Few doctors or surgeons have national name recognition to the general public. But Dr. Neal ElAttrache has emerged as one of those that many would recognize.
There are always certain procedures that draw the headlines in the sports world. Tommy John surgery. ACL tears. Achilles injuries. Dr. ElAttrache has worked on them all.
And he's been busy working on several of the most high-profile athletes in sports. Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers said it was Dr. ElAttrache who operated on his torn Achilles.
Via Aaron Rodgers’ Instagram story: pic.twitter.com/QP2zXwD8yp
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 15, 2023
Along with Rodgers, Dr. ElAttrache also operated on the elbow of now-Dodger star Shohei Ohtani, the second time he has operated on the phenom. He also conducted his Tommy John surgery back in 2018. Speaking with The Los Angeles Times, Dr. ElAttrache said he expects Ohtani to have a successful recovery from the operation.
“If he was a right-handed hitter as well as a right-handed thrower, I wouldn’t have been as confident that I could let him go back to batting as quickly,” Dr. ElAttrache told the LA Times.
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Who is Dr. ElAttrache? Here's what you need to know about the famous surgeon.
Who is Dr. Neal ElAttrache?
There aren't many surgeons more well known in the sports and celebrity world than Dr. ElAttrache. He is an orthopedic surgeon who specializes at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles, per his biography page. He is also the head team physician for both the Dodgers and the Rams, and serves as an orthopedic consultant to the Los Angeles Kings, Lakers and Ducks.
Per his biography, Dr. ElAttrache graduated from Notre Dame in 1981 and graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1985 with his medical doctorate. Dr. ElAttrache also had his general surgery internship from 1985 to 1986 and orthopedic surgery residency from 1986 to 1990 at Pittsburgh.
From there, Dr. ElAttrache went to the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in 1990 to become a sports medicine fellow, and after his year-long fellowship, he was brought on full-time.
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Dr. ElAttrache has been with the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic since 1990, but along the way, he's also held multiple other positions. He has been a consultant for several football teams and has been a member of committees with the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic, American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons Exchange and American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine. He was also the former president for the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine and the Herodicus Society.
During his medical career, he has had countless publications in textbooks and medical journals, and has taught instructional courses in person and on video tape during his career.
Dr. ElAttrache's career has earned him many recognitions, per his CV, including being listed among the Top 10 Sports Medicine Doctors in America by Baseball Prospectus, Bleacher Report and Sports Illustrated; receiving peer recognition on the list of Americas Top Doctors, Best Doctors in America, Super Doctors in America, Top 19 US Sports Surgeons — Orthopaedic This Week, Top 20 North American Shoulder Suregons — OTW, Top 70 North American Knee Surgeons — Becker's Spine and Orthopaedic Review. He's been listed among the Best Doctors in America list in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 and among the Super Doctors Southern California in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011.
Notable Dr. Neal ElAttrache patients
Based in Los Angeles, Dr. ElAttrache has been the surgeon for some high-profile clients. Rodgers and Ohtani are the latest big names to be operated by Dr. ElAttrache, but other major athletes and celebrities have had him as their surgeon as well.
Per the Los Angeles Daily News, Dr. ElAttrache was the surgeon who repaired Kobe Bryant's Achilles, and has performed operations on Tom Brady, Zack Greinke, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Charlize Theron and Ringo Starr. According to Becker's Spine Review, he has also worked on Joe Burrow's torn ACL and MCL, Saquon Barkley's torn ACL, Chris Sale's Tommy John surgery and Kelsey Plum's torn Achilles, all just in 2020.