July Featured Editorial Board Member

Matthew Brick, MD
Sports Orthopaedic Surgeon
Millennium Institute of Sport and Health
Auckland, New Zealand

Matthew graduated first in class from the University of Auckland School of Medicine in 1986 and then made the unusual decision to never practice medicine.  A brief flirtation with business followed but this was not the answer either.  A chance entry into a local triathlon led to the discovery of a latent previously untapped large aerobic capacity.  An alternative career emerged with five years as a professional triathlete, duathlete and cyclist, culminating in two elite world championship titles in Duathlon in 1991 and 1992.  A recurring achilles injury forced a re-think.  The one certainty was staying involved with the sports he loved.  The most exciting way to achieve this was to return to medicine and train as an orthopaedic surgeon.

Matthew graduated from the New Zealand Orthopaedic Association training programme in 2002.  Fellowships followed with Dr. Freddie Fu in Pittsburgh, Dr. Mark Myerson (foot and ankle) in Baltimore and Dr. Keith Holt (Perth Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, Australia).  It was while in Pittsburgh in 2003 that Matthew made contact with Dr. Marc Philippon at UPMC.  The emerging field of hip arthroscopy proved an exciting new area.  Freddie and Marc both proved great mentors encouraging clinical excellence and innovative research.

Matthew commenced private practice in 2005 based at the Millennium Institute in Auckland New Zealand under the practice name Orthosports North Harbour.  Arthroscopic surgery of the knee, shoulder and hip were his areas of practice through the first seven or eight years.  Gradually hip referrals from around New Zealand changed the case mix to being mostly hip arthroscopy with Matthew performing around 250-300 per year.

Hip arthroscopy patients have been followed prospectively from the beginning and clinical outcomes research has become Matthew’s main focus.  Although it is tempting to focus on our best results, it is the poor results where there is the most to learn and improve.  He was also involved in setting up the New Zealand National Rotator Cuff Registry. Matthew has enjoyed fellowship training a number of New Zealand and international surgeons.

Sport remains a passion.  He continues to test the limits of an ilio-tibial band autograft labral reconstruction performed in 2011 by his friend and early mentor Marc Philippon.  Events in the last two years have included three ultra-marathons and three half Ironman triathlons with age group wins in most.  Matthew and Tracey work together in the practice, with Tracey (also a doctor) focussing on post operative care and rehabilitation.  They have been married for 28 years and have four children: Claudia, Grover, Dexter and Wynton.  Those interested in food can visit www.thebrickkitchen.com to discover Claudia’s interest when she is not working as a junior doctor or logging operation day data for Matthew. (and yes, the boys were named after jazz musicians!)

Selected Published Work

Bilateral hip arthroscopy under the same anesthetic for patients with symptomatic bilateral femoroacetabular impingement: 1-year outcomes. Mei-Dan O, McConkey MO, Knudsen JS, Brick MJ. Arthroscopy. 2014 Jan;30(1):47-54

Medium-term outcomes of a cohort of revision rotator cuff repairs. Hoffman TW, Maher A, Leigh WB, Brick MJ, Caughey MA, Young SW.J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2020 Jul;29(7):1346-1352.

Microinstability of the hip: a systematic review of the imaging findings. Woodward RM, Vesey RM, Bacon CJ, White SG, Brick MJ, Blankenbaker DG.Skeletal Radiol. 2020 Jun 25.

Catastrophic failure of hip arthroscopy due to iatrogenic instability: can partial division of the ligamentum teres and iliofemoral ligament cause subluxation? Mei-Dan O, McConkey MO, Brick M.  Arthroscopy. 2012 Mar;28(3):440-5

MRI Evaluation of Repaired Versus Unrepaired Interportal Capsulotomy in Simultaneous Bilateral Hip Arthroscopy: A Double-Blind, Randomized Controlled Trial. Strickland CD, Kraeutler MJ, Brick MJ, Garabekyan T, Woon JTK, Chadayammuri V, Mei-Dan O.J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2018 Jan 17;100(2):91-98.

A multicenter, double-blind, randomized controlled trial comparing magnetic resonance imaging evaluation of repaired versus unrepaired interportal capsulotomy in patients undergoing hip arthroscopy for femoroacetabular impingement. Kraeutler MJ, Strickland CD, Brick MJ, Garabekyan T, Woon JTK, Chadayammuri V, Mei-Dan O.J Hip Preserv Surg. 2018 Nov 26;5(4):349-356