Doctor Profile: Neil S. Kumar, MD, MBA

Dr. Kumar: I’m Dr. Neil Kumar. I’m an orthopedic surgeon, specializing in sports medicine and sports related surgery. I’ve been in practice here in the Tampa area for about four years now. Most of me staying active is chasing my two little kids around. I’m a big sports nut as you could tell. When I was younger, I was an athlete myself, particularly my sport of choice was tennis. And that got me interested in athletics. A lot of my patients come in with acute injuries. They’re used to being a soccer player or a football player or a runner, and now they can’t do that and they’ve lost a part of their identity. So one of the joys that I have in my job is to restore that part of my debt or their identity. We’re able to provide them with the exact specialist and specialty to make sure they get the exact care they need. We’re able to help them immediately from step one, all to the end. I think in the Tampa Bay area, we’re really the only one who can do that. Whether it’s a high school player who’s looking to get a college scholarship or some of our senior athletes who play pickleball seven days a week and the entire spectrum. I know that patients respect the fact that I understand what sports and athletics mean to themselves in their lives. That it’s not simply missing a game or missing a season, it’s missing a part of who they are. I think one of the most satisfying parts of my job is being able to tailor each treatment plan to my specific patient. And I think that also helps build some trust, but I think it feels good when the patients internally feel like, hey, I’m on a good path. Excellence at FOI is trying to get patients back active again.