About Dr. Scott Hacker

Dr. Hacker is a native San Diegan who returned to San Diego in August 2003 to bring world class training and expertise to athletes and individuals of all ages world wide.

He is board certified and fellowship trained in knee and shoulder surgery in the treatment of sports related injuries.  He has special interest in advanced arthroscopic techniques, the treatment of arthritis and alternatives to joint replacement surgery.  He is certified as a Mako robotic joint replacement surgeon and has performed 1000’s of joint replacement surgeries.  Dr. Hacker is one of a select group of cartilage repair specialists in the country and currently conducts clinical trials on the repair of articular cartilage injuries.  He serves as a Principal Investigator at Horizon Clinical Research.

Dr.Scott Hacker ‘s consulting practice continues to grow, providing advice on clinical trial design and execution, medical monitoring and oversight, and participation in regulatory submissions for final device and drug approval.   

His broad expertise includes arthroscopic and reconstructive surgery of the shoulder and knee and treatment of athletic injuries.  He has served as a Team Orthopedic Surgeon for the United States Olympic Team at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California.  He was previously affiliated with the Denver Broncos, the Colorado Rockies and the US Olypmic Ski Team and continues to treat professional, college, high school and recreational athletes.

Majoring in Engineering at the University of California San Diego, Dr. Hacker graduated Magna Cum Laude and went on to receive a Regent’s Fellowship to continue his engineering studies at UC San Diego, completing a graduate degree in Bioengineering, specializing in orthopedic biomechanics and properties of the human meniscus and cartilage.  Dr. Hacker participated in extensive orthopedic research including landmark work describing the ability of the medial collateral ligament to heal and the anterior cruciate ligament to require reconstruction under Dr. Savio Woo at the University of California, San Diego.

After his general surgery and orthopedic surgery training at the University of Washington, Seattle, he was awarded the prestigious Orthopedic Sports Medicine Fellowship at the internationally famous Steadman-Hawkins Clinic in Vail, Colorado.  In Vail, he trained under Dr. Richard Steadman and Dr. Richard Hawkins in knee and shoulder surgery, working with athletes and dignitaries from around the globe.

Dr. Hacker continues to teach regarding arthroscopic shoulder and knee surgery and serves a clinical instructor to the San Diego Sports Medicine Fellowship program.  He helps to advance orthopedic treatments by conducting clinical trials for new applications in orthopedics and serves as a consultant toward the development of new treatments.  Dr Hacker is board certified by the American Board or Orthopedic Surgery and is a member of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons.

Dr. Hacker wants all his patients to know that he and his team is committed to serving them in their orthopedic needs by providing the highest quality of treatment and care.

COLLEGE
University of California, San Diego
Bachelors Degree in Bioengineering, Magna Cum Laude

POST GRADUATE EDUCATION
University of California, San Diego, Jacobs School of Engineering
Master’s Degree in Bioengineering and Orthopaedic Biomechanics
Thesis on Biomechanical Properties of Meniscal Tissue

MEDICAL DEGREE
University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine. Irvine, California

ORTHOPEDIC SURGERY RESIDENCY
University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
Harborview Medical Center
Children’s Hospital
Veteran’s Administration Medical Center
Virginia Mason Medical Center

POST-GRADUATE MEDICAL TRAINING
University of California, San Diego Orthopaedic Research Fellowship
Sports Medicine Fellowship at the Steadman Hawkins Clinic, Vail, Colorado under Drs. Richard Steadman and Dr. Richard Hawkins

Publications
7 scientific papers in peer reviewed orthopaedic journals
1 Book Chapter
15 scientific abstracts presented at national meetings

Team Coverage
Denver Broncos Football Team
Colorado Rockies Baseball Team
Eagle Valley High School Athletics
US Olympic Ski Team Physician
US Olympic Team Physician
Grossmont High School Football Team and Athletics
Valhalla High School Football Team and Athletic Department
San Diego Surf Dawgs Professional Baseball Team Physician

PROFESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS
Sharp Coronado Hospital
Sharp Grossmont Hospital
Chief of Orthopedic Surgery, Alvarado Hospital
Alvarado Hospital
Physicians Surgery Center, San Diego
University Ambulatory Surgery Center
Qualified Medical Examiner

TEACHING
Clinical Instructor Sports Medicine Family Practice Fellowship Program

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons
American College of Sports Medicine
American Society of Biomechanics
American Society of Mechanical Engineering
California Medical Association
California Orthopedic Association
San Diego County Medical Society
Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society-California Psi Founding President

AWARDS
San Diego Magazine Top Doctor 2014
San Diego Magazine Top Doctor 2015
Doctor of Excellence, The Leading Physicians of the World 2016

Updated:  February 2019

Please contact Dr. Hacker’s office for an updated Cirriculum Vitae.