Surgery is a decision, not a default
A large share of knee, shoulder and hip pain settles with the right rehabilitation, load management and injections. If that is your situation, I will tell you — and show you the plan.
About the surgeon
Dr. Dipen Ariwala — MBBS, MS (Ortho), DNB, MNAMS, MRCS
Orthopaedic, Arthroscopy & Sports Injury Surgeon. Knee, shoulder and hip — keyhole surgery, joint preservation and replacement. Practising in Surat, Gujarat.
In his own words
Most people who come to see me have already been told they need an operation. Quite often, they do not — at least not yet. My first job is to work out which group you are in, and to say so plainly.
I trained in orthopaedics at KEM Hospital in Mumbai, one of the busiest trauma and reconstruction units in the country, where I finished second in my institution and seventh in the university. I then spent four fellowships learning the specific things I now do every week: arthroscopy of the knee and shoulder, ligament reconstruction, joint preservation surgery, and hip and knee replacement.
Alongside my practice I teach. I am an Assistant Professor, I run postgraduate courses and CME programmes, and I mentor surgical residents. Teaching keeps you honest — you cannot explain a decision to a room of trainees unless you genuinely understand why you made it.
What I care about most is the conversation before the surgery. You should leave the consulting room knowing what is torn, what it means, what happens if you do nothing, what the alternatives are, and what the realistic result is at three months and at a year. If you do not have those answers, I have not done my job yet.
How he practises
Four commitments
Not a mission statement. These are the things you can hold him to in the consulting room.
Preserve the joint you have
Repairing cartilage, realigning a knee with an osteotomy or fixing a meniscus buys years of native joint. Replacement is excellent surgery, but it is rarely the first answer for a younger patient.
You should understand your own scan
Every consultation includes your imaging on the screen, in plain language, with the actual problem pointed out. Bring your films and reports.
Recovery is the operation
The result of a ligament reconstruction is decided in the twelve weeks afterwards. You will leave with a written, dated rehabilitation plan, not a vague instruction to rest.
Training
Qualifications and examinations
Listed with what each one actually means, because a string of post-nominals tells a patient very little on its own.
Degrees and board certification
- MS (Orthopaedics)
KEM Hospital & Seth G.S. Medical College, Mumbai
Ranked 2nd in the institution and 7th in the university. One of India's highest-volume trauma and reconstruction units.
- DNB (Orthopaedics)
National Board of Examinations
National board certification in orthopaedic surgery, awarded after a further examination beyond the university degree.
- MNAMS
National Academy of Medical Sciences, India
Elected membership, awarded on the basis of academic and examination performance.
- MRCS
Royal College of Surgeons
Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons.
- MBBS
Gold Medal — Medicine and Gynaecology
Graduated with gold medals in both Medicine and Gynaecology before specialising in orthopaedics.
Also certified
- ATLS certified
- FIFA Diploma in Football Medicine
Subspecialty fellowships
Fellowships are where a general orthopaedic surgeon becomes a specialist in specific operations. These are the four that shaped what he now does every week.
Arthroscopy, Joint Replacement & Sports Injury
Galaxy Hospital, Bhopal
Indian Arthroscopy Society accredited training centre. Fellowship covering arthroscopy of the knee and shoulder, joint replacement and sports injury.
Joint Preservation & Sports Medicine
Manipal Hospitals
Knee and shoulder arthroscopy, ligament reconstruction, meniscus repair and cartilage procedures in a high-volume sports medicine unit.
Joint Replacement
Delhi · Bhopal · Coimbatore
Hip and knee replacement training across three high-volume Indian arthroplasty centres.
Sports Injury & Arthroscopy
Seattle Orthopedic Center
International training in sports injury management and advanced arthroscopic technique.
Recognition
Distinctions
Understated on purpose — all three are verifiable, competitive academic awards rather than self-declared titles.
2022
Winner — Indian Orthopaedic Association National Quiz
National-level academic competition contested by orthopaedic surgeons and trainees across India.
MS
2nd in institution, 7th in university — KEM Hospital, Mumbai
Ranked in the postgraduate orthopaedic examinations.
MBBS
Gold Medal — Medicine and Gynaecology
Awarded in both subjects at graduation.
Clinical focus
What he operates on
Deliberately narrow. Doing a smaller number of operations often is what makes a surgeon good at them.
Sports medicine
- ACL and multi-ligament reconstruction
- Meniscus repair and preservation
- Cartilage restoration
- Return-to-sport testing and clearance
Joint preservation
- High tibial osteotomy (HTO)
- Distal femoral osteotomy (DFO)
- Patellofemoral realignment
- Early-arthritis knee surgery in younger patients
Arthroscopy
- Knee arthroscopy
- Shoulder arthroscopy
- Rotator cuff repair
- Labral repair and Latarjet stabilisation
- Hip arthroscopy for impingement
Replacement & trauma
- Total and partial knee replacement
- Total hip replacement
- Shoulder replacement
- Complex fracture and trauma surgery
Teaching & academic work
Assistant Professor, Orthopaedics
Teaching keeps a surgeon honest. You cannot defend a decision to a room of trainees unless you genuinely understand why you made it — which is why the academic work matters to patients, not just to the CV.
- Teaches and examines postgraduate orthopaedic residents.
- Organises postgraduate courses and CME programmes for practising surgeons.
- Mentors residents and medical students through their surgical training.
- Presents at national orthopaedic conferences.
Research & publications
Peer-reviewed research published in Indian and international orthopaedic and spine journals.
- Journal of Orthopaedic Case Reports (JOCR)
- Asian Spine Journal
- Surgical Neurology International (SNI)
- Spinal Cord Series and Cases
- International Journal of Scientific Research (IJSR)
Why this matters to you
A surgeon who reads, writes and teaches is a surgeon who knows what the evidence actually says — including where it says an operation does not help. That is the difference between being offered the procedure a clinic performs and being offered the treatment you need.
See the proceduresBring your scans. Ask hard questions.
A consultation is twenty to thirty minutes with your imaging on the screen. You should leave knowing what is wrong, what happens if you do nothing, and what the realistic result of treatment is.