Our Physicians

The orthopedic surgeons at the Valley Hip & Knee Institute are dedicated to providing the best possible care to relieve your joint pain and return you to your active life.

Our physicians are board-certified in orthopedic surgery by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery. This is your assurance that our physicians have completed extensive education and training, have demonstrated exceptional expertise in their field, and are committed to consistently achieving superior clinical outcomes.

Herbert D. Huddleston, MD

Medical Director, Valley Hip & Knee Institute

Dr. Huddleston is board-certified in orthopedic surgery and specializes in surgery of the hip and knee. As Medical Director of the Valley Hip & Knee Institute, Dr. Huddleston helps to ensure the best possible outcomes for all of the Institute’s patients. He utilizes innovative and minimally invasive procedures for joint replacement and repair procedures. He has completed more than 6,000 hip replacements and 5,000 knee replacements, as well as over 700 replacement revisions or repairs of failed hip replacements.

Dr. Huddleston has published research on the causes of failure of cemented joint replacements, as well as leg length techniques and issues in hip replacement. He has taught and lectured on the topic of joint replacement surgery, and he designed a hip replacement system — the Omega system — which is used throughout the world.

A native of South Africa, Dr. Huddleston graduated from the Medical School of the University of Capetown. He trained in general surgery in England, did his residency training at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, and completed his fellowship in hip and knee replacement surgery at the University of California, Los Angeles. His mentors included Dr. Charles Bechtol and Dr. John Charnley, innovators in the fields of hip and knee replacement surgery.

Dr. Huddleston is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, a Fellow of the International College of Surgeons, and a member of the American Association of Arthritic Hip and Knee Surgeons.

Erik N. Zeegen, MD

Associate Medical Director, Valley Hip & Knee Institute

Dr. Zeegen is board-certified in orthopedic surgery and one of Southern California’s leading joint replacement surgeons specializing in surgery of the hip and knee.

In caring for his patients, Dr. Zeegen uses the latest medical technologies, including minimally invasive techniques as well as sophisticated knee pain and hip pain management protocols. His care philosophies and practices allow his patients the greatest opportunity of returning to an active lifestyle with the least amount of postoperative pain and discomfort. Dr. Zeegen also offers transfusion-free surgery to those patients who request it.

Dr. Zeegen is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the UCLA School of Medicine. He has authored numerous academic papers and textbook chapters about hip and knee replacement surgery, and has presented talks on the topic at national and international meetings.

A native of Southern California, Dr. Zeegen is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles Medical School. He completed his internship and orthopedic surgery residency at UCLA, took a fellowship in orthopedic surgical oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston Children’s Hospital, and completed his fellowship in adult reconstructive surgery at Boston’s New England Baptist Hospital.

Dr. Zeegen is a member of the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons, the American Academy
of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society, the California Orthopaedic Association,
and the American Medical Association.