Clinical Focus

• Sports Medicine
• Rotator Cuff Repair
• Anterior Cruciate Ligament Repair
• Shoulder Instability
• Shoulder Arthroscopy

Administrative Appointments

• Team Physician, San Francisco 49ers (2007 - present)
• Head Team Orthopedist, San Francisco Giants Professional Baseball (2001 - 2004)
• Head Team Orthopedist, Stanford University Football (1992 - present)
• Company Physician, Ballet San Jose of Silicon valley Professional Ballet Co. (1985 - present)
• Associate Team Orthopedist, San Francisco 49er Professional Football (1984 - 1998)

Honors and Awards

• C.V. Mosby Medical Honors Award, Medical College of Wisconsin (1977)
• Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society, Medical College of Wisconsin (1977)
• Academic Distinction, University of Michigan (1969-1973)

Professional Education

Graduate & Fellowship Program Affiliations

• Orthopedic Surgery

Industry Relationships

Stanford is committed to ethical and transparent interactions with our industry partners. It is our policy to disclose payments of $5,000 or more, equity valued at $5,000 or more in a publicly traded company, or any equity in a privately held company, to physicians and scientists employed by Stanford University from companies or other commercial entities with which they interact as part of their professional activities. View Full Information

Current Research Interests

Dr. Gary Fanton is the Chief of the Section of Sports Medicine at Stanford’s Department of Orthopedic Surgery. His practice primarily involves the diagnostic evaluation and treatment of sports and trauma-related injuries of the upper extremity, knee, and ankle. He is Board Certified by the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery and is currently the Team Physician in Orthopedics for the San Francisco 49ers. Dr. Fanton's past experience includes positions as team orthopedist for the San Francisco Giants, company physician for the San Jose Ballet, head team orthopedist for Stanford University football and basketball, and team orthopedist for Stanford’s additional 29 varsity sports. He co-founded the SOAR clinic where he was an active partner in private practice since 1983. He holds a B.S. degree from the University of Michigan and M.D. degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Dr. Fanton's special interests include arthroscopic surgery of the knee and shoulder...specifically, injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament of the knee, cartilage injuries, rotator cuff tears, and shoulder instability. He has done extensive research on knee ligament tears, explored new techniques for shoulder stabilization and tendon repair, and he utilizes state-of-the-art surgical procedures to enhance rehabilitation and recovery after surgery. He is frequently asked to be a guest lecturer both nationally and internationally on these and other sports-medicine related topics. He has also authored dozens of articles on sports injuries and new surgical techniques.

Dr. Fanton was a co-founder and board member of Oratec Interventions, a medical device start-up for minimally invasive spine and joint procedures that went public in April, 2000, which was subsequently purchased by Smith-Nephew in 2002. He actively serves on the medical advisory board for several public and private surgical device companies in the Orthopedic industry and he continues to design and develop unique surgical devices for minimally invasive surgery. He has co-authored several device patents and has several others pending.

Dr. Fanton has been a member in good standing with the American Academy of Orthopedic surgeons since 1985 and he is a Diplomat of the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery. He is also member of the Orthopedic Research Society, NFL Team Physicians Society, the American Orthopedic Society of Sports Medicine, The International Knee Society, International Cartilage Repair Society, and a founding member of the International Musculoskeletal Laser Society.

Publications

• Novel drug product to improve joint motion and function and reduce pain after arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Fanton GS, Dillingham MF, Wall MS, Gillenwater GE, Khan AM, Carver TJ, Perkins JG, Demopulos GA. Arthroscopy. 2008; 24 (6): 625-36
• Acute compartment syndrome of the thigh in a football athlete: a case report and the role of the vacuum-assisted wound closure dressing. Lee AT, Fanton GS, McAdams TR. J Orthop Trauma. 2005 Nov-Dec; 19 (10): 748-50
• Arthroscopic treatment of shoulder instability: current concepts and techniques. Samson MA, Dillingham MF, Fanton GS, Madsen JS. Surg Technol Int. 1999: 8 253-7
• Postoperative epidural injection of saline can shorten postanesthesia care unit time for knee arthroscopy patients. Brock-Utne JG, Macario A, Dillingham MF, Fanton GS. Reg Anesth Pain Med. 1998 May-Jun; 23 (3): 247-51
• Patellar tendon graft harvesting using horizontal incisions for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Mishra AK, Fanton GS, Dillingham MF, Carver TJ. Arthroscopy. 1995; 11 (6): 749-52