JOPLIN, Mo. – Freeman Health System’s Dr. Todd Twiss was named one of America’s most talented shoulder surgeons working in the field today by New York-based news magazine Newsweek and global data intelligence firm Statista.

“It certainly is a privilege to be recognized by Newsweek with some of the best shoulder surgeons in the country, and I think it speaks volumes to the team we work with in both clinic and the operating room at Freeman to provide high-level care to our shoulder patients,” Dr. Twiss said.

In all, 2,845 specialists across 15 medical fields – from hearts to hips to hands – were named by the magazine from a pool of more than 1 million specialists nationwide. Dr. Twiss admitted the recognition came out of left field.

“An out-of-town professional colleague forwarded the article to me, and I was surprised to see our name on the list,” Dr. Twiss said.

His recognition comes from the excellent results from two of his primary shoulder surgeries – rotator cuff repairs and total shoulder replacements.

“These would be the two most common operations we performed, and the lion’s share of any shoulder surgery practice,” the board-certified surgeon said.

Additional shoulder surgeries he performs regularly include reverse total shoulder replacement, labral repairs, instability repairs, fracture fixation, arthroscopic bone resection, open shoulder reconstruction, and biceps tenodesis.

Dr. Twiss gravitated to orthopedics as a medical subspecialty for one primary reason – he simply wanted recreational and occupational athletes alike to get back into the game they enjoyed playing.

“I enjoyed treating the various traumatic and degenerative conditions with targeted interventions to relieve pain, restore function, and improve quality of life,” he said. “I chose to pursue a year-long fellowship after residency in the shoulder because of a love for the complex pathology and evolving treatments being developed during my training.”

Dr. Twiss also treats a large spectrum of shoulder disorders, including rotator cuff pathology, Instability and labral lesions, frozen shoulder, osteoarthritis, rotator cuff arthropathy, sports injuries, fractures, dislocations, post traumatic abnormalities, and generalized shoulder pain with both surgical and non-surgical treatments.

“I think all of the physicians and staff members at Freeman Orthopedics & Sports Medicine strive to provide high-level, musculoskeletal care for the people of the four-state area,” Dr. Twiss said. “For myself, to be recognized for the shoulder, the recognition validates those efforts and motivates us toward continued improvement.”

Dr. Twiss is currently accepting new patients at Freeman Orthopedics & Sports Medicine, 3105 McClelland Blvd. in Joplin. Call 417.347.5400 to make an appointment.