Laith Farjo, M.D.

Dr. Farjo is a specialist in advanced arthroscopic surgery and sports medicine. He treats disorders of the shoulder, knee, elbow, ankle, and hip. Arthroscopic surgery involves the use of advanced surgical tools, such as fiber-optic scopes, to repair disorders of various joints through small incisions. The advantages of this technique are numerous and include decreased pain after surgery, no need for a prolonged hospital stay, smaller incisions, lower complications and scar tissue, and faster recovery. Dr. Farjo has lectured widely on this subject and continues to develop new techniques to repair various joint problems arthroscopically.

He also has had extensive training and experience with sports medicine and treatment of the injured athlete of any age. As part of his fellowship, he was an assistant team physician with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Since then, he has focused his care on amateur, high school, and collegiate athletes throughout Michigan. Dr. Farjo believes that the challenge for any sports medicine physician is to return his/her patients back to their highest level of performance safely and quickly.

Dr. Farjo has gained a reputation as a skilled specialist in shoulder reconstructions. He treats all disorders of the shoulder, including: arthritis, rotator cuff problems, impingment, tendonitis, dislocations, avascular necrosis, and fractures. He has extensive experience with even the most obscure or complex arthroscopic surgical procedures in the shoulder and is constantly at the forefront in the development/implementation/use of new techniques and equipment. Dr. Farjo takes care of many injured workers in Southeast Michigan, and has treated patients from throughout Michigan and other states who have sought him out for his expertise in arthroscopic shoulder reconstructions.

He also has particular expertise in advanced arthroscopic surgery of other joints including the knee, elbow, ankle, and hip. He has performed more than one thousand arthroscopic knee procedures, such as meniscus tear surgeries and ACL reconstructions. Dr. Farjo is one of the most experienced surgeons in Michigan in the exciting new field of hip arthroscopy. He wrote one of the seminal research articles of labral tears in the hip, which is frequently quoted in the orthopedic literature.

Although Dr. Farjo specializes in surgery, he initally attempts to manage most disorders non-surgically, when appropriate. Techniques he utilizes include bracing, physical therapy, injections, and casting. His motto is: "Let's start with the least invasive treatments first, and save surgery only as a last resort."

Hospital Staff Privileges

• St. Joseph Mercy Livingston Hospital, Howell, MI
• Woodland Health Center, Brighton, MI
• St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, Ypsilanti, MI
• Providence Hospital, Southfield and Novi, MI

Accreditation

• Board Certified, American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery, 2001
• Diplomate, National Board of Medical Examiners
• Licensed to practice medicine, State of Michigan (also formerly in California, Virginia)

Education

• Fellowship in Advanced Arthroscopic Surgery and Sports Medicine, Orthopedic Research of Virginia
• Orthopedic Surgical Residency, University of California, San Francisco
• General Surgery Internship, University of California, San Francisco
• M.D., University of Michigan Medical School
• B.S., Biomedical Sciences, University of Michigan

Honors:(partial listing)

• Best Clinical Research Paper, Inman-Abbott Lectureship, University of California, San Francisco, 1998
• Graduation with Distinction in Research, University of Michigan Medical School, 1993
• Alpha Omega Alpha (medical honor society), 1992
• University of Michigan Student Recognition Award, 1991
• Magna Cum Laude, University of Michigan, 1990
• Phi Beta Kappa, 1990

Memberships

• American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons
• American Medical Association
• American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine
• Michigan Orthopedic Society
• Michigan State Medical Society

Presentations/Publications: (partial listing)

• "Hip Arthroscopy for Acetabular Labral Tears." Farjo LA. Michigan Orthopedic Society Annual Meeting, Mackinac Island, MI, June 2000
• "Intra-articular Bupivicaine Pump for ACL Reconstruction Postoperative Analgesia." Farjo LA, Beach WA, Gonzales JB, Meyers JF, Caspari RB. Arthroscopy Association of North America Annual Meeting, Miami FL, April 2000
• "Arthroscopic Shoulder Stabilization: Arthroscopic Bankart Repair and Thermal Capsulorraphy". Farjo LA. St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, Dept. of Physical Therapy, Ann Arbor, MI, March 2000. McPherson Dept. of Physical Therapy, Howell, MI, January 2002.
• "Shoulder Pain in Women". Farjo LA. Womensfest, Hartland, MI, February 2000.
• "Techniques and Instruments for Advanced Arthroscopic Surgery." Farjo LA. McPherson Hospital Department of Surgery, Howell, MI, November 1999.
• "Hip Arthroscopy for Degenerative Joint Disease." Farjo LA, Glick JM, Sampson TG. Arthroscopy Association of North America Annual meeting, May 1999
• "Hip Arthroscopy for Acetabular Labral Tears." Farjo LA, Glick JM, Sampson TG. Arthroscopy, Vol 15(2), March 1999:132-137.
• "Football Injuries." Farjo LA and Fang A. University of California, San Francisco Grand Rounds, January 1998
• "Hip Arthroscopy by the Lateral Approach." Sampson TG and Farjo LA. In: Operative Hip Arthroscopy, Byrd JWT, ed., Thieme: New York, 1997
• "Ballistics and Mechanisms of Tissue Wounding." Farjo LA and Miclau T. Injury 1997, Vol. 28, Suppl 3, S-C12 - S-C17
• "The Antibiotic Treatment of Gunshot Wounds." Miclau T and Farjo LA. Injury 1997, Vol. 28, Suppl 3, S-C1 - S-C5.
• "Restoration of Pedicle Screw Fixation with In-Situ Setting Calcium Phosphate Cement." Moore DC, Maitra RS, Farjo LA, Graziano GP, Goldstein SA. Spine, Vol 22(15), August 1997:1696-1705. Also in Orthopedic Transactions, 18:1, 1994, p. 112.
• "Liver Volume Determination from CT Images using Histogram Cluster Analysis." Farjo LA, Williams DM, Bland P, Francis IR, and Meyer CR. Journal of Computer Assisted Tomography (1992 Oct) 16(5):674-683.
• "Liver-Tumor Boundary Detection: Human Observer vs. Computer Edge Detection." Williams DM, Bland P, Liu L, Farjo L, Francis IR, and Meyer CR. Invest Radiol (1989 Oct) 24(10):768-775.
• Micro Charts - Microbiology Course and USMLE Study Guide, 3rd ed., 2nd ed. Weiner DJ and Farjo LA. 1992