Dr. Daniel Cho

Dr. Daniel Cho is an orthopedic surgeon at the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York City, the number-one ranked orthopedic hospital in the United States for 15 consecutive years according to U.S. News & World Report. With 18 years of specialized experience in joint replacement and sports medicine, Dr. Cho has become one of the most trusted hip and knee surgeons serving patients from across the country and internationally.

Dr. Cho's practice encompasses the full range of hip and knee pathology, from athletic injuries in young active patients to advanced degenerative arthritis requiring total joint replacement in older adults. He is a high-volume joint replacement surgeon who has performed over 3,000 primary and revision arthroplasty procedures, developing particular expertise in the direct anterior approach to total hip replacement and robotic-assisted surgical techniques using the Mako system.

As a faculty member at the Weill Cornell Medical College, Dr. Cho actively participates in resident education and orthopaedic research. He is committed to improving implant longevity, reducing post-operative pain, and enabling faster recovery — goals he pursues both through surgical refinement and through his active clinical research program at HSS.

Dr. Cho is deeply committed to culturally sensitive and linguistically accessible care. He conducts consultations in both English and Korean, making him a preferred provider for Korean-American patients and international patients from South Korea and beyond who seek world-class orthopedic care in the United States.

Dr. Cho earned his undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences from Columbia University before completing his Medical Degree (MD) at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. He then completed an Orthopaedic Surgery residency at the Hospital for Special Surgery / New York Presbyterian Hospital — Weill Cornell program, one of the most competitive and comprehensive orthopedic training programs in the nation.

Following residency, Dr. Cho completed a dedicated Adult Reconstruction fellowship at HSS, focusing on total hip and total knee arthroplasty, robotic-assisted surgery, and complex revision procedures. During his fellowship, he trained under some of the world's foremost hip and knee replacement surgeons, gaining proficiency in the direct anterior approach and minimally invasive techniques.

Dr. Cho is board-certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery (ABOS) and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (FAAOS). He maintains active membership in the Hip Society and the Knee Society, organizations dedicated to advancing knowledge and standards in arthroplasty surgery.

Dr. Cho's primary clinical expertise is in total joint replacement of the hip and knee, including complex primary and revision arthroplasty. He is one of the leading practitioners at HSS of robotic-assisted total knee replacement using the Mako SmartRobotics platform, which allows for highly precise implant positioning based on individualized CT-based patient modeling — shown to improve implant alignment and patient satisfaction.

For total hip replacement, Dr. Cho specializes in the direct anterior approach, which avoids cutting through major hip muscles, typically resulting in faster recovery, less post-operative pain, and earlier restoration of function compared to traditional posterior approaches. He also has considerable expertise in revision hip arthroplasty, including complex cases involving periprosthetic fracture, aseptic loosening, and implant malposition.

In sports medicine, Dr. Cho treats ACL tears, meniscal injuries, and cartilage defects in high-performance athletes, collaborating with HSS's sports medicine team to manage athletes at all levels. Conditions he regularly treats include hip and knee osteoarthritis, avascular necrosis, rheumatoid arthritis affecting the joints, post-traumatic arthritis, and hip labral pathology.

Dr. Cho has published more than 90 peer-reviewed articles in leading orthopedic journals including the Journal of Arthroplasty, Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery (JBJS), Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research (CORR), and the Journal of Orthopaedic Research. His research focuses on robotic-assisted arthroplasty outcomes, implant longevity, the direct anterior approach to hip replacement, and revision surgery outcomes.

He has served as a principal investigator on multicenter studies examining patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) following total knee replacement, including KOOS and WOMAC scores at two-year follow-up, and has contributed data to the HSS Hip and Knee Registry — one of the largest institutional implant registries in North America.

Dr. Cho has been an invited speaker at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Annual Meeting, the Annual Meeting of the Hip Society, and multiple international orthopedic conferences. He is a peer reviewer for the Journal of Arthroplasty and Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, and holds grant funding from the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation (OREF).

HSS is a top destination for international patients seeking orthopedic care, and Dr. Cho is among its most internationally accessible surgeons. He consults in both English and Korean, and HSS provides professional medical interpretation in numerous other languages through its International Patient Program.

International patients can request a remote consultation via video to submit imaging (X-rays and MRI) for pre-operative review. Dr. Cho and his team will assess candidacy for surgery, provide a detailed treatment plan, and coordinate pre-operative workup and post-operative follow-up with the patient's home physicians.

HSS's international patient services team handles all aspects of care coordination, including letters for visa applications, cost estimation, accommodation referrals near the hospital, and connecting patients with rehabilitation partners in their home countries for post-discharge physical therapy. Many international joint replacement patients are ambulatory and discharged home within two to three days, making the procedure logistically feasible for qualified candidates.

Dr. Cho has been recognized on the Castle Connolly Top Doctors list and the New York Magazine Best Doctors list for Orthopedic Surgery. He received the HSS Department of Orthopedic Surgery Research Award and the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation (OREF) Clinical Research Grant.

He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (FAAOS) and board-certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery (ABOS). Dr. Cho is an active member of the Hip Society and the Knee Society, two selective professional societies limited to surgeons who have demonstrated a distinguished record in arthroplasty surgery and academic contribution to the field.