A conversation about your symptoms
Dr. Zalikha will ask about your pain, limitations, and goals. He wants to understand how the problem affects your daily life.
Getting Here
From Lakewood the Long Beach office is about a 10-minute drive. It sits on Atlantic Avenue in central Long Beach, between Willow St and Wardlow Rd, about 1.5 miles south of the I-405 Atlantic Avenue exit.
- Via Del Amo Blvd or Carson St (recommended): From Lakewood, take Del Amo Blvd or Carson St west toward Long Beach, then turn south on Atlantic Ave. The office is on Atlantic Ave between Willow St and Wardlow Rd, about 1.5 miles south of the I-405 Atlantic Avenue exit.
- Via Lakewood Blvd and the 91 West: Take Lakewood Blvd to the 91 West and exit Atlantic Avenue, then continue south on Atlantic Ave toward the office. This is a straightforward alternative when surface streets are busy.
- Drive time: Approximately 10 minutes from most of Lakewood, including the Lakewood Center area, outside of peak traffic.
- Parking: Free on-site parking is available in the lot adjacent to the building.
Where Dr. Zalikha Operates
MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center
A full-service medical center in Long Beach equipped for inpatient joint replacement surgery. Patients who stay overnight after hip or knee replacement recover here with dedicated nursing support and inpatient physical therapy.
Surgery Center of Long Beach
An outpatient surgery center designed for same-day surgical procedures. Eligible patients undergoing outpatient hip replacement or outpatient knee replacement have their surgery here and return home the same day.
DISC Sports & Spine Center at Marina del Rey
On the Westside in Marina del Rey, DISC Sports & Spine Center is a premier outpatient surgery center with one of the most technologically advanced surgical suites in Southern California, designed for minimally invasive, same-day procedures. It gives patients across greater Los Angeles another setting where Dr. Zalikha operates.
For a Lakewood patient, having both Long Beach options minutes away means surgery is matched to your case rather than to a single setting: healthier candidates can often go home the same day from the surgery center, while anyone who benefits from an overnight stay has a full hospital with around-the-clock backup nearby. Both Long Beach facilities are roughly 10 minutes from Lakewood.
Hip & Knee Replacement Close to Lakewood
Lakewood sits just east of Long Beach, and the Lakewood Center area and the family neighborhoods around it are only about 10 minutes from Dr. Zalikha’s Long Beach office on Atlantic Avenue. For a lot of people in town, that makes fellowship-trained hip and knee replacement closer than they expect — a short drive west rather than a trip across the region.
Many Lakewood residents already cross into Long Beach to work, shop, or see other doctors, so coming here for orthopedic care fits the routes they already drive. When arthritis in a hip or knee starts limiting the everyday things — keeping up around the house, walking the neighborhood, staying independent — joint replacement is usually about getting those activities back, not about chasing performance. That is the focus of the care here.
This page is meant to answer the practical questions a Lakewood patient tends to have first: how far the office really is, where surgery happens, whether a referral is needed, and what the first visit looks like. The clinical details live on their own pages — for example total knee replacement and total hip replacement — so you can dig as deep as you want.
Why Lakewood patients travel a few minutes for fellowship-trained care
Fellowship-level specialization
Dr. Zalikha completed an adult reconstruction fellowship at Stanford Medicine, training specifically in hip and knee replacement. That is a deeper focus than general orthopedics — and it is the main reason Lakewood patients make the short drive for knee replacement in Long Beach and hip replacement in Long Beach, available about 10 minutes from Lakewood.
Revision and complex-case expertise
If an earlier hip or knee replacement has failed or never felt right, these cases call for specific training. Dr. Zalikha handles complex revision surgery regularly — the kind of expertise worth a short drive rather than settling for whoever is nearest.
Modern technique and technology
Dr. Zalikha performs hip replacements through the direct anterior approach and uses robotic assistance for hip procedures and robotic-assisted knee replacement. These are the techniques that shape recovery, and they are standard here.
A second opinion before you decide
Been told you need a hip or knee replacement somewhere else? It is reasonable to want a fellowship-trained perspective first. Dr. Zalikha offers a virtual second opinion, so you can start without leaving Lakewood.
Built around getting you back to Lakewood life
The goal of hip or knee replacement is the everyday version of your life — walking the neighborhood, running errands around the Lakewood Center area, keeping up at home and at work. The mild, flat conditions that Lakewood and Long Beach share make early walking and rehabilitation more comfortable, and the office is close enough that follow-up visits are not a burden.
What to expect at your first visit
Your first visit with Dr. Zalikha is unhurried and usually covers five things:
A physical examination
He will assess your range of motion, strength, stability, and gait.
A review of your imaging
X-rays are usually taken in the office if you do not already have recent ones. Dr. Zalikha will review the images with you and explain what they show.
A discussion of your options
Based on the exam and imaging, Dr. Zalikha will explain the diagnosis and walk through the available treatment options, starting with nonsurgical approaches when appropriate.
A plan
You will leave with a clear understanding of the recommended next steps, whether that is physical therapy, an injection, further imaging, or surgical planning.
Request an Appointment with Dr. Zalikha or call (562) 362-5024. For patients outside the area Virtual Second Opinion is available.