Dr. Daniel Woods, MD, FAAOS, is an orthopedic surgeon specializing in minimally invasive knee and hip replacements.  He began his orthopedic surgery practice in San Luis Obispo, California in 1986.  For the past nineteen years he has been actively treating knee and hip conditions, including arthritis.

Dr. Woods is a founding partner in Central Coast Orthopedic Medical Group.  In addition to his MIS knee and hip specialty, Dr. Woods maintains a full general orthopedic practice, including treatment of shoulder and upper extremity conditions and knee conditions.  This includes arthroscopic treatment of rotator cuff tears, arthroscopic knee surgery and most hand surgery. 

He is on the staff of CHW/French Hospital Medical Center, Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center, Coastal Surgical Institute and HealthSouth Surgery Center of San Luis Obispo.

Some of the happiest and most gratifying patients Dr. Woods has treated are those with crippling arthritis who have undergone hip or knee replacements.  It gives him great pleasure to see a patient walking down the hall following recovery, without a limp and with a smile on their face.

However, the associated patient discomfort and lengthy rehabilitation following a hip or knee replacement has always been distressing to Dr. Woods. 

“I saw first hand the severe pain these procedures caused, and the lengthy rehabilitation that was required to get back to functional and recreational activities.  It broke my heart to see patients who needed both knees or hips replaced decide not to have the second one done - or keep putting it off - after experiencing the first surgery.”

The result often was physical inactivity, which caused deterioration of the patient's physical fitness. This in turn led to a much more debilitated patient when they finally had the second procedure.

In 2002 Dr. Woods began exploring ways to make knee and hip replacements less painful and cut down the long rehabilitation process.  Invited to a hip and knee meeting with Zimmer Corporation (the makers of the prosthesis he uses for joint replacement) he saw first-hand new cutting-edge techniques and prototype tools to make total hip and knee replacements less invasive. 

“The technique that captivated me most was the Minimally Invasive, quadriceps-sparing total knee procedure that I witnessed in one of the presentations.  I decided right then to learn as much as I could about this new procedure.  I determined to visit the innovators of the tools that enabled them to come in from the side of a knee without disrupting the quadriceps mechanism (the muscles and tendons) to replace a knee.”

As a child, Dr. Woods grew up in Japan as the son of career missionary parents. Following high school, he returned to California where he completed his undergraduate degree in Biology and Chemistry at Point Loma University in San Diego. 

Dr. Woods took his medical school training at Loma Linda University School of Medicine in Southern California.  Following a year of internship and four years of Orthopedic Surgery residency through Loma Linda University Medical Center and its affiliates, he relocated to San Luis Obispo on the Central Coast of California.

Dr. Woods is board-certified by the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery and is a fellow of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. He has served on numerous hospital committees and currently chairs the Physician Aid Committee at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center.

Dr. Woods and his wife are proud parents of three children, with two in college and one in high school.  He is a founding board member of K-LIFE radio station, and is active in missions through Grace Church in San Luis Obispo.  He enjoys surfing, snowboarding and reading.