Hip & Knee Replacement for Los Alamitos Patients

Los Alamitos has a small-city feel that most of its neighbors lost a long time ago. Tucked near the 605/22 interchange, with the Joint Forces Training Base community woven through daily life, it is the kind of place where people would rather not drive far for anything. So when hip or knee arthritis starts limiting what you can do, the instinct is to find someone close to home.

That instinct is reasonable, and there are capable orthopedic surgeons nearby. But joint replacement is a subspecialty, and many Los Alamitos patients end up comparing their local options against a fellowship-trained hip and knee specialist a few minutes down the freeway. Dr. Zalikha completed an adult reconstruction fellowship at Stanford Medicine, training specifically in hip and knee replacement, revision surgery, and complex cases. That is a narrower focus than a general orthopedic practice, and for a decision this significant, the difference is often what tips someone toward the short drive.

This page is meant to give you the practical details a Los Alamitos patient actually needs: how to get to the office, where surgery would happen, what a first visit looks like, and answers to the questions people from this area ask most. The clinical specifics of each procedure live on their own pages, linked throughout, so you can read as deeply as you want without wading through it all here.

The drive from Los Alamitos is short, and the reasons patients make it are specific:

• Fellowship-level focus: Dr. Zalikha’s Stanford adult reconstruction fellowship was dedicated to hip and knee replacement and revision surgery. That is a higher level of specialization than general orthopedics, and it is the whole of his practice.
• Revision and complex-case experience: Patients dealing with a failed knee replacement, a failed hip replacement, a prosthetic joint infection, or a periprosthetic fracture need a surgeon trained for those harder situations. Dr. Zalikha trained on these cases at Stanford and manages them regularly.
• Modern technique: He performs hip replacements through the direct anterior approach and uses robotic-assisted technology for hip and knee procedures. You can read more on the direct anterior and robotic-assisted pages.
• A second opinion before you commit: If you have been told elsewhere that you need a hip or knee replacement, it is reasonable to want a second perspective from a fellowship-trained specialist before scheduling anything.

Whether you are weighing a hip or a knee, it helps to start with the page built around that decision. For knees, the knee replacement in Long Beach hub covers what to expect locally; for hips, the hip replacement in Long Beach hub does the same. From there, the procedure deep-dives go into candidacy, technique, and recovery in detail — see total knee replacement and total hip replacement. We keep the clinical depth on those pages rather than repeating it here, so this page can stay focused on what is specific to getting care from Los Alamitos.

The office is at 2760 Atlantic Ave in central Long Beach, between Willow St and Wardlow Rd, about 1.5 miles south of the I-405 Atlantic Avenue exit. From Los Alamitos it is roughly a 15-minute drive, and there are two straightforward routes:

• Via the I-605 and I-405: Take Katella Ave west to the I-605 South, merge to the I-405 South toward Long Beach, then exit at Atlantic Avenue and head south. The office is about 1.5 miles down Atlantic Ave.
• Via the 22 and I-405: Take Los Alamitos Blvd to the CA-22 West, continue to the I-405, then exit at Atlantic Avenue and head south to 2760 Atlantic Ave.
• Parking: Free on-site parking is available, so you can pull in without circling for a spot or feeding a meter.

The map below points to the office at 2760 Atlantic Ave. Full address details and a closer look at the location are on the Long Beach office page.

For a Los Alamitos patient, this is one of the more reassuring details: Dr. Zalikha operates at MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center, a full-service hospital equipped for inpatient joint replacement with overnight nursing and inpatient physical therapy, and at the Surgery Center of Long Beach, an outpatient center for eligible patients who go home the same day. He also operates at DISC Sports & Spine Center in Marina del Rey, a premier Westside outpatient surgery center serving patients across greater Los Angeles. That pairing means you get a same-day (outpatient knee or outpatient hip) option when you are a good candidate for it, with hospital-grade backup available when your situation calls for it — all within the same short drive from Los Alamitos.

A first visit is a conversation, not a commitment. Here is the shape of it:

• Your symptoms: Dr. Zalikha asks about your pain, your limitations, and your goals — how the problem affects daily life.
• A physical exam: He assesses range of motion, strength, stability, and gait.
• Your imaging: X-rays are taken in the office if you do not already have recent ones, and he reviews them with you and explains what they show.
• Your options: He walks through the diagnosis and the treatment options, starting with nonsurgical approaches when those are appropriate.
• A clear plan: You leave knowing the recommended next steps, whether that is therapy, an injection, more imaging, or surgical planning.

If you are in Los Alamitos and considering hip or knee replacement — or just want a fellowship-trained second opinion before you decide — the office is a short drive away. Request an appointment with Dr. Zalikha or call (562) 362-5024. For the review stage, a virtual second opinion can save you the trip.