Knee Surgery and Rehabilitation
If you haven’t experienced a meniscus or ACL tear, chances are you know someone in Steamboat who has. These knee injuries often occur alongside a cartilage defect or tear.
“That’s the gliding surface of the knee—the surface we rely on for smooth weight-bearing,” says SOSI’s Dr. Alexander Meininger, who is fellowship-trained in sports orthopaedic surgery.
SOSI surgeons use advanced regenerative medicine tools such as platelet-rich plasma (PRP) or stem cell injections, as well as MACI surgery, which repairs cartilage defects in the knee.
Dr. Meininger and Dr. Wilson are SOSI’s primary knee specialists and experts.
Dr. Meininger performs more than 500 knee surgeries annually, about 150 of which are ACL repairs. Knees became a likely focus of his practice, thanks to sports-specific orthopaedic training. His love for the outdoors also led to a passion for taking care of athletic people.
“I’ve tried to develop my practice as a complex and advanced knee specialist, and also as an educator of arthroscopic surgery,” Dr. Meininger says.
When a knee replacement is necessary, SOSI’s subspecialty care means patients are in experienced hands.
Dr. Wilson says patients who get a knee replacement can get back to whatever activities they were enjoying before. Patients start walking on their new knee on the day of surgery.
“With a knee replacement, you can get back to normal activities within about three months, as opposed to an ACL, which is about six months,” Dr. Wilson says. “We’re pretty successful at getting people back to what they were doing.”
Meet the Team
The Steamboat Orthopaedic & Spine Institute comprises a dedicated, local, and highly-trained staff of ten physicians and dozens of medical care and support staff, bringing world-class medicine to northwest Colorado and the surrounding region. Alongside the team of specialists, SOSI also has a physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist and a physiatrist who specializes in the evaluation of spinal and musculoskeletal disorders, non-operative spine care, including epidural injections, and EMG and global orthopaedic assessments.
