Musculoskeletal, Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine Radiology
Second Opinion & Consultation
NationalRad - The Authority in Sports Medicine Imaging and Diagnosis
Do You Need a Second Opinion or Have questions about your MRI / CT Scan results? Discuss Your Diagnostic Imaging Findings with an Expert Orthopaedic Radiologist
At NationalRad, we've been practicing subspecialty diagnostic radiology for more than 15 years and understand that facing a complex diagnosis, sports injury or orthopaedic condition can be frightening, exhausting, frustrating, limiting, debilitating and, of course, painful. You want and deserve answers that make sense and allow you to move forward. If you're questioning the medical information you've been given or if the information has not been explained to you in a way that's easy to understand, you might be thinking about getting a second opinion.
That's where we come in. Our orthopaedic radiologists have been trusted by professional and college sports teams and orthopaedic surgeons around the country for nearly two decades. If you choose to work with us, they will provide you with the same level of orthopaedic diagnostic expertise, consult with you and your orthopaedic surgeon on your case, diagnostic imaging studies and diagnosis and help you get the answers you need. You can find the details of our sports medicine consultation service below. We look forward to assisting you.
Musculoskeletal, Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine Radiology
What Is Radiology / a Diagnostic Radiologist?
Diagnostic radiology is the science of medical imaging and use imaging studies or tests such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) to make a diagnosis (identification) of injury, condition or disease. A radiologist is a medical doctor (MD) - or doctor of osteopathic medicine (DO) - who specialize in diagnosing injuries, conditions and diseases using medical imaging techniques. In addition to medical school, a radiologist performs a medical internship and a four-year diagnostic radiology residency.
What Is Musculoskeletal Radiology / a Musculoskeletal Radiologist?
Musculoskeletal radiology is a subspecialty of radiology that concerns the body’s musculoskeletal system. The musculoskeletal system is made up of muscles (musculo) and bones (skeletal), as well as cartilage, tendons, ligaments and other connective tissue that form the body's joints. For example, the musculoskeletal system includes such structures as the meniscus or ACL / MCL of the knee, the rotator cuff of the shoulder, and the hip joint itself. Musculoskeletal radiologists, who specialize in musculoskeletal radiology, undergo advanced training in musculoskeletal radiology, usually in the form of a fifth year of training beyond residency know as a musculoskeletal fellowship. Fellowship-trained musculoskeletal radiologists focus on orthopedic, sports medicine, rheumatologic and traumatic conditions.
What Is the Role of the Musculoskeletal Radiologist?
A musculoskeletal radiologist's role in your care is to read (review and interpret) the diagnostic imaging studies ordered by your orthopaedic surgeon and report his or her findings. Your orthopaedic surgeon will determine which studies are medically necessary based on your injury, condition and / or history, signs, symptoms and physical examination and make the appropriate referral to a diagnostic imaging center, who will preform your diagnostic imaging studies. Those studies are then sent to the radiologist, who will review the information provided by your orthopaedic surgeon and the diagnostic imaging center along with your imaging study / test. Your radiologist will then create a report with his or her findings from your imaging study / test, which helps your orthopaedic surgeon understand your results and your diagnosis. The results / findings and diagnosis help your orthopaedic surgeon understand your condition, as well as your treatment options.
Because your orthopaedic surgeon relies on the radiologist's interpretations, findings and diagnosis to help develop a treatment plan for you and your injury or condition, it is critical to have the right diagnosis. Having a fellowship-trained musculoskeletal radiologist who specializes in orthopaedic and sports medicine injuries and conditions can make the difference in having the right diagnosis. Not everyone has access to a fellowship-trained musculoskeletal radiologist, which is why we offer our second opinion and consulting service. We want to ensure you get the right diagnosis and treatment and help you return to your normal life and previous level of activity as soon as possible.
Musculoskeletal Radiology Second Opinion & Consulting Service
Service Overview
Our fellowship-trained, musculoskeletal radiologists provide second opinions and consultations on orthopaedic and sports medicine cases, medical imaging studies and diagnoses.
Our radiologists will review your medical history, case details, MRI or CT studies and original radiology report. They will then create a detailed second opinion report, which will include both negative (normal) and positive (abnormal) findings, as well as the radiologist’s detailed impressions based upon those findings.
Once your case has been reviewed and your imaging study has been read by our radiologist, you will be provided an electronic copy of the second opinion radiology report. If you desire, we will then schedule a 15-minute phone consultation between you and the radiologist providing the second opinion report. The radiologist can review your case, studies, diagnosis and report and answer any questions you have. Should you wish, you can then share your radiology report with your orthopaedic surgeon for consideration and incorporation into your medical records.
Cases & Medical Imaging Studies We Accept for Second Opinion & Consultation
Our consulting radiologists provide second opinions on advanced diagnostic imaging studies of the musculoskeletal system (muscles, bones, joints, soft tissue such as ligaments and tendons and connective tissue such as cartilage) for orthopaedic conditions and sports medicine injuries, including:
- Musculoskeletal MRI
- Musculoskeletal CT
- Musculoskeletal MRI & CT with Contrast / Injection
- MRI & CT Arthrogram (study of a particular joint, such as shoulder, hip or knee)
- CartiGram (cartilage study pictured to the right)
Our musculoskeletal radiologists subspecialize in particular areas of the body, orthopaedic conditions and sports medicine injuries, such as:
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Please Note: While our musculoskeletal radiologists do not provide second opinions on X-rays, they will review them if included as part of your complete case.
Musculoskeletal Radiology Second Opinion & Consulting Service Details
How It Works
The process is simple. You start by registering and creating a login (email address and password) for a NationalRad second opinion account through our secure, HIPAA-compliant ImageShare portal provided by DICOM Grid. Once set up, you upload your advanced diagnostic study images from a CD provided by the imaging center where your study was performed. You will then be asked to answer a series of questions to help the consulting radiologist understand your case and orthopaedic condition or sports medicine injury, as well as provide your original radiology report and any comparison or previous studies. Once you have uploaded your medical images and radiology report and answered all required questions, you'll be asked to provide your credit card information to pay for your second opinion or consultation. We charge an upfront, flat, professional radiology fee of $220.00 (220.00 USD) for our second opinion and consulting service, which you can learn more about on our Second Opinion Pricing & Payment Options page.
Once we've received your second opinion case and payment, we'll assign your case to the appropriate diagnostic radiologist who will begin reviewing your case. Should the radiologist have any questions or require further information to make a diagnosis, we will notify you through an email from ImageShare / DICOM Grid asking you to contact us. If the radiologist has everything needed to read your studies and develop an impression of your case, your detailed diagnostic report will be created and uploaded to your secure ImageShare / DICOM Grid account. You will receive an email from ImageShare / DICOM Grid asking you to login to your account and download your diagnostic radiology report for review. You will also receive instructions should you wish to schedule a 15-minute consultation with the reading radiologist to discuss your radiology report, including findings and impressions, and ask the radiologist questions about your diagnosis.
Consulting Musculoskeletal Diagnostic Radiologists
Only our three partners, each a fellowship-trained, board-certified, academic-level, musculoskeletal radiologist, provide orthopaedic and sports medicine radiology second opinions and consultations. They are highly experienced and regarded as being amongst the best and most respected in their field. They have contributed extensively to their field of musculoskeletal diagnostic radiology. Collectively, they have published multiple textbooks, numerous book chapters and hundreds of peer-reviewed articles. They have given hundreds of lectures to their peers, as well as orthopaedic surgeons, in the United States and around the world. Further, they are trusted by professional and collegiate sports teams and orthopaedic surgeons across the country for diagnostic musculoskeletal radiology interpretations.
Our consulting radiologists spend much of their time each day reading advanced musculoskeletal radiology studies for orthopaedic surgeons and their patients and look forward to offering their diagnostic expertise and assistance to you through our diagnostic radiology second opinion and consulting service.
Michael B. Zlatkin, MD, FRCPC
Fellowship-Trained, Board-Certified Musculoskeletal Radiologist
Dr. Zlatkin is known as one of the foremost national and international authorities in the fields of musculoskeletal and sports medicine imaging. He is a national and international lecturer to both radiologists and orthopedic surgeons. Dr. Zlatkin has written extensively in the field of musculoskeletal MRI. He authored the well-known MRI of the Shoulder, co-authored the text Clinical Magnetic Resonance Imaging and has published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters and abstracts.
Areas of Interest / Subspecialization: Sports Medicine Imaging, Particularly Imaging of the Shoulder
Professorships: Voluntary Professor of Radiology at the Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami in Miami, FL and Clinical Professor at Nova Southeastern College of Osteopathic Medicine in Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Cary J. Hoffman, MD
Fellowship-Trained, Board-Certified Musculoskeletal Radiologist
Dr. Hoffman is the business partner and a co-founder of NationalRad. His publications have appeared in peer-reviewed journals such as Skeletal Radiology, and he has presented his work on such topics as condensing osteitis of the clavicle, distal bicipital bursitis and primary multifocal osseous lymphoma at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) Annual Meeting. Dr. Hoffman has received several awards for his work and research.
Areas of Interest / Subspecialization: Musculoskeletal and Orthopaedic Imaging
Timothy G. Sanders, MD
Fellowship-Trained, Board-Certified Musculoskeletal Radiologist
Dr. Sanders is regarded as one of the foremost national and international authorities in the field of musculoskeletal and sports medicine imaging. He is a national and international lecturer / educator to both radiologists and orthopedic surgeons and has written extensively in the field of musculoskeletal radiology. Dr. Sanders co-authored the textbooks Problem Solving in Musculoskeletal Radiology and Presentation, Imaging and Treatment of Common Musculoskeletal Conditions: MRI-Arthroscopy Correlation, has written numerous book chapters and has published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles and abstracts.
Areas of Interest / Subspecialization: Sports Medicine Imaging, Particularly Running and Throwing Injuries; Imaging of the Hand and Foot; Postoperative Imaging of the Shoulder and Knee
Professorships: Assistant Professor of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine and Assistant Professor of Family Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, MD