Neeraj Patel, MD, MPH, MBS

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About

Dr. Neeraj M. Patel is an attending surgeon at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Medical Social Sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. He completed residency training at the NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases followed by a fellowship in pediatric orthopaedic surgery at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where he acquired advanced techniques in pediatric sports medicine and fracture surgery.

His clinical interests include knee, shoulder, elbow, and ankle arthroscopy for conditions such as ACL injuries in all ages (including children with open growth plates), meniscus tears, osteochondritis dissecans, cartilage injuries, and patellar instability. He is fiercely committed to providing quality, equitable care to all children by spending the time and energy necessary to build relationships and partner with families to achieve excellent outcomes.

In addition to his medical training, Dr. Patel also holds Master’s Degrees in Public Health and Biomedical Science. Given this background, he is an active researcher, with numerous frequently cited publications and leadership in national, multicenter study groups. He is one of the 4% of academic orthopaedic surgeons with National Institutes of Health funding, which supports his passion for health equity research. Dr. Patel applies innovative approaches to partner with community members and co-design interventions to reduce disparities in pediatric orthopaedics.

He has served as chair of the Diversity Committee of the Pediatric Research in Sports Medicine Society (PRiSM) and the Evidence Based Practice Committee of the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America (POSNA). Dr. Patel was one of ten members of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) work group tasked with creating clinical practice guidelines for the management of ACL injuries. In addition to NIH funding, he was also awarded the St. Giles Young Investigator award and Roshen Irani Research Grant by POSNA. He has also received the Inclusion and Equity Abstract Award from PRiSM. 

Clinical Interests

ACL injuries in all ages (including children with open growth plates), meniscus injuries, discoid meniscus, osteochondritis dissecans, cartilage injuries, patellar instability, pediatric fractures