthopedic clinic. The mindset centers around better care equating to higher costs. However, that’s not always the case.
Some people have the impression that when visiting a university hospital (or other large hospital), they are getting better orthopedic care. This is often due to advertisements and higher visibility. The truth is, private-practice physicians have completed their fair share of training and can provide equal, if not better service.
Bottom line: Private-practice orthopedic clinics like KCOA provide the best value for your care without compromising quality. You also want to bear in mind that just because a clinic costs you extra money, it doesn’t mean you are receiving the best service through the most trained physicians.
For example, a $22,000 MRI typically has nothing to do with the quality of the study, rather the location of the study. Since private-practice based orthopedic clinics aren’t tied to a singular facility or hospital, they aren’t required to choose more expensive facilities for testing. Large hospitals don’t charge more because they have higher quality imaging technology; pricing often stems from facility fees and other avoidable charges.
In knowing that, our KCOA physicians can choose imaging centers at a fraction of the cost. In fact, we have found imaging centers with better MRI magnets. In addition, the physicians reading the exams have completed fellowships in musculoskeletal radiology, which makes them more trained than many of their counterparts.
KCOA is a top orthopedic clinic in Kansas City
The core of our success lies in proper diagnosis. An appointment with one of our providers includes the highest quality technology to pinpoint a patient’s underlying musculoskeletal conditions. From there, we can better understand which treatment will work best for you.
KCOA’s private practice model ensures our physicians can provide patients with the most value that doesn’t involve hidden fees or outlandish pricing.
For a thorough evaluation, call us at 913.319.7600 or schedule an appointment today.
