Christopher J. DeFrancesco, MD
Areas of expertise: Young adult hip preservation, Hip arthroscopy – including labral repair and labral reconstruction, Open hip surgery – including periacetabular osteotomy (PAO) and surgical hip dislocation, Nonoperative and operative treatment for developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) and other hip disorders among infants and younger children, Hip replacement surgery (total hip arthroplasty), Sports medicine surgery of the shoulder – including open and arthroscopic surgery for shoulder instability (dislocations), Sports medicine surgery of the knee – including ACL reconstruction and patellar instability procedures
Locations: Main Building, Buerger Center for Advanced Pediatric Care, Middleman Family Pavilion, Specialty Care, Abington, Specialty Care & Surgery Center, Bucks County
About Christopher J. DeFrancesco, MD
Titles
Attending Orthopedic Surgeon
Assistant Professor, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Awards and Honors
2025, Boston Children’s Health Affairs Elective Program Fellow
2023, Lewis Clark Wagner Award for Excellence in Orthopaedic Clinical/Translational Research (HSS)
2023, Jean C. McDaniel Award (HSS)
2023, Thomas P. Sculco Award (HSS)
2023, Academic Achievement Award (HSS)
2023, 2025, AANA Hip Arthroscopy Course Scholarship Award
2022, NYP Weill Cornell Medical Center Alumni Council Distinguished Housestaff Award
2022, International Pediatric Orthopaedic Symposium (IPOS), Top Gun Surgical Skills Competition Winner
2022, AOA Resident Leadership Forum, Residency Representative
2022, Thomas L. Wickiewicz Resident Research Grant Winner
2018, Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society Inductee
2018, Gold Humanism Honor Society Inductee
2018, Perelman School of Medicine, Dr. Freddy Stark Award for Gross Anatomy
2018, Perelman School of Medicine, William G. Munns Memorial Prize for Academic Excellence in Orthopedics
2018, Perelman School of Medicine, Research Prize in Pediatrics
Leadership and Memberships
2024-present, Arthroscopy Association of North America (AANA)
2024-present, American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM)
2023-present, Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America (POSNA)
2018-present, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS)
Editorial and Academic Positions
Editorial Positions
2025-present, Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics, Reviewer
2024-present, Journal of POSNA, Reviewer
2023-present, Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, Reviewer
Education & training
Undergraduate Degree
BS - Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
Graduate Degree
MD - Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Residency
Orthopedic Surgery - Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, NY
Fellowship
Pediatric Orthopedics - Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
Orthopedic Sports Medicine - Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA
Publications
PubMed
Publications
Selected Publications
Hall C, VanEenenaam DP Jr, DeFrancesco CJ, Brown N, Sankar WN. The value of intra-articular corticosteroid injection in predicting pain relief following periacetabular osteotomy. Journal of Hip Preservation. Mar 2025.
Regan MD, Cardin S, DeFrancesco CJ, Horn BD. Will my child walk funny? The rotational profile of infants and children with classic bladder exstrophy. Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics. Feb 2025.
Desai VM, DeFrancesco CJ, Cardin SJ, Hall CE, Sankar WN. Outcomes of open reduction for hip dislocations in children with connective tissue disorders. Journal of Children’s Orthopaedics. Oct 2024.
DeFrancesco CJ, Kell D, Grady M, Brown N. Current concept review: Scurvy as a cause of leg pain and limp in pediatric and adolescent patients. JPOSNA. Feb 2025.
Uppstrom TJ, Siljander BR, Menta SV, Baldwin RB, Cecere R, DeFrancesco CJ, Kelly BT, Ranawat A, Ranawat AS. High rate of concomitant lumbo-sacral spine pathology in the setting of hip abductor tendon repair. Journal of Arthroplasty. Sep 2024.
Desai VM, Hall CE, Cardin SJ, DeFrancesco CJ, Sankar WN. Prevalence and risk factors for stiffness following open reduction for developmental dysplasia of the hip. Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics. Jul 2024.
DeFrancesco CJ, et al. Effectiveness of oral versus intravenous tranexamic acid in primary total hip and knee arthroplasty: a randomised, non-inferiority trial. British Journal of Anaesthesia. Feb 2023. Winner of Lewis Clark Wagner, MD, Award for Excellence in Orthopaedic Clinical/Translational Research (HSS, 2023)
DeFrancesco CJ, Tananbaum A, Lebrun DG, Fabricant PD. The incidence of pediatric tibial spine fractures is greater and peaks later in male patients. Arthrosc Sports Med Rehabil. 2022 Jan 21;4(2):e639-e643.
DeFrancesco CJ, Wilson L, Lebrun DG, Memtsoudis S, Fabricant PD. Pediatric tibial spine fractures: exploring case burden by age and sex. Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine. Sep 2021.
DeFrancesco CJ, Striano BM, Storey EP, Baldwin KD, et al. Statistics in brief: Evaluating measures of the postoperative event burden. Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research. Nov 2019.
DeFrancesco CJ, Bram JT, Striano BM, Ganley TJ. An in-depth analysis of graft rupture and contralateral anterior cruciate ligament rupture rates after pediatric anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. American Journal of Sports Medicine. Aug 2020.
Nelson SE, DeFrancesco CJ, Sankar WN. Operative reduction for developmental dysplasia of the hip: epidemiology over 16 years. Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics. Apr 2019.