Cassandra A. Lee, M.D.
Chief, Division of Sports Medicine
Professor, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
To see if Cassandra A. Lee is accepting new patients, or for assistance finding a UC Davis doctor, please call 800-2-UCDAVIS (800-282-3284).
Locations and Contact
Clinic Phone: 916-734-6805
Clinic Fax: 916-734-6806
Additional Numbers
Clinic Phone
Clinic Fax
Physician Referrals
Philosophy of Care
I believe in working together as partners with my patients. My job is to educate my patients about their sports injuries and to help guide them through their rehabilitation process, whether it be for operative or non-operative management.
Clinical Interests
Dr. Lee's clinical interests relate to the diagnosis and management of patients who have sustained sports-related orthopaedic injuries, with emphasis on the knee and shoulder problems.
Her surgical specialties include ligament reconstruction, cartilage preservation (such as osteochondral allograft and autologous chondrocyte implantation), meniscal transplantation and multiligamentous knee reconstruction.
Dr. Lee also specialize in arthroscopic shoulder procedures such as instability and rotator cuff repairs, as well as open-shoulder reconstruction procedures.
Dr. Lee currently serves as an official team physician for the Sacramento Republic FC professional men's soccer team.
Research/Academic Interests
Dr. Lee's research interests include the study of cartilage regeneration and ligament biology, and how they translate to clinical outcomes.
Division
Orthopaedic Surgery - Sports Medicine
Center/Program Affiliation
Undergraduate School
B.A., Boston University, Boston MA 1996
Medical School
M.D., Boston University School of Medicine, Boston MA 2001
Internship
General Surgery, North Carolina Baptist Hospital, Winston Salem NC 2003-2004
Residency
Orthopaedic Surgery, North Carolina Baptist Hospital, Winston Salem NC 2004-2008
Fellowship
Sports Medicine, Washington University, St. Louis MO 2008-2009
AOSSM SLARD Travelling Fellowship (cancelled due to COVID-19), 2020
International Cartilage Repair Society Lars Petersen Traveling Fellowship, 2017
International Cartilage Repair Society Scholarship, Izmir, 2013
International Cartilage Repair Society - Zimmer Scholarship Program, 2013
Zimmer-AOA Resident Leadership Forum, 2006
Scerpella TA, Spiker AM, Lee CA, Mulcahey MK, Carnes ML. Next Steps: Advocating for Women in Orthopaedic Surgery. J Am Acad Orthop Surg. 2022 Apr 15;30(8):377-386. doi:10.5435/JAAOS-D-21-00932. PMID:34780383.
Flanigan DC, Sherman SL, Chilelli B, Gersoff W, Jones D, Lee CA, Toth A, Cramer C, Zaporojan V, Carey J. Consensus on Rehabilitation Guidelines among Orthopedic Surgeons in the United States following Use of Third-Generation Articular Cartilage Repair (MACI) for Treatment of Knee Cartilage Lesions. Cartilage. 2021 Dec;13(1_suppl):1782S-1790S. doi:10.1177/1947603520968876. Epub 2020 Oct 30. PMID:33124432.
Hsia AW, Jbeily EH, Mendez ME, Cunningham HC, Biris KK, Bang H, Lee CA, Loots GG, Christiansen BA. Post-traumatic osteoarthritis progression is diminished by early mechanical unloading and antiinflammatory treatment in mice. Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 2021 Oct 13;30(4):626-627. doi:10.1016/j.joca.2021.09.014.
Wang DY, Lee CA, Li YZ, Zhang B, Li N, Jiang D, Yu JK. Prognostic Factors to Determine Survivorship of Meniscal Allograft Transplant: A Systematic Review. Orthop J Sports Med. 2021 Jun 4;9(6):23259671211007215. doi:10.1177/23259671211007215. PMID:34159210.
Shieh AK, Singh SG, Nathe C, Lian E, Haudenschild DR, Nolta JA, Lee CA, Giza E, Kreulen CD. Effects of Micronized Cartilage Matrix on Cartilage Repair in Osteochondral Lesions of the Talus. Cartilage. 2020 Jul;11(3):316-322. doi:10.1177/1947603518796125. Epub 2018 Aug 29. PMID:30156865.
Kwon H, Brown WE, Lee CA, Wang D, Paschos N, Hu JC, Athanasiou KA. Surgical and tissue engineering strategies for articular cartilage and meniscus repair. Nat Rev Rheumatol. 2019 Sep;15(9):550-570. doi:10.1038/s41584-019-0255-1. Epub 2019 Jul 11. PMID:31296933.
Hecht G, Hopkins JN, Lum ZC, Ali SF, Lee CA. Bilateral lipoma arborescens -A proliferative case demonstrating progression in an adolescent male. J Orthop. 2018 May 7;15(2):736-740. doi:10.1016/j.jor.2018.05.022. PMID:29881230.
Lee-Barthel A, Lee CA, Vidal MA, Baar K. Localized BMP-4 release improves the enthesis of engineered bone-to-bone ligaments. Transl Sports Med. 2018 Jan 17;1:60-72. doi:10.1002/tsm2.9.
Lee CA. Chondral Injuries and Biologics. Chapman MW, James MA (ed). Chapman’s Comprehensive Orthopaedic Surgery. 2018;3(146):3043-3058.
Shieh, AK, Singh, SG, Nathe, C, Lian, E, Haudenschild, DR, Nolta, JA, Lee, CA, Giza, E, Kreulen, CD. Effects of Micronized Cartilage Matrix on Cartilage Repair in Osteochondral Lesions of the Talus. AOFAS Annual Meeting Abstracts. 2017 Sep 18;2(3). doi:10.1177/2473011417S000055.