Riccardo Cristiani

Riccardo Cristiani, MD, PhD, Associate Professor

Riccardo Cristiani is an orthopaedic knee surgeon and Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.

A native of Italy, he earned his medical degree and completed most of his residency in orthopaedic surgery in Italy before relocating to Sweden, where he spent over a year as a fellow at the Capio Artro Clinic/Stockholm Sports Trauma Research Center, a FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence.

He completed his entire academic career at the Karolinska Institutet, where he defended his PhD thesis in 2021, pursued a postdoctoral fellowship from 2022 to 2025, and was subsequently appointed Associate Professor in October 2025.

Dr. Cristiani has acquired extensive clinical and research expertise in knee surgery through international training in both Italy and Sweden, complemented by several fellowships with some of the world’s most accomplished knee surgeons, including:

• Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden (Prof. Kristian Samuelsson), 2016 & 2017
• ESSKA–DePuy Knee Arthroscopy Fellowship, Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg, Luxembourg (Prof. Romain Seil), 2022
• ESSKA–Arthrex Sports Medicine Fellowship, Fortius Clinic, London, UK (Mr. Andy Williams and Mr. Simon Ball), 2024
• International Visiting Fellowship, Twin City Orthopaedics, Edina, Minnesota, USA (Dr. Robert LaPrade), 2025
• ON Foundation Fellowship, ATOS Clinic, Heidelberg, Germany (Prof. Rainer Siebold), 2025

He currently works as a consultant knee surgeon at Capio Artro Clinic/Stockholm Sports Trauma Research Center and at Stockholm South Hospital, where he collaborates with Prof. Karl Eriksson on complex knee surgery.

Dr. Cristiani is actively involved in several international orthopaedic societies. He was a member of the Knee & Sports Preservation Committee of the International Society of Arthroscopy, Knee Surgery and Orthopaedic Sports Medicine (ISAKOS) from 2019 to 2023 and currently serves as Deputy Chair of the ISAKOS Young Professionals Task Force, a group of leading young (<45 years) orthopaedic surgeons from around the world. He is also a member of the Basic Science Committee of the European Society for Sports Traumatology, Knee Surgery and Arthroscopy (ESSKA).

Furthermore, Dr. Cristiani is an active member of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Study Group, an exclusive international society of approximately 100 members worldwide that brings together the most accomplished and influential soft-tissue knee surgeons globally.

He serves on the Editorial Board of Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy (KSSTA) and is a reviewer for multiple leading journals in orthopaedic surgery and sports medicine. He has received and been a finalist for several research awards, including Finalist for the John Joyce Award (ISAKOS 2017), Finalist for the Albert Trillat Award (ISAKOS 2019 and 2025), Best Poster Award at ESSKA 2022 (with Dr. Christoffer von Essen), and Best Paper Presentation at the Swedish Society for Physical Activity and Sports Medicine in 2017.

In addition to his academic and clinical work, Dr. Cristiani is team physician for AIK, a professional soccer team based in Stockholm.