Doctor Profile: Grant Garlick, MD

Dr. Garlick: My name is Grant Garlick. I’m an orthopedic surgeon, a medical doctor MD in Florida Orthopaedic Institute and I have worked here for over 12 years. I’m married and I have three lovely kids. My kids are 15, 13 and nine. My wife and I met in Tampa and she followed me to New Jersey for my residency and came back here. My son’s in Cru and the rest of my family plays tennis. Tennis is one of my passions and I’m involved in weight training and yoga. I try to stay very fit and one of my passions is working out. Anything that involves a knee, I’m involved with. I was at a course one time and I met this really nice Korean gentleman. He was a doctor and I asked him what he did and he said, “I’m the hip guy in my hospital.” It was at that moment that I knew I would be the knee guy (01:00). Anything from birth to death that can occur in a knee, I specialize in. My patient care philosophy is really focused on primarily treating what the patient needs, not what is on the MRI or what is on the imaging. Oftentimes people are misdiagnosed or diagnosed with conditions that they don’t need treated so I tell them, one of the lines I use in clinic is, “The best surgery I do is the surgery I don’t have to do.” And then I have patients help me understand what it is they need and they’re involved in the decision for surgery or non-surgery, non-surgical management of these conditions. The best part of my job is when I get to give people function. I give their function back and to see them come back after surgery and they say things like, “Wow, I haven’t done this in many years,” and, “This is the best thing that I’ve ever done,” and, “I feel like I have my life back,” that’s what really drives me (02:00). What sets Florida Orthopaedic Institute apart from other facilities is that I think what it comes down to is excellence. I’ve worked in a lot of other hospital systems in different states and institutions and I think, beyond a doubt, excellence here is beyond anything that I’ve ever experienced. It gives me satisfaction when I get to send a patient to one of my partners and know that they’re getting the best orthopaedic care.