Hosalkar: Why Orthopaedic Surgery

Dr. Hosalkar believes in the power of medicine and surgery to promote well-being and a greater quality of life. His drive to help improve the lives of others was demonstrated in how diligent he was in his medical studies. Repeatedly, Hosalkar ranked at the top of his class. He career led him from India, to Pennsylvania, to California where he currently treats patients with a number of hip and pelvic disorders.

Hosalkar treats patients whose hip and pelvic problems are a result of a birth defect, damage over time, or a traumatic injury. While the source of the problem may differ, Hosalkar hopes each patient will achieve the same results: happiness and functional living free from pain.

Hosalkar is a specialist, but treats patients from all age groups. He treats infants, children, young adults, and the elderly. He treats all patients with respect and great care. Hosalkar believes in treating patients with the same quality he would treat family. His quality care and work have gained him much respect in his field.

From a young age, Hosalkar wanted to help people. The best way to help people in need was to become a doctor in a critical field. With expert knowledge, Hosalkar evaluates patients and designs a treatment plan to achieve a functional life free from pain. He applies leading edge technology with proven methods to help patients preserve cartilage, reconstruct damage, and correct deformities. He treats a number of special conditions including bone tumors, MHE, and orthopaedic problems in cerebral palsy or from traumatic brain injury.

San Diego Community Involvement: Hosalkar

Dr. Hosalkar is proud of his career and worked hard to be where he is today. Hosalkar was raised and educated in India. He studied at the University of Bombay and was consistently in the top of his class. Many awards and honors have been bestowed upon Hosalkar because of his hard work and contribution to the field of orthopaedics.

As much as his career means to him, Hosalkar is also an active community leader. Proud of his Indian heritage, Hosalkar joined the San Diego Association of Physicians of Indian Origin. He is proud to sit on the executive committee and as of 2014, is the chairman of the New-Member Recruitment Committee. Additionally, Hosalkar sits on the executive committee of Shri Mandir Hindu Temple of San Diego and the Gujarati Association of San Diego.

While these are the community committees Hosalkar serves, he is a member of other committees related to his profession. Hosalkar was the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeon Program Chair for the AAOS-ORA 2011 Specialty Day. He was a member of the AAOS Guidelines Committee: Supracondylar Fractures in Skeletally Immature from 2010 to 2011 and the AAOS Guidelines Committee: Hip Dysplasia from 2012 to 2013.

Hosalkar continues to hold multiple AO committee positions. He is a member of the AO-Think Tank Committee and a member of the AO Faculty Educator Core Group. He is a member for the AO Pediatric Trauma Course and a member of AO-NA Faculty for Traumatology. In the recent past, he also served on committees for the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America.

Hosalkar: Orthopaedic Teaching Experience

Prior to moving to California, Dr. Hosalkar had multiple teaching positions in India, London, and Pennsylvania. His career as a surgeon and educator came shortly after he completed his medical degree at the University of Bombay. In 1996, Hosalkar spent 2 years as a clinical instructor in Orthopaedics and Trauma Surgery. He spent one year at the University of Mumbai as a Specialist Fellow and Instructor at Wadia Hospital from 1998 to 1999.

Hosalkar spent a few years in working as an instructor between 1999 and 2005 when he started his new position at the University of Pennsylvania. From 2005 to 2009, he worked for UPENN’s Department of Orthopaedic Surgery as a Clinical Instructor. He held the position of Clinical Instructor and Administrative & Academic Chief Resident from 2006 to 2009.

Hosalkar continues to educate others in the field of orthopaedic surgery. After moving to California, he worked at a children’s hospital where he took the position of attending orthopaedic surgeon. He continued at the children’s hospital until 2013, where he launched his own children’s center.

Hosalkar remains an attending orthopaedic surgeon for multiple hospitals and medical centers around California. He can be found in National City, La Mesa, San Diego, Vista, Encinitas and Chula Vista. While he serves his California community, Hosalkar encourages doctors and surgeons to take their skills to areas where their talents are needed, but scarce. Part of Dr. Hosalkar’s professional character has been shaped by his travels and career changes. He sees many patients but remembers to treat each as an important individual with individual treatment needs.

Treating Patients like Family: Hosalkar

Hosalkar is a board certified orthopaedic surgeon in California. Dr. Hosalkar is a native of India and completed medical school at the University of Bombay where he was in the top of his class. While medical school made Hosalkar focus on the medical aspects of being a surgeon, Hosalkar never forgot about the person being treated.

Hosalkar realizes a person is more than his or her symptoms. He knows it is wrong to focus only on the disease, condition, or pain, and not on the person as a whole. While he isn’t a holistic doctor, Hosalkar does try to treat every patient as if they were family or a close personal friend. He believes in providing a level of emotional comfort and meeting every patient’s individual needs.

Hosalkar has received many awards and honors throughout his career for the work he has performed as an orthopaedic surgeon. One of the latest lectures Hosalkar delivered regarded infantile DDH and issues related to screening, swaddling, and applying harnesses to infant patients. For his consideration regarding the care and comfort of his youngest patients, Hosalkar was rewarded the Scientific Exhibit Special Recognition Award in 2013. Such an honor would not have come if Hosalkar did not care for the utmost wellbeing of even the youngest patients.

Hosalkar treats patients around the San Diego, California area. He is an active orthopaedic surgeon for several health centers and area hospitals. As a doctor, Hosalkar hopes for nothing more than making positive changes for others so they live happy and functional lives. 

Hosalkar: Advanced Trauma Care

Musculoskeletal pain can have many causes. Some pain may be the result of genetic diseases, problems that have developed over time, or the result of trauma. When trauma causes musculoskeletal pain, board certified orthopaedic surgeon Hosalkar is ready to help patients find comfort and treatment.

Hosalkar is an active surgeon in California. He helps infants, children, adults, and geriatric patients suffering from musculoskeletal deformities and conditions. As a surgeon, Hosalkar carefully examines each patient to determine the exact cause of their pain or problem. Once he knows the problem, he creates a treatment plan that will restore their quality of life. While he is a surgeon, Hosalkar does not push surgery unless other treatment options have been exhausted and surgery is the last resort for trauma care.

Hosalkar works with many trauma patients and after reconstructive surgery, rehabilitation is often necessary. Surgery is not always a quick fix, and advanced trauma may require one or more additional surgeries to completely repair a problem. Knowing how difficult single and repeat surgeries can be, Hosalkar tries to treat all patients as if they were family. He is dedicated to delivering top quality care. His special care and tender approach for working with children have earned him much community respect.

When patients have pain after a trauma, Hosalkar advises they don’t wait to have a doctor check it out. Waiting and hoping pain will disappear only prolongs suffering and may result in greater damage if persistent pain is the result of a more serious underlying condition.

Limb Lengthening Specialist: Hosalkar

Humans come in an array of shapes, sizes, and colors, but ultimately, everyone seeks the comforts of being symmetrical. When one limb is shorter than the other, it can cause children psychological pain; if the limb is the leg and a person has adapted their stride to compensate, it can also cause physical pain.

Dr. Hosalkar is a board certified orthopaedic surgeon who specializes in limb lengthening. While it is a slow process, the bone will eventually elongate. However, it is up to the doctor to determine the best course of treatment for the patient. A qualified and experienced doctor like Hosalkar must examine why there is limb length discrepancy, how old the patient is, the potential for continued growth, and the extent of injuries to the bone.

Doctors like Hosalkar always address surgery risks with patients, but surgery may be the only way to treat limb length discrepancies of over three centimeters. When a doctor approves the surgery, a fixator is used to pull the bone apart a little at a time. Where the bone is separated, new bone grows in the gap. However, it is important to use a qualified specialist because any damage to surrounding tissue or disruption in blood flow can have devastating consequences.

After limb lengthening, it is important that patients spend time rehabilitating. Rehabilitation ensures the surrounding muscle stays healthy and surrounding soft tissue remains flexible.

Because the process is so slow, patients may be eager to see it completed, but Hosalkar reminds patients that it is important to ensure the regenerated bone is capable of independent weight-bearing.

An Extensive Medical Education: Hosalkar

It takes years of study to become a medical doctor and even more when a person chooses to go into a highly specialized field. Hosalkar knew it would take many years of hard work and study to reach his advanced career goals, but he did so with a drive few can replicate. Additionally, Hosalkar strived to achieve medical success in the Unites States, United Kingdom and India.

Hosalkar attended medical school at the University of Bombay where he obtained distinctions as a student and ranked among the top in his class. In 1993, Hosalkar ranked first in the University of Bombay’s final M.B.B.S. examinations where he obtained all time high marks. For his success as a medical student, Hosalkar received academic, public, and social awards including the “Pfizer Medical Award and Pfizer Medallion” in Medicine in 1994.

Hosalkar has an extensive list of educational qualifications. He holds a Master of Surgery degree, is a member of the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Bombay, and is a Diplomate of the National Board of Orthopedic Surgeons in India and a Diplomate of American Board of Orthopedic Surgery.

Today, Hosalkar treats patients of all ages; from infants to the elderly. Hosalkar is a frequent guest lecturer where he shares his knowledge and experience with peers in his field and he also worked as an editor for medical journals. He has held committee chairs for the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America, and multiple AO committees. He is licensed to practice medicine in Pennsylvania, California, Nevada and Florida in addition to the countries of India and United Kingdom.