Walter O’Brien, MD

Orthopedic Surgery

Request On-Demand Appointment

11710 Wilshire Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90025 310-477-7276

23656 Pacific Coast Highway Malibu, CA 90265 310-456-6945

 
Medical Education
Dr. O’Brien completed his medical school and five year orthopedic surgery residency at the University of Kansas. During medical school he experienced surgery from the patient’s perspective undergoing anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction of his knee. He was fortunate to have been operated on and subsequently mentored by one of the true pioneers of modern day knee reconstructive surgery, Charles Henning, MD. Dr. Henning also was an innovator in the prevention of knee injuries. Pediatric orthopedics is one subspecialty interest of Dr. O’Brien, especially pediatric trauma and fractures. He completed six months of residency at The Children’s’ Hospital in Denver, Colorado under the directorship of Robert Eilert, MD where he studied a potentially serious type of children’s elbow fracture and developed methods for surgeons to minimize permanent deformity.

Sports Medicine Fellowships

With a subspecialty interest in sports medicine, Dr. O’Brien embarked upon a unique two year traveling fellowship involving many of the innovative gurus at several meccas of sports medicine. He studied with Ejnar Eriksson, MD at the renowned Karolinska hospital in Stockholm, Sweden learning his pioneering techniques in arthroscopy of the knee, shoulder, elbow, ankle, and hip. Dr. Eriksson also was a world leader in the rehabilitation of musculoskeletal injuries. Dr. O’Brien traveled to Switzerland and participated in the prestigious A.O. Fellowship program learning state-of-the-art techniques in fracture surgery and worked with Werner Muller, MD, a leading authority on knee ligament surgery. The educational journey also included time in Paris, France studying under the wing of Jean-Yves Dupont, MD as he pioneered work in ligament reconstruction, meniscal repair, and accelerated rehabilitation after knee surgery. The renowned Orthopaedic and Arthritic Hospital in Toronto, Canada hosted Dr. O’Brien as he learned from Robert Jackson, MD who introduced arthroscopic surgery to North America after observing its birth during a trip to Japan. The highly regarded Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City provided a training grounds as Dr. O’Brien learned from Russell Warren, MD, team doctor for the New York Giants NFL team and known for his cutting-edge work in shoulder surgery and knee reconstruction. Dr. O’Brien also was fortunate enough to work with another pioneer in knee reconstructive surgery and rehabilitation, Frank Noyes, MD of Cincinnati, Ohio. After completing this remarkable educational experience, Dr. O’Brien moved to southern California and spent his first year in private practice working with Martin Blazina, MD, another pioneer of knee surgery originally from the Kerlan-Jobe Clinic and subsequent founder of the sports medicine department at UCLA.

Research

Medical research, both basic science and clinical studies, have been a passion for Dr. O’Brien. This has led to numerous publications, awards, and invitations to lecture internationally. His basic science research involves biomechanics of the knee and studying the functional anatomy of knee ligaments developing surgical techniques to restore injured ligaments. Clinical studies verified his basic science research results as it applies to actual surgical procedures for knee reconstruction. His clinical studies also involve the long-term effects of various types of meniscal surgical procedures. Dr. O’Brien has published research work and scientific articles in the following peer-reviewed orthopedic journals: American Journal of Sports Medicine, Sports Medicine and Arthroscopy Review, Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, Operative Techniques in Orthopaedics, Techniques in Orthopaedics, Orthopaedic Transactions, and Transactions of the Orthopaedic Research Society. In addition, he has authored two chapters in a medical textbook about knee surgery: The Crucial Ligaments, Second Edition, JA Feagin (editor).

Awards & Teaching

International medical conferences have provided Dr. O’Brien a venue to lecture and present his research on various orthopaedic and sports medicine topics including meetings by the International Society of the Knee, International Arthroscopy Association, American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, European Society of Knee Surgery and Arthroscopy, ACL Study Group, Hong Kong Sports Medicine Conference, Western Pacific Orthopaedic Association, and Japanese Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine. National medical conferences have also been a forum for Dr. O’Brien to lecture to orthopedic surgeons about his research work on multiple occasions including the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, and Orthopaedic Research Society. Numerous awards have been bestowed upon Dr. O’Brien for his original research contributions to orthopedic surgery by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, International Society of the Knee, European Society of Knee Surgery and Arthroscopy, and Swiss Orthopaedic Association.

Staff Privileges

Dr. O’Brien became board certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery in 1990. He is on staff at Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica and Southern California Hospital at Culver City. He also performs outpatient procedures at the Surgery Center of the Pacific.

Office Locations

Brentwood has been home base for Dr. O’Brien’s offices for over twenty years while he has also maintained an office in Malibu at Malibu Urgent Care. He has supported the Big Brothers Association and the Special Olympics in addition to coaching youth sports in soccer, football, basketball, and baseball.

Curriculum Vitae of Walter O’Brien, MD.
Patient Testimonials of Walter O’Brien, MD.