Find a Top Orthopedic Surgeon Near Me in West Covina, CA – Book an Appointment Instantly

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.

STEPAN KASIMIAN, M.D.

Stepan Kasimian, M.D., is an orthopaedic surgeon with specialty training in complex spinal reconstruction and minimally invasive spine surgery. His primary interests include degenerative spine disease and spinal deformity. He has extensive experience in treating multiple spine disorders including disc herniations, spinal stenosis, spondylolisthesis, kyphosis, scoliosis, tumors, and spinal trauma in the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine.

EDUCATION

Dr. Kasimian received his undergraduate degrees in Microbiology & Molecular Genetics and History from the University of California, Los Angeles. He completed his internship and residency in orthopaedic surgery at the Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center. After residency, Dr. Kasimian obtained further training in complex spinal reconstruction surgery at Cedars-Spinal Medical Center, Institute for Spinal Disorders.

RESEARCH

Dr. Kasimian has presented his research at the International Meeting on Advanced Spine Techniques and has written a chapter on endoscopic thoracic disc herniations in a prominent spine textbook.

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS/AFFILIATIONS

He is a member of the American Medical Association, Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society, North American Spine Society, and the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. In order to better serve his patients, his practice is located in Beverly Hills, Glendale, and Rancho Cucamonga and he maintains privileges in numerous hospitals including Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and Glendale Adventist Medical Center.

Dr. Mitchell McDowell, a Board-Certified Orthopedic Surgeon, specializes in hip and knee reconstruction. He co-founded M Bone and Joint and serves as CEO. A Southern California native, he earned his undergraduate degree with Howard Hughes Medical Institute Honors from CSU Long Beach and completed medical training at Western University of Health Sciences. Dr. McDowell completed residency at Riverside University Health System and an Adult Reconstruction Fellowship at Rush University. Before founding M Bone and Joint, he practiced for eight years as an award-winning surgeon, mentor, and researcher. He is an Associate Clinical Professor at UC Riverside and Western University. Specializing in primary and revision joint arthroplasty, he is certified in robotic-assisted surgery (MAKO, ROSA) and researches regenerative health, ortho biologics, and shock wave therapy. In his free time, he enjoys guitar, woodworking, cooking, and reading.

Michael Hannon, MD, is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist at Hannon Orthopedics in Beverly Hills, California. Though he is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Hannon prefers optimizing non-surgical treatments for his patients to avoid or prevent surgery. But when surgery becomes your best or only option, Dr. Hannon offers superb, minimally invasive and arthroscopic surgical care. He is widely considered one of the best orthopedic surgeons around. Nothing makes him happier than seeing the sheer joy on the faces of his post-operative patients as they return, pain-free and functional, to their active and athletic lifestyles.

Dr. Hannon has helped many competitive athletes, weekend warriors, and even non-athletes who suffer things like an ACL tear or rotator cuff tear. He performs expert ACL surgery, hip reconstructive surgery, hip replacement surgery, total knee replacement surgery, and partial knee replacement surgery. As a sports medicine doctor, he treats all kinds of sports injuries and performs Bankart repair, labral repair, biceps tenotomy, cartilage repairs, and meniscal repair.

Dr. Hannon, an athlete himself, has trained at some of the finest orthopedic sports medicine programs in the United States. His years of preparation, clinical experience, and dedication to patients have led to an unprecedented high level of care. His mission is to give you state-of-the-art, personalized care that’s second to none, so you can overcome sports injuries, shoulder injuries, and knee problems and return to your active life as quickly and safely as possible.

Jonathan Frank, MD, is a renowned fellowship trained and board-certified orthopaedic surgeon. In his self-named private practice in West Hollywood, California, Dr. Frank takes a holistic, patient-centered approach to treating sports injuries and joint problems on the ankle, hip, knee, elbow, and shoulder.

Dr. Frank also has extensive training in arthroscopic and robotic-assisted surgery. These approaches combine the most advanced technology and unique specialized skills to decrease the risk of surgical errors, reduce pain, and accelerate recovery. 

While highly trained as a leading orthopaedic surgeon, Dr. Frank always strives to heal patients using nonsurgical methods first. He only recommends surgery if it’s absolutely necessary to help patients get back to their prior level of function. Dr. Frank believes in tailoring treatment for every patient based not only on age but also many other factors like activity level, general health, and patient wishes. 

Dr. Frank uses the most up-to-date precision medical techniques. Biological substances derived from bone marrow, amniotic fluid, and umbilical cords contain powerful regenerative cells that can greatly improve recovery. 

Dr. Frank earned his medical degree at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California in Los Angeles, California. He completed an orthopedic residency at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois, where he helped treat college and professional athletes from Roosevelt University, the White Sox, and the Bulls. 

In addition, Dr. Frank completed an orthopedic sports medicine fellowship at the world-renowned Steadman Clinic in Vail, Colorado. There, he treated many elite athletes from the NFL, NBA, MLB, and MLS. He’s currently on the medical staff of the US Ski and Snowboard Team. 

With a combination of leading-edge technology, open communication, and comprehensive rehabilitation, patients of Jonathan Frank, MD, achieve the best results in joint preservation and sports injury recovery. 

Call the office or book an appointment with Dr. Frank using the online scheduling feature today.

Kushagra Verma, MD, MS, FAAOS, is a board-certified orthopedic spine surgeon at Advanced Spine Care in Los Alamitos and Marina Del Rey, California. He is fellowship-trained in complex spine surgery and has many years of experience. He offers surgery when it’s the best option to ensure the highest quality of life for his patients.

Dr. Verma earned a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Cornell University School of Engineering in Ithaca, New York, and a master’s degree in molecular biology from the NYU Graduate School of Arts & Sciences in New York City. He completed medical school at NYU School of Medicine in New York City.

Dr. Verma also completed an orthopedic surgery residency at Thomas Jefferson University’s Rothman Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and an adult and pediatric spine fellowship (with a focus on spinal deformities) at the University of California at San Francisco. 

Dr. Verma has been recognized many times for his expertise. He was selected by The Leading Physicians as a Top Orthopedic Surgeon of the Spine. He also received the Top Doctor Award in Los Alamitos and numerous other professional recognitions for his excellence. 

Dr. Verma is an experienced college educator with experience at the University of Washington in Seattle, Long Beach Memorial in Long Beach, California, and the Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, California. 

He specializes in treating spinal anomalies, including spinal stenosis, scoliosis, spondylolisthesis, disc herniation, and flatback syndrome. Dr. Verma is a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) and the Scoliosis Research Society (SRS). He has contributed to nearly 50 peer-reviewed publications. 

Dr. Verma spends as much time as patients need to ensure they feel heard with all of their questions addressed. He fully explains their diagnoses, thoroughly reviews all imaging results, and discusses detailed treatment options — always giving patients a voice in their treatments. He uses the latest technological advances and procedures to ensure long-lasting outcomes.

Dr. Verma welcomes new and existing patients to Advanced Spine Care and looks forward to optimizing their spinal health and overall quality of life.

About Us

Carlos Uquillas, MD, is an orthopaedic surgeon specializing in adult and pediatric sports medicine as well as arthroscopy. He serves patients across Southern California and Los Angeles at his office in Los Angeles, California.

Dr. Uquillas received his medical degree from the Stanford University School of Medicine, where he had a scholarly concentration in clinical research and received a Leland Stanford Junior University Outstanding Graduate Mentor Award. Dr. Uquillas completed his residency at the prestigious Hospital for Joint Diseases at New York University Langone Medical Center, where he received the Eleanor Kauffman Award for Research in Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgery. He continued his training with a fellowship in sports medicine at the Kerlan Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic and a pediatric orthopaedic surgery fellowship at Children’s Hospital – Los Angeles.

Areas of special interest to Dr. Uquillas include sports medicine, joint preservation, and fracture care. To better serve his patients, Dr. Uquillas is fluent in English and Spanish.

Dr. Uquillas is Assistant Professor at the Cedars Sinai and is a team physician for the Los Angeles Angels. Dr. Uquillas is also the head team physician for the Los Angeles Black Storm. He has been an orthopaedic consultant to the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Los Angeles Kings.  Dr. Uquillas was previously the director of Sports Medicine at Shriners Hospitals for Children in Pasadena, CA. 

He is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, Pediatric Research in Sports Medicine and the Arthroscopy Associations of North America. He is Board Certified in Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine. 

Dr. Uquillas is active in research and education. He is part of the Kerlan-Jobe Fellowship academic staff as well as the Cedars Sinai Orthopedic residency program core faculty.