Riley J. Williams

Riley J. Williams III, MD is a specialist in the field of knee, elbow and shoulder surgery at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York City. He holds a dual appointment in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery:

Full-time member of the Sports Medicine & Shoulder Service

Clinician-Scientist in the Research Division.

He is also a Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College.

Dr. Williams attended college at Yale University and medical school at Stanford University and completed both his Orthopedic Surgery training and Sports Medicine Fellowship training at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. A well-respected researcher in the global orthopedic community, Dr. Williams has published over 150 original peer-reviewed research papers, book chapters and reviews. As a clinician and educator, he has been invited for dozens of visiting professorships and grand rounds lectures the world over.

Riley J. Williams III, MD grew up in Los Angeles, California. He attended Loyola High School, and subsequently obtained his Bachelor of Science from Yale University. After college, Dr. Williams earned his Medical Degree from Stanford University. While at Stanford, Dr. Williams began his early research into cartilage metabolism at the Orthopedic Research Laboratory. Following medical school, he interned in General Surgery at Huntington Memorial Hospital (USC) in Pasadena, California. Dr. Williams then headed East to the Hospital for Special Surgery where he did both his residency and fellowship training in Orthopedic Surgery, and Sports Medicine.

Dr. Williams started his practice at the Hospital for Special Surgery in 1998 and has been named a Best Doctor in New York City by Castle and Connolly annually since 2006. He performs over 600 surgeries a year.

His clinical and research interests include: cartilage regeneration, cartilage transplantation, arthroscopic Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) reconstruction, arthroscopic rotator repair, arthroscopic shoulder stabilization & labrum repair, posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) reconstruction, elbow ligament reconstruction, and partial knee-replacement. Dr. Williams is the Director of the Institute for Cartilage Repair at Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan.

Riley J. Williams III, MD worked with the New York Mets of Major League Baseball as a fellow and was made their Assistant Team Physician in 1998. He became the Medical Director and Head Team Physician for both the New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets (NBA) in 2004 and continues to serve in this role. Dr. Williams is a Team Physician for USA Basketball. He was the official team doctor for the US Olympic Basketball teams at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics Games. Additionally, Dr. Williams became the Medical Director and Head Team Physician for the New York Red Bulls (MLS) and continues to serve in this role. As the director of the FIFA Medical Center of Excellence at the Hospital for Special Surgery, his expertise in soccer medicine and leadership activities in this area helped HSS to achieve Center of Excellence designation in 2014. Dr. Williams worked with the New York Giants as a fellow.