Dr. Sabrina Strickland

01/08/2026

Tearing an ACL can feel overwhelming, and then you need to decide which surgery and graft option is best for your lifestyle and sport. In this video, I walk through how I think about ACL reconstruction for different patients, from high school and college cutting athletes to skiers in their 30s, 40s, and 50s, and why graft choice (quad vs hamstring, and why I rarely use patellar tendon) really matters. I also discuss newer options like the BEAR implant and lateral extra-articular tenodesis (LET), and how advances in minimally invasive techniques can reduce pain and recovery time while still putting the ACL in the most anatomic position possible.

If you or someone you love is considering ACL surgery, this is a great place to start learning the right questions to ask and how to talk with your surgeon about goals, graft choice, and re-injury risk.

Watch the full video to learn more.
Comment with your questions, and share with an athlete, parent, or friend who might need this.

12/25/2025

Happy holidays from me and Penny!

12/18/2025

It is actually incredible what you can do with a wealth of genetic information. I don’t conduct this type of research, nor have I personally sent my cells to 23andMe, but I do know several people who have discovered some very interesting findings.

This report from 23andMe states that they can help predict your risk of tearing your ACL. While we know that ACL tears can run in families and that anatomical, muscular, and movement characteristics predispose athletes to ACL injury, it would be interesting to see how a purely genetic test could add to our knowledge.

Sadly, there are no details reported here, so it is difficult to draw many conclusions. However, as AI and large genetic data pools become more sophisticated, we may be able to tailor our sporting activities to minimize the risk of injury.

Read the article: Genetics May Explain Why Some Athletes Are More Prone to ACL Tears
https://blog.23andme.com/articles/genetics-may-explain-why-some-athletes-are-more-prone-to-acl-tears

Image created by AI.

Dr. Sabrina Strickland, Orthopedic Sports Surgeon

12/11/2025

While this press release from an orthopedic implant company may not seem important, since many patients don’t even know what a CPT code is, it’s actually very significant.

New procedures are typically not covered by insurance companies, so when we try to get approval to perform these surgeries, we often hear back that the procedure has been denied as “investigational.”

However, when an implant is given a CPT, or Common Procedural Terminology, code, the pathway for reimbursement becomes streamlined, increasing the likelihood that patients can actually receive state-of-the-art care.

The CARTIHEAL AGILI-C Cartilage Repair Implant is made from coral and designed to treat cartilage defects of the knee. It can be used in patients with early arthritis. The implant received Breakthrough Device approval from the FDA over three years ago and has shown considerable promise in the 35 to 40 patients in whom I have used it so far. The American Medical Association (AMA) CPT Editorial Panel has established a Category I CPT code for procedures involving its CARTIHEAL AGILI-C Cartilage Repair Implant, effective January 1, 2027.

Read the Smith+Nephew press release: Smith+Nephew announces new category I CPT® code for its CARTIHEAL™ AGILI-C™ Cartilage Repair Implant: https://www.biospace.com/press-releases/smith-nephew-announces-new-category-i-cpt-code-for-its-cartiheal-agili-c-cartilage-repair-implant

Image generated with AI.

Dr. Sabrina Strickland, Orthopedic Surgeon in New York specializing in sports medicine, with expertise in knees & shoulders to return you to an active lifestyle

12/09/2025

Lauren has been dancing with the Connecticut Ballet Center since she was just three years old. But last year, one jump changed everything – she dislocated her kneecap and tore the medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) in her knee. Suddenly, the stage felt out of reach.

She turned to Sabrina M. Strickland, a sports medicine surgeon at HSS who specializes in patellofemoral injuries. In July 2024, Dr. Strickland reconstructed Lauren’s MPFL to stabilize her knee and protect her joint. Lauren committed to months of physical therapy and gym work, determined to return stronger.

Less than five months post-surgery, she was back on stage performing in The Nutcracker – pain-free. Soon after, she earned a spot at Nutmeg Ballet Conservatory, spending her summer immersed in ballet, pointe, jazz, hip hop, and more.

“My knee feels awesome – sometimes I forget which one had surgery,” Lauren says. “I just want to keep dancing and get better.”

From injury to comeback, Lauren’s resilience and expert care thanks to her HSS care team made the impossible possible.

https://backinthegame.hss.edu/story/lauren-maclochlainn/

12/06/2025

This post is really for the surgeons who treat patellar instability. Every month there is another article describing how to measure MRI or CT scans to determine anatomic factors leading to patellar instability or patellar cartilage overload. It literally becomes alphabet soup with TTTG, C/D index, PT-LTR, etc.

In fact, very few surgeons are going to measure every possible angle on every possible imaging available because it will take too long and it will not necessarily help plan surgery. As one scrolls through an MRI, you get a very good sense of where the patella is tracking and why.

It is then up to the surgeon to determine if they can get away with small surgery, such as an MPFL, or if they need to realign the knee. This can involve a tibial tubercle osteotomy to move the patella medially or distally or a femoral osteotomy to straighten or rotate the knee. The femoral osteotomy has a much higher complication rate and changes the mechanics of the entire lower extremity.

If you're interested, a link to the full article in the Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine: Validity of the 2-Image Lateral Trochlear Inclination to Determine Patellar Instability Due to Trochlear Dysplasia is available on my website.

Image is AI-generated based on an image in the article.

Dr. Sabrina Strickland, Orthopedic Surgeon in New York specializing in sports medicine, with expertise in knees & shoulders to return you to an active lifestyle

11/25/2025

I have so many questions about why Elton John turned his kneecaps into jewelry.

1. I’m sure they aren’t his entire kneecaps as we don’t remove them unless they are shattered and in too many pieces to repair. In a partial or total knee replacement, a portion is removed in order to make space to put a polyethylene (plastic) cap to resurface it.

2. Why was there a hole in his patella? Short of a bullet hole or some types of cancer, it would be rare to see a hole in the patella. I do see severe cases of patellofemoral arthritis where the patient has worn their bone down pretty far. If it is very thin, I don’t have to remove much from the lateral side to do a reconstruction.

3. In the US, patients cannot keep their bones or other body parts after surgery. They can keep screws and plates but their bones/ meniscus/cartilage etc. goes to a pathologist to examine and then gets discarded.

4. Why would you want a memory of something so painful on a necklace or broach?

I don’t know...it's a pretty unusual story.

Read the Today article to learn more: Elton John Turned His Kneecaps Into Jewelry. Yes, You Read That Correctly (https://www.today.com/popculture/news/elton-john-jewelry-kneecaps-rcna231408)

Photo by Kiwihug on Unsplash: https://unsplash.com/photos/a-person-playing-a-piano-in-a-dark-room-7ES2yMYoeio
# EltonJohn # jewelry # jointsurgery # kneereconstruction # Kneereplacementsurgery # kneecap # medicalmystery # orthopedicsurgeon # patella # patellofemoralarthritis # patientkeepsake # surgicalprocedure

Dr. Sabrina Strickland, Orthopedic Surgeon in New York specializing in sports medicine, with expertise in knees & shoulders to return you to an active lifestyle

11/17/2025

My husband, Dr. Andreas Gomoll, and I spoke to CBS News New York about the CARTIHEAL AGILI-C cartilage repair implant, which is a relatively new procedure that uses sea coral to help people who suffer from knee osteoarthritis.

Check out the video to learn more about the procedure and a couple of the patients who've tried it at the Hospital for Special Surgery:

https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/video/innovative-new-procedure-uses-sea-coral-to-help-people-who-suffer-from-knee-osteoarthritis/

Hospital for Special Surgery
(This photo isn't real - it's AI generated - but the sea coral and CARTIHEAL AGILI-C cartilage repair implant are real.)

11/14/2025

A dislocated kneecap is a frightening and painful injury that raises immediate questions for most people about recovery and long-term outcomes.

The good news is that many people can fully recover from a dislocated patella, but your journey depends on several factors, including the severity of injury, anatomical risk factors, treatment approach, and how well you follow your rehabilitation protocols.

I wrote up a post that walks through all of this: https://sabrinastrickland.com/can-you-fully-recover-from-dislocated-patella/

Photo by Nikola on Unsplash: https://unsplash.com/photos/a-man-sitting-on-a-ledge-tying-his-shoes-LXjZA_J_Lnc

Dr. Sabrina Strickland, Orthopedic Surgeon in New York specializing in sports medicine, with expertise in knees & shoulders to return you to an active lifestyle

11/07/2025

I got an awesome update from one of my patients this week - and permission to share it and her photos.

Gillis Frechette ran the NYC marathon this past Sunday… something before the surgery she never thought she would be able to accomplish.

"It was incredibly emotional for me and for my family who knew how much this knee injury took from my mental and physical health. Completing the marathon was healing and rewarding in so many ways and I felt that I needed to share with you because I obviously could not have completed it without you and the surgery!"

11/07/2025

I'm happy to share another patient success story today - this one is also with my husband, Dr. Andreas Gomoll!

Meet Jennifer, a project manager and lifelong volleyball player, who struggled with recurrent knee swelling after a previous ACL and meniscus surgery in 2010. The swelling was caused by her remaining knee joints brushing together during activity due to the degradation of her meniscus.

Seeking a specialist who understood her active lifestyle, she found us at HSS. We recommended a combined surgical approach: an HTO (High Tibial Osteotomy) to create a protective gap in the joint, and an ACL reconstruction.

Jennifer successfully returned to Pilates and, ultimately, high-level volleyball. She's now playing 3-5 times a week! Watch her story.