Orthopaedic Surgeons

• M. Russell Leslie, MD
• James D'Antonio, MD
• Michael Miller, MD
• Gary Smith, MD
• Michael Casey, MD
• Jon Levy, MD
• Michael Rytel, MD
• Jeffrey Mulholland, MD
• Stephen Thomas, MD
• Oriente DiTano, MD
• Dana Mears, MD
• Thomas Kramer, MD
• Nicholas Kubik, MD
• Anthony Watson, MD
• Derek Thomas, MD
• Stephen Hribar, MD
• Roger Componovo, MD

Primary Care Sports Medicine

• Matthew Fisher, MD

James D'Antonio, MD

Before pursuing a degree in medicine, Dr. D'Antonio, a native of Aliquippa, PA, made his mark as an honor student and as an All-Star for the varsity lacrosse and football teams at Rutgers University where he attended the School of Engineering on a football scholarship.

He then came to the Keystone State of Pennsylvania to study medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine where he earned his Doctor of Medicine degree, cum laude, in 1968. Dr. D'Antonio then served a medical internship at Presbyterian University Hospital, went West for his general surgery Residency at the University of Colorado, and came back to Pittsburgh to complete his Orthopaedic training at the University of Pittsburgh. He also served as a Major in the United State Army.

A distinguished surgeon, researcher and educator, Dr. D'Antonio has been in practice since 1975 and has been a primary hip and knee surgeon since 1982. His career has been highlighted by clinical research, the development of new instruments and the development of new implants.

For example, Dr. D'Antonio has been doing clinical research on total hip patients since 1982 when he developed a study group of 100 primary cementless total hips and a group of over 100 revision hip arthroplasties. In 1984, he became intricately involved in the AAOS categorical committee on the hip, where he wrote exam questions for recertification exams for a three year period.

In 1988, along with his research partner, Dr. Capello (University of Indiana), he participated in an FDA clinical trial utilizing hydroxyapatite coated hip implants and within two years, became the co-lead investigator for the study which still continues to this day. As a result of the study, Dr. D'Antonio published the first paper on HA coated implants in North America and has since written many articles and chapters in books on hip and knee arthroplasty. The HA femoral implants in these studies have had outstanding twelve year survivorship that is as good or better than any other implants published to date.

In 1990 Dr. D'Antonio became active in designing hip and knee implants as a consultant for Osteonics Corporation. Since then, he has been involved in the design of a revolutionary new total knee as well as a complete revision hip system with HA coating which is now in its third year of clinical trials with superb clinical results.

His work also includes knee instrumentation for the implantation of total knees to assist surgeons with delicate procedures. One of these particular designs has been patented and is a one-of-a-kind instrumentation system.

One of his most recent projects includes the insight tension-based alignment system for total knee arthroplasty. "This system provides for greater accuracy, avoids fat embolization to the lungs, and provides for a wonderful assistant during the operative procedure," says Dr. D'Antonio. In addition, Dr. D'Antonio and Dr. Capello were asked to be the lead investigators for ten sites in the United States to study ceramic-on-ceramic bearings for total hip replacement.

This project calls for the implantation of approximately 500 total hip arthroplasties in a double-blind study. He has completed his portion of the study, implanting 105 ceramic total hips and has petitioned the FDA to permit the continued use of these unique bearings because of the obvious benefits. Ceramic-on-ceramic bearings have 1,000-fold less wear than current bearings and may solve the problem of wear and bone resorption in the future.

Dr. D'Antonio is on the active surgical staff at Sewickley Valley and was formerly Chief of Surgery there. He is an associate clinical professor in the department of orthopaedic surgery at the University of Pittsburgh. He lives in Sewickley, Pennsylvania.