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Dr. Rama E. Chandran, MD, is a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon with more than four decades of distinguished clinical experience in orthopaedic surgery and fracture care. A founding pillar of Chandran Orthopaedic Surgery, Dr. Chandran has dedicated his career to delivering exceptional musculoskeletal care to patients across the South Bay and greater Los Angeles communities.

Dr. Chandran received his medical degree (M.B.B.S. and M.D.) from the University of Madras in India, one of the subcontinent's most respected medical institutions. He then pursued advanced training in the United States, completing his internship and general surgery residency at New York Medical College, followed by his orthopaedic surgery residency at the prestigious Columbia University in New York. He earned board certification from the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery in 1980.

Over the course of his career, Dr. Chandran has been recognized as a physician-leader of the highest order. He served as President of the Medical Staff at Centinela Hospital Medical Center and as Chairman of Orthopaedics at both Centinela Hospital Medical Center and Robert F. Kennedy Medical Center. He also served on the Board of Directors of both institutions, reflecting the profound trust and respect he earned among his peers. Notably, Dr. Chandran served as President of the Society of Orthopedic Surgeons of India in North America (SOSINA), a testament to his standing within the broader orthopaedic community.

A dedicated educator, Dr. Chandran served as Assistant Clinical Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Charles R. Drew Medical School from 1983 to 2001, where he mentored and trained the next generation of surgeons. His commitment to advancing the field extends to research and innovation — he holds a United States Patent (No. 6,579,293) for an Intramedullary Rod with Interlocking Oblique Screw for Tibio-calcaneal Arthrodesis, a testament to his inventive contributions to orthopaedic surgical technology. He is also a published author, with work appearing in the Orthopedic Clinics of North America.

Dr. Chandran is affiliated with Little Company of Mary Hospital in Torrance and previously with Centinela Hospital Medical Center in Inglewood. He is a proud member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the California Orthopaedic Association.

With a career spanning over 45 years, Dr. Rama Chandran brings unparalleled experience, innovation, and compassion to every patient he serves — embodying a lifelong commitment to excellence in orthopaedic surgery.

Brandon A. Ortega, MD, is a fellowship-trained orthopedic spine surgeon who provides comprehensive and personalized spinal care to adults in Torrance and Long Beach, California. His dedication to helping each patient regain mobility, reduce pain, and improve their quality of life has earned the respect of everyone in the community struggling with neck and back pain.

Dr. Ortega received his medical degree from the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. He stayed at USC to complete his orthopedic surgery residency, where he served as chief resident.

He pursued specialized training in spine surgery, completing a fellowship at the prestigious University of California, Davis. During his fellowship training, he learned traditional, minimally invasive, and image-guided techniques for treating complex adult and pediatric spinal deformities.

Dr. Ortega specializes in diagnosing and treating all cervical (neck), thoracic (mid-back), and lumbar (lower back) conditions. His areas of interest include motion-preserving and minimally invasive surgery and using advanced technologies like navigation, robotics, and endoscopy to improve patient safety and outcomes.

He has published many peer-reviewed articles and textbook chapters and presented his research at national and international medical conferences. 

Taking a compassionate and patient-centered approach, Dr. Ortega believes in treating each patient as a person and tailoring treatment to meet their specific needs and goals. 

He creates treatment plans that integrate nonoperative interventions, including lifestyle and activity changes, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and pain management. His whole-person approach addresses each patient’s spine condition, optimizing conservative treatments and helping them avoid surgery whenever possible.

Dr. Ortega welcomes new patients and looks forward to providing ongoing care to his current patients, working with them to restore an active, healthy life.

Amy Wickman, MD, is an experienced spine specialist with the team at Alta Orthopaedics, with locations in Solvang, Santa Barbara, and Oxnard, California. In the midst of the complexity of spine surgery, Dr. Wickman puts patients and their families in the foreground. Having dealt with sick family members as well as with her own orthopaedic issues, she knows how important it is for patients to feel validated, to feel that they are heard, and for the doctor to be able to see the situation from the patient’s perspective.

Dr. Wickman became a doctor because she wanted to help people have better health. She completed her undergraduate degree in urban planning at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, before graduating with her medical degree from the Stritch School of Medicine at Loyola University Chicago. It was there that she developed her love of spine surgery during her five-year residency, training at a Level 1 Trauma Center, the Hines VA, and the Shriners Hospital for Children. She dealt with everything from traumatic spine and spinal cord injuries to treating children with scoliosis and adults with degenerative conditions such as herniated discs.

Her education and training in orthopaedic surgery allows her to see issues from a broader perspective, to look at the whole person and identify problems that may not be as obvious as they appear on an MRI. At the same time, she avoids surgery when there are other equally effective solutions.

When it comes to the spine, there may be more than one way to handle a problem. Options may depend on goals and lifestyles as well as medical issues. Dr. Wickman takes time to make sure her patients are aware of all those aspects so that each individual finds the best solution for the circumstances. When possible, she includes family members in decisions about surgery and hospital care. In addition to her busy practice at Alta Orthopaedics, Dr. Wickman is an on-call surgeon for the Emergency Room.

Dr. Wickman is a self-described “city girl” born and raised in Chicago. Now she loves the year-round healthy Santa Barbara lifestyle and understands how important it is for her patients to get back to the activities they enjoy. In college, she was captain of her rowing team. Today, she remains active by running and hiking. In addition to spending time outdoors, Dr. Wickman’s great joy in life is her family – her husband and two children.

Rivka Ihejirika-Lomedico, MD, is a fellowship-trained Orthopaedic surgeon and Spine specialist at Alta Orthopaedics, located in Santa Barbara and Solvang, California. Dr. Lomedico understands that the journey to seeking a spine consultation can be challenging for patients. She aims to provide compassionate, patient-centered care while offering non-operative, minimally invasive, and traditional surgical treatments for all spine disorders.

Dr. Lomedico, a southern California native, is a graduate of Davidson College where she was a Presidential Scholar earning a full academic scholarship and three research grants. She then attended Vanderbilt Medical School where she received the Cornelius Vanderbilt Scholarship and graduated in the top 5% of her class with Junior AOA designation along with numerous other clinical and service-oriented awards.

Dr. Lomedico completed Orthopaedic Surgical Residency including an additional basic science research year at New York University Langone Medical Center/Hospital for Joint Diseases. As a graduate of the 6-year clinician scientist track at NYU, she continued to distinguish herself during residency by receiving four grants and numerous research awards. She then trained at the Harvard Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital combined spine fellowship program in Boston, MA. There she gained extensive experience in the operative and non-operative management of cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine pathology. Here at Alta, she treats patients of all ages with traumatic, degenerative, deforming, oncologic, and congenital conditions in the spine.

Dr. Lomedico has a strong interest in bone health optimization, regenerative medicine, and wellness. She has over 100+ contributions to the scientific community including publications, presentations, and teachings. Here at Alta, she continues to engage in clinical research and collaborate with researchers locally and at major institutions. Dr. Lomedico is also a certified yoga instructor whose experience in Integrative Health allows her to provide patients with evidence-based recommendations for alternative therapies.

She is married to Mark Lomedico, and they have two beautiful children. In her spare time, she enjoys family life, running, hiking, yoga, and working on her golf game.

Brooke graduated from the University of Southern California in 2004 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Studies. She then graduated from Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences Physician Assistant Program with a Master’s Degree in 2007. She relocated to Santa Barbara and has been working at Alta Orthopaedics since 2008.

Asher Kupperman, MD, is a specialist in hand and upper extremity surgery at Alta Orthopaedics, with locations in Solvang, Santa Barbara, and Oxnard, California. Dr. Kupperman was born at Cottage Hospital and raised in Santa Barbara. He attended Vieja Valley, La Colina, and graduated valedictorian from San Marcos High School, where he captained the basketball team. As the son of two doctors, it was always his dream to return to Santa Barbara as a physician so that he could care for the community that raised and cared for him.

He majored in molecular biophysics and biochemistry at Yale University and earned his medical degree from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Following his residency training in orthopaedic surgery at the University of California, Los Angeles, Dr. Kupperman completed specialty fellowship training in hand and upper extremity surgery at the prestigious Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. He also trained at Memorial Sloan-Kettering and New York-Presbyterian Hospital of Cornell Medical School.

He has treated many professional athletes, including members of the New York Giants, Knicks, and Mets, the New Jersey Devils, a Wimbledon Tennis Champion, a US Open Golf Champion, and many world-renowned artists and musicians.

While living in Nashville, Dr. Kupperman fell in love with his beautiful wife, Elizabeth. He enjoys spending time with her and their young son, Lev, and is always on the lookout for a pick-up game of basketball.

Certified physician assistant Anne Allen, PA-C, is dedicated to helping patients in Santa Barbara,  Oxnard, and Solvang, California, return to a healthy, active life through orthopaedic care. She practices from the convenient office locations of Alta Orthopaedics. 

Anne graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 2014 with a Bachelor's Degree in Biochemistry. During her time there, she swam on the UCSB Division 1 swim team. She worked as an EMT before attending graduate school. 

She went on to complete her Masters of Physician Assistant Studies at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 2018. After earning her master's, Anne returned to Santa Barbara. She's proud to be able to provide comprehensive orthopaedic care to the community. 

As a former collegiate athlete, Anne has a unique perspective on orthopaedic care and understands the importance of maintaining an active lifestyle. She takes the time to listen to her patients' goals and works collaboratively to help them achieve an improved quality of life. 

When she's not caring for patients at Alta Orthopaedics, Anne enjoys spending her time surfing, cooking, cycling, swimming, and running. 

Becky graduated from University of California, Santa Barbara in 2005. She worked for the City of Santa Barbara and Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital as a certified EMT prior to graduate school. She has been practicing orthopaedics in Santa Barbara since completing her Master’s Degree at the University of Florida in 2010.

Eli Kupperman, MD, is a fellowship-trained sports and regenerative medicine specialist at Alta Orthopaedics in Solvang,  and Santa Barbara, California. He treats musculoskeletal conditions resulting from injury, overuse, and arthritis. He specializes in shoulder replacements as well as arthroscopic and minimally-invasive surgical techniques, which reduce post-operative recovery time and allow patients an earlier return to work and play.

Dr. Kupperman is proud to have grown up in Santa Barbara, where he attended Vieja Valley, La Colina, and San Marcos High School. He graduated from Harvard University with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and economics and rowed for the crew team. He then earned his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania and completed his internship and residency in Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Following residency, Dr. Kupperman completed his specialty fellowship in sports medicine under the world-renowned surgeon, Dr. James Andrews, at the Andrews Institute, where he was awarded the prestigious Herodicus Society North American Travelling Fellowship. This fellowship provided him with extensive and immersive training in operative and non-operative treatment of musculoskeletal conditions in professional and collegiate athletes.

He is currently the head team physician for Santa Ynez High School and is one of the team physicians for the Santa Barbara Foresters baseball team and UCSB.
Dr. Kupperman stays active by distance running, including completing many marathons. He and his wife, Stephanie, and their young daughter, Audrey, love spending time with their extended family, enjoying the outdoors, and sampling the wonderful variety of activities and food Santa Barbara has to offer.

Erin Haggerty, MD, is a dual fellowship-trained foot and ankle specialist and sports and specialist practicing at Alta Orthopaedics, located in Solvang, Santa Barbara,  and Oxnard, California. As a physician board-certified in both specialties, she has a particular interest and training in pathology pertaining to the foot, ankle, and hip regions.

In the foot and ankle, Dr. Haggerty treats sports-related injuries in athletes, degenerative issues such as arthritis, deformity correction, bunion surgery, Achilles tendon ruptures, and foot and ankle trauma. She also has advanced training in total ankle replacement surgery. In the hip region, she specializes in arthroscopic, minimally-invasive treatment for labral tears and impingement syndromes.  

Dr. Haggerty was born and raised in Ventura, California, and feels privileged to return to the region to treat the community here in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. After graduating from Buena High School, she attended the University of California, Los Angeles, where she was an NCAA student-athlete and competed as a varsity member of the women’s crew team for four years. She then earned her medical degree from the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California and completed her internship and residency in orthopaedic surgery at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. 

Following orthopaedic residency, Dr. Haggerty completed two fellowships. She performed her first fellowship in sports medicine at Brown University. There, she learned the skills necessary to treat soft tissue ailments via minimally-invasive arthroscopic approaches so as to return athletes to play as soon as possible. In this fellowship, she also served as a team doctor for all of the Brown University athletes as well as for the Providence Bruins AHL professional hockey team. With this aspect of her training, she gained valuable skills in caring for athletes that she was able to translate to her foot and ankle patients as well.

Dr. Haggerty then completed a second fellowship in foot and ankle surgery at the University of California, Davis and the Reno Orthopedic Clinic. During this busy year, she mastered the skills necessary to treat all pathology involving the foot and ankle. She works proactively with all of her patients to determine and achieve their best possible outcome.  

Dr. Haggerty and her husband, Ben, are thrilled to return to their hometown and begin a family. She feels grateful to be joining the team of providers at Alta Orthopaedics and looks forward to helping the citizens of the community in which she was raised.

Christopher Birch, MD, is a hip and knee replacement specialist and board-certified orthopaedic surgeon with the team at Alta Orthopaedics, located in Solvang, Santa Barbara, and Oxnard, California. Dr. Birch offers not only a unique world experience but also particular medical expertise as the first fellowship-educated knee and hip arthroplasty specialist to join the Santa Barbara private medical community in well over a decade.

A Santa Barbara-native and third-generation physician, Dr. Birch completed his bachelor’s degree in international studies and chemistry at Boston College. He then spent eight months studying socio-economic aspects of public health and infectious disease in East Africa, which inspired him to pursue medicine. Afterward, he earned his medical degree from the University of California San Diego, where he was a Health Equity Scholar. 

Dr. Birch went on to complete his general surgery internship and orthopaedic residency at the University of Vermont. While there, he served on the residency selection committee for two years and the graduate medical education quality council for four. Adding a final flourish to his academic credentials, Dr. Birch joins the Alta Orthopaedics team from one of the most sought-after total joint and lower extremity reconstruction fellowships in the country at Indiana University.

Dr. Stuart Hutchinson has served the Santa Barbara community as a spine specialist and surgeon since 1980. He practices at Alta Orthopaedics, located in Solvang, Santa Barbara, and Oxnard, California. His grandfather was a doctor and his father was a prominent general surgeon in Seattle. As a child, it was clear to him that he wanted to follow the same path in the medical field.

Watching how his father treated people and how much his patients loved him, taught Dr. Hutchinson the importance of connecting with patients on a very human level. He believes that part of the art of medicine is to treat them with care and compassion, and to be sensitive to their needs. That means he takes time to listen carefully to his patients’ concerns and to discern whether issues in other areas — not always physical — are affecting the patient’s overall well-being and ability to heal.

During his 5 years of medical training in South Africa he learned that, given time, patients can often heal without surgery. Some situations require immediate surgery. It’s important to recognize those. But he favors a less invasive approach that steers away from the current trend of offering surgery as the first treatment option.

In 1985 Dr. Hutchinson teamed up with Dr. William Dunbar, to establish the first local center for orthopaedic surgeons who wanted to specialize in more focused areas, such as spine surgery or foot and ankle surgery. Their center grew into what is today Alta Orthopaedics.

Dr. Hutchinson draws inspiration and energy from nature and being outdoors. He likes to play golf and hike the beautiful Santa Ynez mountains. He has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Whitney, and Mount Rainer, and has snow skied in Utah and Colorado. Dr. Hutchinson’s family is close by in Southern California and Arizona.

VOLUNTEERING
Dr. Hutchinson has a deep personal connection to the world of volunteering. His father founded the non-profit Fred Hutchinson Research Cancer Center in Seattle, after his uncle, a Big League pitcher, died of lung cancer at age 45. Today it is renowned as one of the best cancer centers in the country and the best place in the world for bone marrow transplants. It has produced three Nobel prize winners over the last 20 years. Dr. Hutchinson serves on their Board of Ambassadors and MCs their annual fundraiser in Palm Springs.

SPECIALTY WITHIN SPINE SURGERY: KYPHOPLASTY
Dr. Hutchinson was the first surgeon in the Tri-Counties to perform kyphoplasty to treat compression fractures of the spine. Today he is the only surgeon in Santa Barbara who uses this procedure. Pain goes away immediately and patients get great results. They can return to daily activities much more rapidly than with more invasive methods of treatment.

PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Participating physician in the Summer Olympics 1984

Co-founder of Orthopaedic Specialists, Santa Barbara, which later became Alta Orthopaedics

EDUCATION, CERTIFICATIONS AND MEMBERSHIPS

Bachelors of Science degree from the University of Arizona.

Completed his medical training at the prestigious Stellenbosch University in South Africa where he spent 5 years

Certification by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery, September 1982

Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons since 1985

Active member of the North American Spine Society since 1985

Member of the South Africa Orthopedic Association since 1990

Mehul Taylor, MD, is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon at Valley Orthopedic Institute in Palmdale and Ridgecrest, California. In addition to treating male and female patients of all ages who have general orthopedic issues, Dr. Taylor specializes in diagnosing and treating athletic injuries and arthroscopic surgeries.

Dr. Taylor has firm roots in Southern California, having grown up in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County and graduated from Calabasas High School in Calabasas. Dr. Taylor earned his Bachelor of Science in physiological sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). 

Dr. Taylor then earned his medical degree at Chicago Medical School in North Chicago, where he graduated with honors in 2002. He was also elected to the noted Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society.

Next came an orthopedic residency at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, before Dr. Taylor traveled to Minnesota for the University of Minnesota’s sports medicine fellowship program. There, he received advanced training in arthroscopic surgery and served as an assistant team physician for the university’s football team.

Dr. Taylor is affiliated with two hospitals where he also treats patients: Antelope Valley Hospital in Lancaster and Palmdale Regional Medical Center in Palmdale.