Dr. Christian McCartney is a fellowship-trained spine surgeon, a board-eligible orthopedic surgeon, and a native of Texas. His specific interests include minimally invasive spine surgery, robotic spine surgery and motion-preserving spine surgery.

Dr. McCartney felt called to become a physician from a young age. His youngest brother, Matthew, was born prematurely with cerebral palsy. Dr. McCartney went to many of his brother’s medical appointments over the years and gained a valuable perspective as a family member of a complex patient. Dr. McCartney then had the opportunity to shadow an orthopedic surgeon in high school, and he never looked back.

Dr. McCartney graduated from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. He then completed his residency in Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City. He later completed a spine surgery fellowship at Spine Institute of Arizona in Scottsdale. (Fellowship training is the highest level of specialty training for physicians.)

Dr. McCartney is a proud member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the North American Spine Society, the Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery, and Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society.

As a spine surgeon, Dr. McCartney believes his job is not only to diagnose and treat disorders of the spine but also to educate patients on the nature of their condition and all their treatment options. He hopes to establish a relationship with each of his patients, learn about all of their symptoms, understand their goals, and provide individualized treatment plans. Whether the best treatment is operative or non-operative, Dr. McCartney works tirelessly to get his patients back to doing the things they love.

When he’s not helping patients, Dr. McCartney loves to be outside, especially with his wife and son. They enjoy hiking, skiing, hunting and fishing as a family. Dr. McCartney and his family are excited to live in Alaska, where these activities are right outside the front door.

Dr. Benjamin Packard is an orthopedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine, with an emphasis in hip, knee, ankle, shoulder and elbow. He agrees with the sentiment, “If you have a body, you are an athlete.” Whether it’s a stay-at-home parent or weekend warrior, newly training or elite status, Dr. Packard enjoys getting athletes back to the sports they love.

Dr. Packard received his medical degree from Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska. He then completed an orthopedic surgery residency at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine in Albuquerque.

Dr. Packard is the only orthopedic surgeon in Alaska with two sports medicine fellowships – one at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine and one at UniSports Orthopaedics in Auckland, New Zealand. (Fellowship training is the highest level of specialty training for physicians.)

Originally from Niwot, Colorado, Dr. Packard enjoys spending time with his family and exploring the outdoors. This includes camping, backpacking, snowboarding and rafting. He also likes working out, cooking and being involved in church.

Dr. Douglas Prevost is a board-certified, fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon who specializes in muscle- and tendon-preserving total joint replacement of the knee and hip, as well as revision total knee and hip replacement surgery.

Dr. Prevost uses the most up-to-date, minimally invasive muscle- and tendon-sparing techniques for both knee and hip replacements. These techniques offer rapid recovery with less pain and easier rehabilitation. For total knee replacements, Dr. Prevost goes under the muscle, not cutting any muscles or tendons. He also uses computer navigation and VELYS™ robotic assistance to customize your knee replacement. (For more info, see the section below titled “VELYS™ Robotic-Assisted Knee Replacement.”) For total hip replacements, Dr. Prevost uses the anterior (from the front) approach for going between muscles. He also uses intra-operative x-rays to guide the placement of your implants.

Dr. Prevost attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry in 1986. Dr. Prevost received his medical degree in 1990 and completed his orthopedic surgery residency at State University of New York at Buffalo School of Medicine in 1997.

Following his residency, Dr. Prevost continued his training at the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Medicine by completing a Fellowship in Lower Extremity Joint Reconstruction under Dr. Kenneth A. Krackow. (Fellowship training is the highest level of specialty training for physicians.) In addition, he spent time studying innovative surgery for joint preservation including hip dysplasia and femoral acetabular impingement with Professor Reinhold Ganz at the Inselspital in Bern, Switzerland.

In 1998, Dr. Prevost joined the staff at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas as Chief of Total Joint Service. His duties included teaching orthopedic surgery residents the techniques of total joint replacement and general orthopedic surgery.

From 1998 to 2005, Dr. Prevost was also a staff orthopedic surgeon at Brooke Army Medical Center’s Level I trauma center. Dr. Prevost was deployed to Iraq in 2003, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. During this time, he held university appointments at the University Of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Orthopedic Surgery.

Dr. Prevost is board-certified by the American Board of Orthopedic Surgeons, is a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, and is a Fellow of the American Hip and Knee Society. He is also a member of the Alaska Medical Association and the Anchorage Orthopedic Society.

VELYS™ Robotic-Assisted Knee Replacement

Dr. Prevost performs total knee replacements with the VELYS Robotic Assisted Solution.

With previous knee replacement techniques, everyone received a generically aligned knee replacement. However, VELYS knee replacements are customized for your specific anatomy and alignment in three dimensions. The surgery is also performed using muscle- and tendon-sparing techniques. This results in:

• Greater accuracy
• Less pain
• Increased mobility
• Quicker recovery times
• Better patient outcomes

If you are a candidate for a total knee replacement, you are a candidate for VELYS! Learn more about VELYS at AFOC, or visit the VELYS website.

Dr. Brad Sparks is a board-certified, fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine, joint replacement, and orthopedic trauma. He is the only doctor in Alaska (and one of only a handful of physicians in the entire country) to be certified in the Jiffy Knee procedure, an approach to total knee replacements that offers patients a faster recovery, less pain and an easier rehab process. Dr. Sparks received special training from the founder of the Jiffy Knee, Dr. Manish Patel.

Dr. Sparks joined Alaska Fracture and Orthopedic Clinic in 2014. After graduating from medical school at the University of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky, Dr. Sparks went on to complete residency training in orthopedic surgery at the University of Louisville.

He received advanced fellowship training in sports medicine at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico. (Fellowship training is the highest level of specialty training for physicians.) As a fellowship-trained sports medicine surgeon, he specializes in arthroscopic shoulder instability, total knee arthroplasty, total hip arthroplasty, total shoulder arthroplasty, reverse total shoulder arthroplasty, and ACL reconstruction.

Dr. Sparks takes a special interest in getting to know his patients individually and providing specialized care to meet each patient’s needs and expectations. He is happiest when he is able to improve his patients’ quality of life through nonoperative or operative musculoskeletal care.

When he’s not seeing patients at Alaska Fracture & Orthopedic Clinic, Dr. Sparks enjoys hunting, camping, hiking, fishing, snow machining, ATV riding, downhill skiing, and photography.

Jiffy Knee: A Game Changer for Total Knee Replacements

Most total knee replacements require an incision along the front of the knee. To access the kneecap, multiple muscles and the quadriceps tendon must be cut and then stitched back together after the procedure. (These are the workhorse muscles for walking and moving up or down stairs.) When you bend your knee during rehab, the freshly repaired muscles and tendon are stretched – leading to great discomfort and a long recovery.

With the Jiffy Knee procedure, Dr. Sparks gains access from the side of the knee. He then uses special instruments and techniques to slide the muscles and tendon away, rather than cutting them. The Jiffy Knee approach offers the following unique benefits:

• Less post-procedure pain
• Significantly less swelling and stiffness
• Less need for narcotics (most patients need just a single Rx)
• Far less downtime
• Fast rehab and recovery
• Decreased risk for complications like blood clots
• No more post-surgical muscle atrophy due to lack of use
• Patients are more active early on, leading to better outcomes
• No sutures or staples to remove
• No additional costs or upcharges

If you are a candidate for a total knee replacement, you are a candidate for the Jiffy Knee! To learn more, visit www.jiffyknee.com, or call AFOC at one of the phone numbers below.

Dr. Doug Vermillion joined AFOC from Orthopaedic Research Clinic Alaska (ORCA) in January 2025. He is board certified in orthopedic surgery and has completed fellowship training in adult reconstructive surgery / foot and ankle surgery. (Fellowship training is the highest level of specialty training for physicians.) He has a strong background in total joint replacement, advanced biologics and sports medicine, including cartilage restoration.

Dr. Vermillion is proud of his 98% level of patient satisfaction, as measured through the SwiftPath Total Joint Program. His extensive experience in cartilage repair and biologics includes bone marrow aspirate and PRP, or Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy, an innovative treatment option increasingly used in sports medicine. If you have a nagging sports injury or chronic pain that just won’t go away, PRP can help accelerate healing, reduce pain, and get you back to doing what you love faster – all without surgery.

Dr. Vermillion received his medical degree from the University of Utah School of Medicine in Salt Lake City. He then completed his internship / residency at Brooke Army Medical Center in Fort Sam Houston, Texas. He completed his fellowship training in Total Joint / Foot & Ankle at Kerlan Jobe Orthopedic Clinic in Los Angeles, where he also grew up.

In his free time, Dr. Vermillion enjoys fishing and wildlife photography.