Claudette Lajam, M.D., FAAOS, FAOA, FAAHKS
Dr. Claudette Lajam is a Board Certified Orthopedic Surgeon with special interest in hip and knee replacement and revision hip and knee replacement. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, a Fellow of the American Othopedic Association, and a Fellow of the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons, where she currently serves on the Women in Arthroplasty Committee and the Advocacy Committee.
Dr. Lajam has been a leader in the field, dedicated to all aspects of clinical excellence, and a champion for underserved patient populations. She is chief orthopedic safety officer, chief of quality for the adult reconstruction division, and master high reliability organization trainer at NYU Langone Orthopedics. She is Associate Professor of orthopedic surgery at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
Dr. Lajam is past President of the Ruth Jackson Orthopedic Society. She is the first Latinx Chair of the AAOS Board of Councilors and sits on the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. Dr. Lajam serves on the Executive Committee of the AAOS Political Action Committee, where she leads the Advisory Circle Women in Advocacy Committee. Dr. Lajam remains the only woman to be named to the AAOS Advocacy Wall o' Fame. She has served on the Board of Directors of the NY State Society of Orthopedic Surgeons (NYSSOS), and received the honor of "Advocate of the Year" from NYSSOS. She is a founding member of the American Association of Latino Orthopedic Surgeons.
Dr. Lajam's clinical practice includes primary and revision total knee, total hip replacement, and arthroscopy of knee. Dr. Lajam also performs partial knee replacement and minimally invasive total joint surgery. She is familiar with all approaches to the hip. She is the first female surgeon in the World to perform robot-assisted partial knee replacement. Dr. Lajam includes technology in planning and execution of total joint replacement surgery when appropriate.
She completed her residency training at the world-famous Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. She has publications on the topics of Quality and Safety, Healthcare disparities, Telemedicine, Ethics, Knee replacement, Hip Replacement, hip arthroscopy, and sports surgery. Dr. Lajam has spoken about Technology in Arthroplasty, Advocacy, Quality, Health Disparities, Value Based Care, Total Joint Replacement and sports medicine at national conferences. She is also involved with community outreach and community lecture series.
Dr. Lajam is fellowship-trained, having completed her post residency training at the Insall Scott Kelly Institute at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. During her fellowship, she participated in the care of professional athletes from the NBA and WNBA.
Dr. Lajam attended medical school at Cornell University Medical College, where she was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor society and received various academic and leadership awards.
Dr. Lajam is an original host on The Orthopedic Show for SIRIUS/XM Doctor Radio. You can listen to her on some Monday evenings from 6-8 pm, EST on SIRIUS XM 110. She has been featured on CBS This Morning, ABC News with Diane Sawyer, Al-Jazeera English and other national and international television news shows. She has appeared in O Magazine, Vogue, and The New York Times.
Dr. Lajam is a Castle Connolly "Top Doctor". She has won the Patient's Choice Award several years in a row and is a NY Super Doctor. Dr. Lajam was recently honored to be one of only two female sugeons in Becker's Healthcare 2020 "65 Total Knee Replacement Surgeons to Know"
Dr. Lajam is dedicated to service. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Operation WALK, an organization dedicated to performing free total joint replacement for citizens of developing nations. She is past Chair of the AAOS Advocacy Resources Committee, and former member of the AAOS Communications Cabinet. Dr. Lajam was selected as an AAOS Leadership Fellow, and a Leadership Mentor. She volunteers and has served on medical missions to the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, and Haiti. Dr. Lajam her husband are active in their community, serving on the Community Emergency Response Team in Westchester county, NY. Dr. Lajam has completed several national disaster response courses through FEMA.
Dr. Lajam is in practice in Manhattan and Queens, NY. She performs surgery at The NYU Langone Orthopedic Hospital/Hospital for Joint Diseases. Dr. Lajam is of Dominican ancestry. She was born in Queens, NY. She is fluent in the Spanish language and is proud to care for patients of all cultural backgrounds.
