Kevin B. Fricka, MD

Biography

Dr. Fricka was born in Chicago, IL, and grew up in the greater Los Angeles, CA region. He earned his undergraduate degree from Harvard University, where he was also a varsity basketball team member. He completed his medical education at George Washington University. Upon graduation, he was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honors Society and received the Julius S. Neviaser Award in Orthopaedic Surgery.

He completed his orthopaedic surgery residency training at the University of California-San Diego. Dr. Fricka finished his specialty training with a one-year fellowship in adult reconstructive surgery at Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush University in Chicago, IL. He has presented numerous scientific papers and has won several awards for his research efforts. He has been published in the Journal of Arthroplasty and other scientific orthopaedic journals, co-authored several book chapters, and is a member of both the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons.

Dr. Fricka was one of the first Inova orthopaedic surgeons to perform outpatient partial knee replacement, a less invasive option for patients with knee arthritis than a total knee replacement. He performs partial knee replacements in an outpatient surgical center, and the patient “walks” home the same day, avoiding a hospital stay. Dr. Fricka’s surgical expertise and interests include partial knee replacement, “minimally invasive” knee and hip replacement, and the more complex revision or second surgery of failed knee and hip replacements. Watch Dr. Fricka give one of his famous Community Lectures about joint replacement.

Inova has created a Musculoskeletal service line for the entire Inova system, and Dr. Fricka was named the Section Chief of Hip and Knee Arthroplasty. In this role, he will lead the hip and knee service and collaborate with the orthopaedic surgeons and the Inova system to build a world-class joint replacement care program. He is excited about this opportunity and looks forward to sharing his years of experience and insights on joint replacement care with the system.

In his spare time, he enjoys basketball, both playing and coaching, cycling, cooking, and spending time with his children, Jack and Emily. He also devotes time to the charitable organization Operation Walk Virginia. This non-profit charity provides joint replacement surgery for those patients who do not have access to surgical care in the United States and other countries around the world.

Dr. Fricka is proud to be a team member of Operation Walk USA. If you or someone you know is in need of a hip or knee replacement but does not qualify for government assistance programs and cannot afford surgery on your own, please visit the Operation Walk America website today.

“I believe that patient care, patient education, and patient-being, both in the hospital and at home after surgery, are important aspects of successful joint replacement surgery. I look forward to meeting with patients and helping them along their journey from surgery through recovery to an active lifestyle.”

Note: If you would like to set up a telehealth hip/knee orthopaedic consult or second opinion video conference with Dr. Kevin Fricka, please visit and register at his best-in-class MD (BICMD) referral management system website. This is an educational and informational consultation, which is a self-pay service for his expert opinion.

Request a telehealth appointment through Best in Class with Dr. Fricka.

Videos

Publications

To Cement or Not? Five-Year Results of a Prospective, Randomized Study Comparing Cemented vs Cementless Total Knee Arthroplasty. Fricka KB, McAsey CJ, Sritulanondha S. J Arthroplasty. 2019 Feb 21.
Periprosthetic Fracture following Partial Knee Arthroplasty. Brown NM, Engh G, Fricka K. J Knee Surg. 2018 Oct 3. doi: 10.1055/s-0038-1672204.

The Lawrence D. Dorr Surgical Techniques & Technologies Award: “Running Two Rooms” Does Not Compromise Outcomes or Patient Safety in Joint Arthroplasty. Hamilton WG, Ho H, Parks NL, Strait AV, Hopper RH Jr, McDonald JF 3rd, Goyal N, Fricka KB, Engh CA Jr. J Arthroplasty. 2018 Jul;33(7S):S8-S12. doi: 10.1016/j.arth.2018.01.011. Epub 2018 Jan 31.

Is Outpatient Unicompartmental Knee Arthroplasty Safe to Perform at an Ambulatory Surgery Center? A Comparative Study of Early Post-Operative Complications. Cody JP, Pfefferle KJ, Ammeen DJ, Fricka KB. J Arthroplasty. 2018 Mar;33(3):673-676. doi: 10.1016/j.arth.2017.10.007. Epub 2017 Oct 10.

To Cement or Not? Two-Year Results of a Prospective, Randomized Study Comparing Cemented Vs. Cementless Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA). Fricka KB, Sritulanondha S, McAsey CJ. J Arthroplasty. 2015 Sep;30(9 Suppl):55-8. doi: 10.1016/j.arth.2015.04.049. Epub 2015 Jun 3.

Greater Trochanteric Fragmentation After Failed Metal-on-Metal Hip Arthroplasty. Panichkul P, Fricka KB, Hopper RH Jr, Engh CA Jr. Orthopedics. 2015 May;38(5):e447-51. doi: 10.3928/01477447-20150504-93.

Mechanical thromboembolic prophylaxis with risk stratification in total knee arthroplasty. Hamilton WG, Reeves JD, Fricka KB, Goyal N, Engh GA, Parks NL. J Arthroplasty. 2015 Jan;30(1):43-5. doi: 10.1016/j.arth.2014.08.006. Epub 2014 Aug 12.

Goyal N, Ho H, Fricka KB, Engh CA Jr. Do You Have to Remove a Corroded Femoral Stem? J Arthroplasty. 2014 May 27. pii: S0883-5403 (14)00355-6.

Fricka KB, Ho H, Peace WJ, Engh CA Jr. Metal-on-Metal Local Tissue Reaction is Associated with Corrosion of the Head Taper Junction. J Arthroplasty. 2012 September. 27 (8 suppl): 26-31.

Powers CC, Fricka KB, Austin MS, Engh CA Sr. Five Duraloc Locking Ring Failures. J Arthroplasty. 2010 October. 25 (7): 1170

Hartzband MA, Glassman AH, Goldberg VM, Jordan LR, Crowninshield RD, Fricka KB, Jordan LC. Survivorship of a Low-Stiffness Extensively Porous-Coated Femoral Stem at 10 Years. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2010 February. 468 (2): 433-40.

Fricka KB, Marshall A, Paprosky WG. Constrained Liners in Revision Total Hip Arthroplasty: An Overuse Syndrome: In the Affirmative. J Arthroplasty. 2006 June. 21 (4 Suppl 1): 121-5.