By Dr. Leo Zalikha, MD — Stanford fellowship-trained in adult reconstruction, specializing in hip & knee replacement including complex revision · Long Beach, CA · Last updated June 11, 2026
If your knee or hip replacement has failed — or simply still hurts and no one has explained why — the opinion worth getting is from a surgeon whose practice includes revision work, and that expertise is uncommon enough that patients reasonably travel for it. For Newport Beach and Irvine patients, the trip to my Long Beach office is 25 to 30 minutes up the 405, and much of the review can happen virtually before you ever get in the car.
This page explains what a revision second opinion covers for both knees and hips, how the virtual-first option works, and what I tell patients whose implants turn out to be fine.
National registry data covering hundreds of thousands of joints show about 82% of total knee replacements and about 58% of hip replacements are still in place at 25 years [4][5] — so a meaningful minority of patients eventually face a revision question their original surgeon may rarely handle.
First-time knee and hip replacement is done well in many places, including Orange County — most patients should not travel for it, and they don’t. Revision is a smaller field. Evaluating a painful implant means identifying the implant, reading old operative notes, excluding infection, and judging bone loss — skills concentrated in fellowship-level revision practices. Dr. Zalikha trained at Stanford in adult reconstruction, including complex revision of both hip and knee replacements, and that is why patients along the Newport Beach–Irvine corridor make this particular drive for this particular problem.
A revision second opinion is worth 30 minutes on the 405 if:
A replacement can fail for a handful of reasons — loosening and wear, infection, instability, stiffness, and fracture around the implant, with recurrent dislocation added on the hip side [6][7]. The warning signs for each joint are covered in depth in the failed knee replacement and failed hip replacement guides, and the operations themselves on the revision knee replacement and revision hip replacement pages.
In one large single-center study of 781 revision knee replacements, loosening accounted for 39.9% of failures and infection 27.4% [1]; in a US national database of more than 258,000 hip revisions, dislocation (17.3%) and mechanical loosening (16.8%) led the list [2] — the review below is built to find or exclude exactly these problems.
Before any opinion is given, Dr. Zalikha reviews the operative report from your original surgery, implant identification records, and X-rays compared over time — along with any MRI, CT scan, or lab work you have. With a painful replacement, the history of the implant matters as much as today’s image, and the review happens before the consultation so the time with you is spent on answers, not on reading records for the first time.
Many second opinions end in reassurance. If the implant is well-fixed, well-aligned, and not infected, the honest answer is often that it can stay — paired with a plan for the real source of pain, which is sometimes outside the joint entirely. What I tell my patients: treat the patient, not the X-ray. An imperfect image in a comfortable joint is rarely a reason to operate, and pain alone is not an indication for revision.
Complete the request form or call (562) 362-5024 to schedule.
The office provides instructions for securely uploading or sending your imaging, operative reports, and implant records.
The consultation takes place over a secure video platform at your scheduled time — or in person in Long Beach if you prefer.
A written summary of the assessment is provided after the appointment.
Yes — records and imaging are reviewed before the appointment, and the video consultation itself typically runs 20 to 30 minutes, so the only drive you make is one that is actually necessary.
The process mirrors Dr. Zalikha’s virtual second opinion service: you submit imaging and records securely, he reviews everything in advance, you meet over a secure video platform, and you receive a written summary you can share with your local physician. It is a flat-fee, self-pay service; current details and pricing are on the virtual second opinion page.
Virtual review has limits, and Dr. Zalikha is transparent about them — some questions, particularly around instability, need an in-person examination. When that is the case, you will be told plainly and the office will schedule a visit in Long Beach. For a deeper look at what a careful second opinion should include, see the guide to getting a second opinion on knee replacement.
Plan on 25 to 30 minutes from either city outside of peak traffic — the office is at 2760 Atlantic Ave in Long Beach, a few minutes south of the 405.
From Newport Beach: take CA-55 North (or CA-73 North, which merges into the 405) to I-405 North toward Long Beach. Exit at Atlantic Avenue and head south about a mile and a half to 2760 Atlantic Ave, just north of Willow Street. Pacific Coast Highway through Huntington Beach and Seal Beach is the slower, surface-street alternative.
From Irvine: it is one freeway — I-405 North the entire way. Exit at Atlantic Avenue and head south to the office. From most of Irvine the drive runs 25 to 30 minutes outside of rush hour, about the same as from Newport Beach.
And if the 405 is unappealing, start virtually — the records review and video consultation require no driving at all.
In a large Medicare study of primary knee replacement, patients of higher-volume surgeons and higher-volume hospitals had lower rates of serious perioperative complications [8] — and in my view the same logic applies with more force to revision surgery.
If the workup shows the implant truly has failed, Dr. Zalikha performs revision knee replacement and revision hip replacement at MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center, with appropriately selected procedures at the Surgery Center of Long Beach. The office coordinates authorization, scheduling, and logistics for patients coming from Orange County, and the written summary from your consultation becomes the starting point for the surgical plan.
If your knee or hip replacement is failing — or just hurts and you want a straight answer — call (562) 362-5024 or request an appointment online. The records review can begin before you ever make the drive from Newport Beach or Irvine.
