Mengnai Li, MD, PhD

Mengnai Li, MD, is an orthopaedic surgeon who specializes in all aspects of knee and hip replacements, including revision surgery and treating complex fractures around artificial joints.

Dr. Li says he is passionate about osteotomy, a surgical cutting of the bone (and sometimes adding bone tissue) to align those deformities back to “normal.”

“This is a procedure for patients who might not be ready for a joint replacement either because they are very young with good cartilage or because we can improve their limb alignment so that they can function better and delay needing an artificial joint replacement,” Dr. Li explains.

As co-director of the Hip Fracture Program, Dr. Li is committed to improve the outcomes in this special population and expedite their return to average daily activities. Taking on the leadership of periprosthetic joint infection prevention, with multidiscipline program collaboration, the group has a mission to reduce the incidence of infections following artificial joint replacement, particularly hips and knees. “Many people get hip and knee replacements and 1 to 2% of them have complications, including infections,” Dr. Li says. “And when you consider that 1 million or more people are getting hip or knee replacements each year, that is a high number.”

Dr. Li says he enjoys working in orthopaedics because of the interesting variety of cases and complex problems he gets to solve. “I like helping patients get better and restoring their function. It’s very rewarding to watch them get back to their sport or whatever they like to do,” he says. “I also enjoy the mechanical nature of surgery.”

When it comes to reassuring patients who are nervous about surgery, Dr. Li says he points out the value of his experience. “In the last 15 years, I have done close to 5,000 cases,” he says. “Plus, I always respect patients considering their background and personal beliefs. It’s important for us to discuss what certain procedures can and cannot do for them. I also make sure we first explore all conservative, nonsurgical options before we pursue surgical intervention.”

Dr. Li’s research interests include complex deformity, total joint, and accelerated surgical recovery outcomes. “I am also interested in implant design. Although there are many good ones out there for total knee replacement, there is still room to make them better as we continue to see roughly one in five knee replacement patients felt somewhat unhappy about their knee function compared to their native joint,” he says.