Derek Ward, MD
Associate Professor
Orthopaedic Surgery
School of Medicine

Dr. Derek Ward is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon specializing in adult reconstruction of the knee joint. He sees patients with all types of degenerative disease of the knee including osteoarthritis, inflammatory arthritis (such as rheumatoid arthritis), post-traumatic arthritis, and avascular necrosis. He is an expert in knee replacement in addition to specializing in revision surgery treating patients with complications from previous joint replacements.

Dr. Ward takes a comprehensive approach to the diagnosis and management of knee pain, incorporating the latest advancements in perioperative pain management, surgical reconstruction, and recovery including robotic surgery, partial knee replacement, and complex revision surgery.

Dr. Ward completed his undergraduate training at Williams College and then spent several years working in Washington D.C. in health care policy and in Africa working in global health. He completed his medical training at UCSF in 2010 where he spent an extra year studying health care policy. Dr. Ward remained at UCSF, completing his Orthopaedic Surgery Residency in 2015 followed by a fellowship in adult reconstruction at the prestigious Rothman Institute in Philadelphia. He joined the UCSF faculty in 2016.

He has won multiple awards for patient care, teaching, and research including the James A. Rand Award from the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons and the John Charnley Award from the Hip Society as well as the Maxine Papadakis Award for Professionalism and Respect and the James Morris Award for Physician Compassion.

Dr. Ward is also Affiliate Faculty at the Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies. His research interests include health care policy and cost effectiveness, peri-operative risk assessment and optimization, medical education, and revision hip and knee replacement. He is a fellow of the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons, The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, and the American Orthopaedic Association and reviews research for several major journals.

Dr. Ward serves in multiple leadership roles at UCSF including as the Executive Medical Director for the UCSF-MarinHealth Orthopaedic Department at MarinHealth Medical Center and as the orthopaedic medical director for the UCSF Hip Fracture Initiative. He is dedicated to educating the next generation of physicians and is actively involved in all levels of medical education.

In addition, he is co-director of an annual continuing medication education course: UCSF Arthroplasty for the Modern Surgeon: Hip, Knee and Health Innovation Technology.

Dr. Ward sees patients at the Orthopaedic Institute in San Francisco and at the UCSF-MarinHealth Orthopaedic Clinic in San Rafael. He performs surgeries at UCSF and at MarinHealth Medical Center.

• Influence of Demographic and Socioeconomic Factors on Hospital Distance for Total Knee Arthroplasty.
  Arthroplasty today 2023 Orringer M, Roberts H, Ngan A, Ward D
• The Microbiome of Osteoarthritic Hip and Knee Joints: A Prospective Multicenter Investigation.
  The Journal of bone and joint surgery. American volume 2023 Goswami K, Clarkson S, Tipton C, Phillips CD, Dennis DA, Klatt BA, O'Malley M, Smith EL, Gililland J, Pelt CE, Peters CL, Malkani AL, Palumbo BT, Lyons ST, Bernasek TL, Minter J, Goyal N, Purtill W, …
• Letter to the Editor: Editorial: What is Narrative Medicine, and Why Should We Use it in Orthopaedic Practice?
  Clinical orthopaedics and related research 2023 Sales C, Gribben V, Ward D
• Patients Who Have Limited English Proficiency Have Decreased Utilization of Revision Surgeries After Hip and Knee Arthroplasty.
  The Journal of arthroplasty 2023 Nguyen KH, Suarez P, Sales C, Fernandez A, Ward DT, Manuel SP
• Limited English proficiency correlates with postoperative complications after knee arthroplasty.
  Musculoskeletal care 2022 Nguyen KH, Sales C, Suarez P, Fernandez A, Ward DT, Manuel SP
• Language barriers and postoperative opioid prescription use after total knee arthroplasty.
  Exploratory research in clinical and social pharmacy 2022 Nguyen KH, Rambachan A, Ward DT, Manuel SP
• Operative Management of Hip Fractures Within 24 Hours in the Elderly is Achievable and Associated With Reduced Opiate Use.
  Geriatric orthopaedic surgery & rehabilitation 2022 Allahabadi S, Roostan M, Roddy E, Ward DT, Rogers S, Kim C
• Demographics of Patients Traveling Notable Distances to Receive Total Knee Arthroplasty.
  Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Global research & reviews 2022 Orringer M, Roberts H, Ward D
• Taking the Long Way to Care: Who is Traveling Farthest to Undergo Elective Total Hip Arthroplasty?
  Arthroplasty today 2022 Orringer M, Roberts H, Ward D
• An Enhanced Understanding of Culture-Negative Periprosthetic Joint Infection with Next-Generation Sequencing: A Multicenter Study.
  The Journal of bone and joint surgery. American volume 2022 Goswami K, Clarkson S, Phillips CD, Dennis DA, Klatt BA, O'Malley MJ, Smith EL, Gililland JM, Pelt CE, Peters CL, Malkani AL, Palumbo BT, Lyons ST, Bernasek TL, Minter J, Goyal N, McDonald JF, Cross …
• Racial and Socioeconomic Differences in Distance Traveled for Elective Hip Arthroplasty.
  Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Global research & reviews 2022 Orringer M, Roberts H, Ward D
• Association of English Language Proficiency With Hospitalization Cost, Length of Stay, Disposition Location, and Readmission Following Total Joint Arthroplasty.
  JAMA network open 2022 Manuel SP, Nguyen K, Karliner LS, Ward DT, Fernandez A
• Surgeons' perspectives on operating room waste: Multicenter survey.
  Surgery 2022 Meyer MJ, Chafitz T, Wang K, Alamgir N, Malapati P, Gander JW, Ward DT, Gandhi S
• Virtual Reality as a Learning Tool for Trainees in Unicompartmental Knee Arthroplasty: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
  The Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons 2022 Zaid MB, Dilallo M, Shau D, Ward DT, Barry JJ
• Racial and Gender Shoulder Arthroplasty Utilization Disparities of High- and Low-Volume Centers in New York State.
  Journal of shoulder and elbow arthroplasty 2021 Markes AR, Pareek A, Mesfin A, Benjamin Ma C, Ward D
• 2021 John Charnley Award: A protocol-based strategy when using hemiarthroplasty or total hip arthroplasty for femoral neck fractures decreases mortality, length of stay, and complications.
  The bone & joint journal 2021 Roberts HJ, Barry J, Nguyen K, Vail T, Kandemir U, Rogers S, Ward D
• Diagnostic value of fluoroscopy-guided hip aspiration for periprosthetic joint infection.
  Skeletal radiology 2021 Kanthawang T, Bodden J, Joseph GB, Vail T, Ward D, Patel R, Link TM
• Protocol-based interdisciplinary co-management for hip fracture care: 3 years of experience at an academic medical center.
  Archives of orthopaedic and trauma surgery 2021 Roberts HJ, Rogers SE, Ward DT, Kandemir U
• Antibiotic-Laden Bone Cement Use and Revision Risk After Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty in U.S. Veterans.
  The Journal of bone and joint surgery. American volume 2020 Bendich I, Zhang N, Barry JJ, Ward DT, Whooley MA, Kuo AC
• Predictors of a change in patient willingness to have Total knee arthroplasty: Insights from the osteoarthritis initiative.
  The Knee 2020 Bendich I, Halvorson RT, Ward D, Nevitt M
• Hospital-based Hip fracture programs: Clinical need and effectiveness.
  Injury 2020 Meinberg E, Ward D, Herring M, Miclau T
• Comparison of Periarticular Infiltration and Combination Delivery of Local Anesthetics for Reducing Pain and Opioid Consumption after Total Knee Arthroplasty.
  The journal of knee surgery 2020 Ward DT, Grotkopp E, Detch RC, Kim HT, Kuo AC
• Greater Knee Soft Tissue Thickness Predisposes Patients to Subsequent Periprosthetic Joint Infection After Total Knee Arthroplasty.
  The Journal of arthroplasty 2020 Vahedi H, Ward DT, Lee YS, Shohat N, Chen AF
• Staged Bilateral Total Knee Arthroplasty: Increased Risk of Recurring Complications.
  The Journal of bone and joint surgery. American volume 2020 Grace TR, Tsay EL, Roberts HJ, Vail TP, Ward DT
• Long-Term Trends in Postoperative Opioid Prescribing, 1994 to 2014.
  Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Global research & reviews 2020 Chen CL, Jeffery MM, Krebs EE, Thiels CA, Schumacher MA, Schwartz AJ, Thombley R, Finlayson E, Rodriguez-Monguio R, Ward D, Dudley RA
• Bilateral Simultaneous vs Staged Total Knee Arthroplasty: Minimal Difference in Perioperative Risks.
  The Journal of arthroplasty 2019 Tsay EL, Grace TR, Vail T, Ward D
• Routine Patellar Resurfacing During Total Knee Arthroplasty Is Not Cost-Effective in Patients Without Patellar Arthritis.
  The Journal of arthroplasty 2019 Zmistowski BM, Fillingham YA, Salmons HI, Ward DT, Good RP, Lonner JH
• Current Concepts in Orthopaedic Care Disparities.
  The Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons 2018 Pandya NK, Wustrack R, Metz L, Ward D
• The interaction of depression and prior opioid use on pain and opioid requirements after total joint arthroplasty.
  Arthroplasty today 2018 Rubenstein W, Grace T, Croci R, Ward D
• Dialysis Dependence Predicts Complications, Intensive Care Unit Care, Length of Stay, and Skilled Nursing Needs in Elective Primary Total Knee and Hip Arthroplasty.
  The Journal of arthroplasty 2018 Patterson JT, Tillinghast K, Ward D
• Hip Fractures and the Bundle: A Cost Analysis of Patients Undergoing Hip Arthroplasty for Femoral Neck Fracture vs Degenerative Joint Disease.
  The Journal of arthroplasty 2018 Grace TR, Patterson JT, Tangtiphaiboontana J, Krogue JD, Vail TP, Ward DT
• Complications of Morbid Obesity in Total Joint Arthroplasty: Risk Stratification Based on BMI.
  The Journal of arthroplasty 2015 Ward DT, Metz LN, Horst PK, Kim HT, Kuo AC
• Risk factors for periprosthetic joint infection following primary total hip arthroplasty: a case control study.
  The Journal of arthroplasty 2013 Bozic KJ, Ward DT, Lau EC, Chan V, Wetters NG, Naziri Q, Odum S, Fehring TK, Mont MA, Gioe TJ, Della Valle CJ
• Cost and effectiveness of postoperative fever diagnostic evaluation in total joint arthroplasty patients.
  The Journal of arthroplasty 2010 Ward DT, Hansen EN, Takemoto SK, Bozic KJ
• Integrating surgical skills education into the anatomy laboratory.
  The Journal of surgical research 2010 Zaid H, Ward D, Sammann A, Tendick F, Topp KS, Maa J
• A surgical skills elective to expose preclinical medical students to surgery.
  The Journal of surgical research 2007 Sammann A, Tendick F, Ward D, Zaid H, O'Sullivan P, Ascher N