Tiger's Knee in Safe Hands

The American orthopedic surgeon Dr Richard Steadman has risen to prominence for his successful treatment of a number of high-profile sportsmen and women. He initially began working in the area of knee reconstruction and rehabilitation in the 1970s, as chief physician to the United States Ski Team ? and he can lay claim to having operated on every US skier to have won a medal since 1978.

His base of operations, in Vail, Colorado, has become the first port of call for athletes from a number of different disciplines, including stars of the NFL, European footballers and cricketers. Steadman, who shrugs of his billing as the most famous knee surgeon in the world, credits his success to the system created for patients at the Steadman-Hawkins clinic, where the emphasis is not just on surgery but also post-operation care. Tucked away high in the Rockies, those accustomed to unwanted media attention can recuperate in an environment where the only concern is their improved condition, he says.

Having operated on more than 10,000 anterior cruciate knee ligament injuries, the same injury that Tiger Woods has suffered, Steadman's expertise lies in a procedure which involves removing diseased tissue and rebuilding the tendons which remain. He is also renowned for his pioneering cartilage surgery, and the six months of intensive rehabilitation that patients undergo.

Although Steadman helped to prolong the German international Lother Matth?us's career by another eight years after operating on him in 1992, it was his work with Alan Shearer in 2000 that made him a name familiar to the British public. He soon may be able to add Woods to an already-illustrious CV.

Famous names under Steadman's knife

Dan MarinoKobe BryantGreg NormanMartina NavratilovaMonica SelesAlan ShearerRuud van NistlerooyRonaldoMichael OwenHenrik LarssonLothar Matth?usRoy KeaneSimon JonesMichael VaughanVitali Klitschko