Research
Dr. Fliegel is committed to advancing sports medicine through evidence-based research, education, and innovation in patient care.
Research Philosophy
Dr. Fliegel believes that high-quality patient care and rigorous research go hand in hand. He focuses on sports medicine research grounded in real clinical questions, with an emphasis on outcomes that directly inform patient treatment. That same commitment drives his work mentoring the next generation of orthopaedic surgeons.
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Dr. Fliegel supports this commitment by collecting patient-reported outcomes from his surgical patients and conducting research aimed at advancing the field of sports medicine.
Education & Training
Dr. Fliegel is dedicated to training the next generation of orthopaedic surgeons and is involved as an educator with the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine orthopaedic surgery residency.
Publications
Across 18 years of data from 651 professional pitchers, earlier MLB draft selection was not associated with greater UCL thickness, elb...
The Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine
Adeeb J. Hanna, BS, John H. Sonnier, MS, Brian E. Fliegel, DOÂ et al.
Association Between Draft Order and Stress Sonography of the Ulnar Collateral Ligament in Professional Baseball Pitchers: An 18-Year Study
2024
2023
Surgical Management of Traumatic Meniscus Injuries
Hannah R. Popper, DO, Brian E. Fliegel, DO, Dawn M. Elliot, PhD et al.
Pathophysiology
A comprehensive review of the pathophysiology, treatment strategies, and surgical techniques for traumatic meniscus injur...
An 18-year study of 643 professional pitchers found greater dominant-arm UCL thickening in players from warmer climates, ...
The Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine
Adeeb J. Hanna, BS, Brian E. Fliegel, DO, John H. Sonnier, MD et al.
Impact of Climate on Stress Ultrasound Findings of the Elbow Ulnar Collateral Ligament in Professional Baseball Pitchers: An 18-Year Study
2024
2026
Damaging Noise Levels Are Seen in Arthroscopic Surgery
Hannah R. Popper, DO, Brian E. Fliegel, DO, William Baker, DOÂ et al.
Arthroscopy
A retrospective review of intraoperative audio measurements during arthroscopic shoulder, hip, and knee procedures to evalua...
2024
An Isolated Midsubstance ACL Tear Repaired With the BEAR System
Patrick F. Szukics, DO, Brian E. Fliegel, DO, William Baker, DO, et al.
Video Journal of Sports Medicine
Technical note on the approach to repairing a midsubstance ACL tear with the BEAR implant, preserving the native ligament whil...
Patients with lower resilience reported significantly worse outcomes and greater pain at least two years after ACL Reconstru...
Arthroscopy, Sports Medicine, and Rehabilitation
Matthew Meade, DO, Brian E. Fliegel, DO, Patrick Szukics, DOÂ et al.
Patients With Low Resilience Scores Have Significantly Worse Postoperative Outcomes After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Than Patients With Normal or High Resilience Scores
2023
2024
Dynamic Stress Ultrasound Assessment of Professional Baseball Players' Elbows After Ulnar Collateral Ligament Reconstruction
Adeeb J. Hanna, BS, John H. Sonnier, MS, Brian E. Fliegel, DOÂ et al.
The American Journal of Sports Medicine
Longitudinal changes in elbow structure and stability were evaluated using dynamic stress ultrasound in pitchers before and...
A technique integrating a low-profile, all-polyester patch into arthroscopic rotator cuff repair to provide immediate load-sharin...
Arthroscopy Techniques
Brian E. Fliegel, DO, Kaley Beall, MPH, Sarav Shah, MD, et al.
Surgical Technique for Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Repair with All-Polyester Patch Augmentation
2026
Patients undergoing staged bilateral rotator cuff repair within 12 months reported excellent outcomes and high satisfaction with b...
Orthopedics
Brian E. Fliegel, DO, Anya Hall, BS, Akash Patel, MSÂ et al.
Patient Preferences in Short-Interval Staged Bilateral Rotator Cuff Repair
2023
2023
Patrick Szukics, DO, Elizabeth Ford, DO, Brian Fliegel, DOÂ et al.
Journal of Orthopaedic Experience & Innovation
Case report demonstrating a multifaceted approach to reverse shoulder arthroplasty, combining preoperative optimization, infe...
Optimizing Outcomes in Shoulder Arthroplasty: Mitigating Surgical Complications in High-Risk Patients
2022
Effect of COVID-19 on Injury Rates and Timing in the National Football League
Ali Omari, MD, Ryan Paul, BS, Brian E. Fliegel, DOÂ et al.
The Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine
Following the canceled 2020 NFL preseaon, Achilles and hamstring injuries increased significantly while ACL injuries rem...
2022
Biologic Graft Augmentation for Glenoid Bone Loss in Conversion of Failed Anatomic to Reverse Shoulder Arthroplasty: A Systematic Review
Brian E. Fliegel, DO, Dennis DeBernardis, DO, Elizabeth Ford, DOÂ et al.Â
JSES Reviews, Reports, and Techniques
This systematic review found an 82% success rate for biologic glenoid bone grafting during conversion of failed anatomic to rev...
Effect of COVID-19 on Ulnar Collateral Ligament Reconstruction in Major League Baseball Pitchers
Ryan Paul, BS, Ali Omari, MD, Brian E. Fliegel, DOÂ et al.
The Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine
MLB pitchers were nearly three times more likely to undergo UCL reconstruction per game following the COVID-19 lockdown, sugg...
2022
Surgical Technology International
Sean McMillan, DO, Brian Fliegel, DO, Michael Stark, DO, et al.
2021
Arthroscopic Bankart repairs using two anchors with three points of fixation produced recurrence rates and outcomes comparable...
Recurrent Instability after Arthroscopic Glenoid Labral Repair with a Minimum of Three Points of Fixation: Do the Number of Anchors or Fixation Points Correlate to Outcomes?
Research Interests
Rotator cuff repair techniques and augmentation
Shoulder instability and revision surgery
ACL Reconstruction and return-to-sport
Elbow injuries in throwing athletes
Hip arthroscopy and joint preservation
Biologics and cartilage
Patient-reported outcome measures and surgical innovation