Denniston Data

Knee Replacement Surgeons Chart

The Top 20 Knee Replacement Surgeons in the U.S.

By Phil Denniston, President, Denniston Data Inc.
4/12/21

Knee replacement surgeries are in the top ten among the most common inpatient surgeries in the U.S. Also known as total knee arthroplasty (TKA), these procedures are performed to treat degenerative joint diseases. About 600,000 TKAs were performed in 2018 in the U.S., and about 500,000 of those were covered by Medicare. The overall mean age of patients was 67 years.

Who are the Top Knee Replacement Surgeons in the United States based on Experience? This ranking below shows the top doctors in the United States based on the number of knee replacements they performed. Research has shown that doctor case volume and experience is positively correlated with better patient outcomes. The case volume data below is based on analysis of anonymized Medicare claims data. In 2018, 11,299 surgeons in the U.S. performed at least 11 knee replacements that were approved and paid for using HCPCS code 27447. These were the top 20 surgeons:

U.S. Ranking of Providers for HCPCS Code: 27447, "Repair of knee joint [arthroplasty]"
Year: 2018, Location: Facility  

Rank

NPI Code

Provider Name

City State Zip

Services

Patients

Repeat

Total Dollars Approved

Approved Average

Billed Average

1

1699730689

Kenneth A Martin, MD

Little Rock, AR 72205-

468

451

3.76%

$599,976

$1,282.00

$4,211.97

2

1093700965

Vuong B Nguyen, MD

Orlando, FL 32819-

412

372

10.75%

$590,577

$1,433.44

$4,868.26

3

1255314522

Kirk A Kindsfater, MD

Fort Collins, CO 80525-

378

371

1.88%

$614,031

$1,624.42

$5,685.28

4

1396786901

John T Dearborn, MD

Fremont, CA 94538-

338

335

0.89%

$549,507

$1,625.76

$10,464.50

5

1497805295

Martin W Roche, MD

Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33308-

329

313

5.11%

$505,722

$1,537.15

$4,029.37

6

1992701999

William T Ballard, M.D.

Chattanooga, TN 37404-

317

298

6.37%

$409,440

$1,291.61

$5,730.46

7

1619139474

Rowland M Roberson, MD

Tupelo, MS 38801-

316

301

4.98%

$393,954

$1,246.69

$3,968.18

8

1558320291

Paul R Greenlaw, MD

New Bern, NC 28562-

316

254

24.40%

$419,740

$1,328.29

$6,082.00

9

1003966359

Alexander P Sah, MD

Fremont, CA 94536-

306

282

8.51%

$478,076

$1,562.34

$9,058.82

10

1083674410

Andrew G Yun, MD

Santa Monica, CA 90404-

302

291

3.78%

$434,460

$1,438.61

$4,099.00

11

1417049693

Rick W Bassett, M.D.

Harlingen, TX 78550-

291

270

7.77%

$380,171

$1,306.43

$5,662.00

12

1770545253

Yogesh Mittal, MD

Tulsa, OK 74104-

288

261

10.34%

$387,403

$1,345.15

$3,545.46

13

1396831129

Robert Goldman

Morristown, NJ 07962-

285

278

2.51%

$471,481

$1,654.32

$10,781.75

14

1306890512

Fabio R Orozco, M.D.

Egg Harbor Township, NJ 08234

285

279

2.15%

$428,042

$1,501.90

$6,631.05

15

1114184058

Denis Nam, M.D., M.SC.

Chicago, IL 60612-

283

256

10.54%

$432,342

$1,527.71

$13,435.70

16

1639185978

Edward T Humbert, DO

Fort Myers, FL 33907-

281

268

4.85%

$429,576

$1,528.74

$1,593.15

17

1871532572

Scott D Schoifet, M.D.

Voorhees, NJ 08043-

274

256

7.03%

$405,824

$1,481.11

$6,800.00

18

1972697704

Stephen M Howell, M.D.

Sacramento, CA 95823-

269

249

8.03%

$363,876

$1,352.70

$3,051.00

19

1396702452

James E Jennings, M.D.

Greenville, SC 29615-

266

245

8.57%

$345,337

$1,298.26

$3,356.00

20

1700825411

Howard J Kapp, MD

Naples, FL 34102-

264

257

2.72%

$417,043

$1,579.71

$4,973.00

scroll to right to see all data

Overall, Dr. Kenneth Martin was the highest-ranking doctor in the most recent year available, 2018, but what about for the last several years? The first year that this data was available from Medicare is 2012, so let us look at the data for all years combined, 2012 through 2018, for the top 8 doctors only.

U.S. Ranking of Providers for HCPCS Code: 27447, "Repair of knee joint [arthroplasty]"
Years: From 2012 to 2018 (7 years), Location: Facility  

Rank

NPI Code

Provider Name

City State Zip

Services

Patients

Repeat

Total Dollars Approved

Approved Average

Billed Average

1

1699730689

Kenneth Martin, MD

Little Rock, AR 72205

3,425

2,894

18.34%

$3,924,273

$1,145.77

$3,734.51

2

1396786901

John Dearborn, MD

Fremont, CA 94538

2,850

2,325

22.58%

$4,023,271

$1,411.67

$8,968.42

3

1417049693

Rick Bassett, M.D.

Harlingen, TX 78550

2,832

2,044

38.55%

$3,235,511

$1,142.48

$4,794.31

4

1255314522

Kirk Kindsfater, MD

Fort Collins, CO 80525

2,689

2,362

13.84%

$4,053,194

$1,507.32

$5,161.64

5

1477517233

Richard Heekin, MD

Jacksonville, FL 32204

2,654

2,010

32.03%

$3,400,852

$1,281.41

$3,872.55

6

1093700965

Vuong Nguyen, MD

Orlando, FL 32819

2,650

2,290

15.72%

$3,658,709

$1,380.64

$4,639.32

7

1639185978

Edward Humbert, DO

Fort Myers, FL 33907

2,576

2,154

19.59%

$3,561,899

$1,382.72

$1,548.58

8

1871532572

Scott Schoifet, M.D.

Voorhees, NJ 08043

2,501

2,049

22.05%

$3,425,909

$1,369.82

$6,083.02

scroll to right to see all data

Dr. Martin is still the highest-ranking physician in the U.S. Let us look at trends to see if any other doctors seem to be gaining on Dr. Martin. The graph at the top of the post shows that Dr. Vuong Nguyen has been growing quickly. Overall, he is sixth for the 7 years combined, but he started low in 2012, and he has exceeded or come close to Dr. Martin in volume during recent years.

Denniston Data’s Health Insights from Provider Ranking System™ (PRS) are developed with data from the PRS platform. Want even more insights? In addition to national data, rankings are also available for every local area in the U.S., for every service provided and reimbursed by Medicare. Start a Free Trial now and get access to the highest quality data and intelligence on healthcare providers. Explore These Claims.

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