Riley J. Williams III, MD

Dr. Riley J. Williams III is a specialist in the field of shoulder, knee and elbow surgery at Hospital for Special Surgery. Dr. Williams holds a dual appointment in both the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, as a full-time member of the Sports Medicine & Shoulder Service, and as a Clinician-Scientist in the Research Division. He is also an Associate Professor at Weill Cornell Medical College. Dr. Williams attended college at Yale University and the Stanford University School of Medicine. His clinical and research interests include: cartilage repair and transplantation, arthroscopic shoulder repair (rotator cuff tears, labrum tears), arthroscopic shoulder stabilization, anterior cruciate and posterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, and elbow ligament reconstruction. Dr. Williams is the Director of the Institute for Cartilage Repair at Hospital for Special Surgery.

Dr. Williams currently serves as the Head Team Physician for the Nets professional basketball team, the New York Red Bulls professional soccer team, and the Iona College Department of Athletics. He has also served as Associate Team Physician for both the New York Mets professional baseball and New York Giants professional football teams. Dr. Williams is an active member of the New York Road Runners Club.

Appointments

Associate Attending Orthopedic Surgeon, Hospital for Special Surgery
Director of the Institute for Cartilage Repair, Hospital for Special Surgery
Associate Professor of Orthopedic Surgery, Weill Cornell Medical College

Specialty

Orthopedic Surgery

Subspecialty

Elbow
Knee
Shoulder
Sports Medicine

Special Expertise

Knee:
Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) tears
Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL) tears
Arthroscopy
Knee Instability
Arthritis
Partial Knee Replacement
Knee Osteotomy
Total Knee Replacement (TKR)

Shoulder:
Instability
Dislocation
Labrum Tears
Rotator Cuff Tears
Frozen Shoulder
Arthritis
Total Shoulder Replacement (TSR)
Revision Surgery
A-C Joint dislocation

Elbow:
Arthroscopy
Instability
Ligament Reconstruction
"Tommy-John" Surgery
Motion Loss
“Throwers elbow”

Awards

Aircast Award for Clinical Medicine, American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine, 2005
Charles C. Neer Award for Excellence in Research, American Shoulder and Elbow Society, 2003
O'Donoghue Award for Sports Injury Research, American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine, 1998
Philip D. Wilson Jr. Award for Excellence in Research, Hospital for Special Surgery, 1998
Ranawat Award for Excellence in Research, Eastern Orthopedic Association, 1998

Affiliations

American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS)
American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM)
American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES)
American Medical Association (AMA)
New York State Medical Society

Education

MD, Stanford University School of Medicine

Residency

Hospital for Special Surgery

Fellowship

Hospital for Special Surgery, Sports Medicine and Shoulder Service

Certification

American Board of Orthopedic Surgery

State Licensure

New York

Riley J. Williams III, MD is the author of the following articles on HSS.edu:

For Patients

For Professionals

Selected Publications

Williams RJ 3rd, Hyman J, Petrigliano F, Rozental T, Wickiewicz TL. Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with a four-strand hamstring tendon autograft. Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (Am). 2004, 86(2):225-32.

Williams RJ 3rd, Strickland S, Cohen M, Altchek D, Warren R: Arthroscopic repair for traumatic posterior shoulder instability. American Journal of Sports Medicine, Mar-Apr;31(2):203-9, 2003.

Kelly B, Williams RJ 3rd, Cordasco F, Otis J, Backus S, Warren R, Craig E, Wickiewicz T, Altchek D. differential patterns of muscle activation in patients with symptomatic and asymptomatic rotator cuff tears. Journal of Shoulder Elbow Surgery 2004.

Williams RJ 3rd, Urquhart ER, Altchek DW. Medical collateral ligament tears in the throwing athlete. Instructional Course Lectures. 2004;53:579-86.

Mithoefer K, Williams RJ 3rd, Warren R, Potter HG, Spock C, Jones E, Wickiewicz T, Marx R. Prospective Evaluation of the Microfracture Technique for the Treatment of Symptomatic Articular Cartilage Lesions of the Knee. Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery 2005.

Research Description

Current projects:

Cartilage Repair using Genetically Engineered Cells
Prevention of Post-infectious Arthritis in an Animal Model
Inhibition of Fibroblast Metabolism by the Fluoroquinolone Antibiotic, Ciprofloxacin
Management of Posterior Instability of the Shoulder
Management of the Arthritic, ACL Deficient Knee