About

Dr. Joseph A. Ippolito is an Assistant Professor in the division of Musculoskeletal Oncology in the department of Orthopaedics at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. He was born and raised in West Orange, NJ, and overcame a diagnosis of stage 4 neuroblastoma at a young age through successful treatment with chemotherapy and surgery. He attended Rutgers University, where he studied Cell Biology & Neuroscience and played ice hockey, and graduated from Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. He completed his orthopaedic surgery residency at Rutgers NJMS and further specialized through a Musculoskeletal Oncology Fellowship at the University of Chicago. Dr. Ippolito's clinical practice focuses on caring for children and adults with bone and soft tissue tumors, utilizing his personal background to provide empathy and hope to patients with limb and life-threatening musculoskeletal cancers. His interests include limb-salvage procedures, primary and revision total joint arthroplasty, and bone and joint infections. He is certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery and holds a medical license in New Jersey. Dr. Ippolito emphasizes a multidisciplinary approach to diagnosis and treatment, collaborating with a team of professionals to optimize patient care.

Research topics

• Medicine
• Biochemistry
• Biology
• Chemistry
• Pharmacology
• Combinatorial chemistry
• Virology
• Stereochemistry
• Computational biology
• Computational chemistry
• Genetics
• Internal medicine
• Pathology
• Medical emergency
• Surgery

Selected publications

• ChatGPT 3.5 Better Improves Comprehensibility of English, than Spanish, Generated Responses to Osteosarcoma Questions

  Journal of Surgical Oncology · 2025-02-03 · 3 citations

  articleOpen access

  BACKGROUND: Despite adequate discussion and counseling in the office, inadequate health literacy or language barriers may make it difficult to follow instructions from a physician and access necessary resources. This may negatively impact survival outcomes. Most healthcare materials are written at a 10th grade level, while many patients read at an 8th grade level. Hispanic Americans comprise about 25% of the US patient population, while only 6% of physicians identify as bilingual. QUESTIONS/PURPOSE: (1) Does ChatGPT 3.5 provide appropriate responses to frequently asked patient questions that are sufficient for clinical practice and accurate in English and Spanish? (2) What is the comprehensibility of the responses provided by ChatGPT 3.5 and are these modifiable? METHODS: Twenty frequently asked osteosarcoma patient questions, evaluated by two fellowship-trained musculoskeletal oncologists were input into ChatGPT 3.5. Responses were evaluated by two independent reviewers to assess appropriateness for clinical practice, and accuracy. Responses were graded using the Flesch Reading Ease Score (FRES) and the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level test (FKGL). The responses were then input into ChatGPT 3.5 for a second time with the following command "Make text easier to understand". The same method was done in Spanish. RESULTS: All responses generated were appropriate for a patient-facing informational platform. There was no difference in the Flesch Reading Ease Score between English and Spanish responses before the modification (p = 0.307) and with the Flesch-Kincaid grade level (p = 0.294). After modification, there was a statistically significant difference in comprehensibility between English and Spanish responses (p = 0.003 and p = 0.011). CONCLUSION: In both English and Spanish, none of the ChatGPT generated responses were found to be factually inaccurate. ChatGPT was able to modify responses upon follow-up with a simplified command. However, it was shown to be better at improving English responses than equivalent Spanish responses.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Antibiotic Spacers Used for Prosthetic Joint Infections

  2025-01-01

  book-chapter
  PublisherDOI

• Undifferentiated Pleomorphic Sarcoma: Management of Recurrent Chest Wall Mass

  2025-01-01

  book-chapter
  PublisherDOI

• Risk Factors for Readmission After Unicompartmental Knee Arthroplasty

  The Journal of Arthroplasty · 2025-09-10

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Fungal Infections in Orthopedics

  2025-01-01

  book-chapter
  PublisherDOI

• Anemia, Abnormal Body Mass Index, and Sarcopenia Increase Complication Risk in Patients Undergoing Surgical Treatment for Metastatic Bone Disease

  Journal of Surgical Oncology · 2025-05-15 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access1st author

  BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Metastatic bone disease (MBD) is a common complication of primary cancers and is typically managed surgically. Overall health status and nutritional optimization are essential in surgical outcomes. The objective of this study was to report the intersectionality of previously studied laboratory, imaging, and clinical characteristics on postoperative complications. METHODS: Patients treated surgically for metastatic disease of the femur or tibia from 2001 to 2022 were reviewed. Age, gender, diagnosis, perioperative BMI, hemoglobin, albumin, method of surgical treatment, history of chemotherapy, history of radiation to the site, return to the operating room (OR), and complication type were collected for analysis. Psoas cross-sectional area was measured. RESULTS: Following review, 119 patients (61 F, 58 M) treated at 128 anatomic sites, with mean age 61.9 ± 15.6 and mean follow-up 23.7 ± 9.3 met the inclusion criteria. The rate of wound dehiscence was 7/128 (5.47%) and infection was 7/128 (5.47%). Hemoglobin < 12 [OR 1.091 (95% CI 1.023-1.164, p < 0.05)] and abnormal BMI [OR 9.000 (95% CI 0.962-84.208, p < 0.05)] were both associated with an increased risk of deep infection. Hemoglobin < 12 [OR 1.091 (95% CI 1.023-1.164, p < 0.05)] was also associated with increased risk in superficial infection. Abnormal BMI [OR 3.783 (95% CI 1.209-11.831, p < 0.05)] was associated with an increased risk of return to the OR. History of chemotherapy [OR 2.965 (95% CI 1.173-7.493, p < 0.05)] was associated with an increased risk in overall complications. There was no association found between history of diabetes and complications. No statistically significant difference was found between the method of fixation when comparing complications between those that received an endoprosthesis, intramedullary nail (IMN), or plate. CONCLUSIONS: The complication risk for patients with metastatic disease is multifactorial, with anemia, abnormal BMI, and sarcopenia as measured by psoas cross-sectional area increasing risk for nononcologic complications. In the future, large-scale studies can help quantify the impact of each factor to allow for preoperative optimization to reduce complications.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• An evaluation of reliability in measurement of native femoral torsion on CT imaging

  European Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery & Traumatology · 2025-12-24

  articleOpen access

  BACKGROUND: This study assesses intra- and interobserver reliability in measuring femoral torsion on repeated computed tomography (CT) scanograms and explores variability across training levels and patient characteristics. METHODS: Patients from 2001 to 2017 with femur fractures who underwent multiple CT scanograms were included. Measurements were performed by an orthopaedic traumatologist, two orthopaedic residents (PGY-5 and PGY-3), and a musculoskeletal radiologist. Intraobserver reliability was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs), and interobserver reliability using repeated measures ANOVA. Correlations between measurement variability and body mass index (BMI), age, height, gender, and laterality were evaluated using Pearson's coefficient. RESULTS: Twenty-nine patients with unilateral uninjured femurs were analyzed. Interobserver analysis revealed significant differences in femoral torsion (p = 0.006) and length (p = 0.019). Intraobserver reliability showed strong agreement in femoral torsion (ICC 0.620-0.950) and length (ICC 0.992-0.999), but moderate to poor agreement in femoral neck axis (ICC 0.394-0.627) and posterior condylar axis (ICC 0.561-0.665). Femoral length measurements were the most consistent across all reviewers. Higher BMI correlated with increased variability in femoral torsion measurements (r = 0.378; p = 0.048). No significant correlation was found for age (p = 0.110), height (p = 0.363), gender (p = 0.610), or laterality (p = 0.830). CONCLUSION: These findings highlight the reliability of CT scanograms to assess femoral length and torsion when done by the same physician. Although moderate to poor agreement in femoral neck axis and posterior femoral condyle axis, overall femoral torsion was found to be highly reliable. Reliable measurement of native femoral torsion in patients with a higher BMI may be difficult. To ensure reliable measures of femoral torsion, the same clinician should evaluate all pertinent studies for an individual patient. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III Retrospective cohort study.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Larger stem to bone diameter ratio predicts lower cemented endoprosthesis failure

  Journal of Surgical Oncology · 2024-01-14 · 1 citations

  article

  BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: With continued advances in treatment options, patients with endoprosthetic reconstruction are living longer and consequently relying upon their devices for a longer duration. Major causes of endoprosthesis failure include aseptic loosening and mechanical failure. In the setting of tumor resection, loss of bone stock and use of radiation therapy increase the risk for these complications. As such, considerations of remaining native bone and stem length and diameter may be increasingly important. We asked the following questions: (1) What was the overall rate of endoprosthesis failure at a minimum of 5-year follow-up? (2) Does resection length increase implant failure rates? (3) Does implant size and its ratio to cortical width of bone alter implant failure rates? METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed patient outcomes at a single institution between the years of 1999-2022 who underwent cemented endoprosthetic reconstruction at the hip or knee and identified 150 patients. Of these 150, 55 had a follow-up of greater than 5 years and were used for analysis. Radiographs of these patients at time of surgery were assessed and measured for resection length, bone diameter, stem diameter, and remaining bone length. Resection percentage, and stem to bone diameter ratios were then calculated and their relationship to endoprosthesis failure were analyzed. RESULTS: Patients in this cohort had a mean age of 55.8, and mean follow-up of 59.96 months. There were 78 distal femoral replacements (52%), 16 proximal femoral replacements (10.7%), and 56 proximal tibial replacements (37.3%). There were five patients who experienced aseptic loosening and six patients who experienced mechanical failure. Patients with implant failure had a smaller mean stem to bone diameter (36% vs. 44%; p = 0.002). A stem to bone diameter of 40% appeared to be a breaking point between success and failure in this series, with 90% of patients with implant failure having a stem: bone ratio less than 40%. Stem to bone ratio less than 40% increased risk for failure versus stems that were at least 40% the diameter of bone (6/19 [31.6%] vs. 0/36 [0%]; odds ratio 0.68; p < 0.001). Resection length did not appear to have an impact on the rates of aseptic loosening and mechanical failure in this series. CONCLUSIONS: Data from this series suggests a benefit to using stems with a larger diameter when implanting cemented endoprostheses at the hip or knee. Stems which were less than 40% the diameter of bone were substantially more likely to undergo implant failure.

  PublisherDOI

• Vanadium Enhancing Bone Healing: A Comprehensive Review

  Medical Research Archives · 2024-01-01 · 1 citations

  reviewOpen access

  Bone fractures and defects present significant challenges in orthopedic medicine, necessitating effective therapeutic strategies to expedite healing and restore skeletal function. Vanadium, a trace element with insulin-mimetic properties, has garnered attention for its potential role in enhancing bone healing. The concept of using local vanadium supplementation in the context of systemic diseases, such as diabetes mellitus, is not entirely new. Vanadium compounds, notably vanadyl acetylacetonate (VAC), have been recognized for their insulin-mimetic properties.1-5 In comparison to other orthobiologics like insulin and bone morphogenetic protein (BMP), vanadium compounds are highly stable, free from storage and contamination concerns, and can endure high elevated temperatures.6 This allows for the potential utilization of vanadium surface modification of orthopedic implants. Prior research, outlined in this review report, shows that the use of VAC can accelerate the rate of fracture healing in non-diabetic rats.7,8 This review synthesizes current literature on the mechanisms through which vanadium influences bone regeneration, focusing on preclinical studies utilizing a rat model. Key findings suggest that vanadium promotes osteoblast differentiation, inhibits osteoclast activity, and enhances biomechanical properties of healed bone. Controlled release systems for vanadium delivery may hold promise in optimizing its therapeutic efficacy. Dosing and controlled delivery can mitigate safety concerns while optimizing healing. Future research should aim to elucidate molecular mechanisms, explore synergistic effects with other bioactive agents, and conduct clinical trials to validate vanadium's efficacy and safety in human bone healing applications.

  PublisherDOI

• Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Orthopedic Surgery Residency Training

  Orthopedics · 2023-02-28

  article

  This study sought to investigate the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on orthopedic surgery residency training across the United States. A 26-question online survey was created and sent to all orthopedic surgery residency programs across the United States. Areas of emphasis in the survey included the pandemic's effect on work hours, operative experience, didactics, and medical student recruitment. There were 142 respondents to the survey. One hundred seventeen (82.4%) respondents stated that their residency changed to an alternative/surge schedule during the pandemic. Regarding the degree to which the pandemic affected their training, 77 (54.2%) respondents gave a rating of 8 to 10 on a scale of 0 to 10. Similarly, 94 (66.2%) residents indicated that their operative experience had decreased significantly. Twenty-two (15.5%) residents expected that their next year clinical abilities would not be affected. One hundred thirty-seven (96.5%) residents stated their program transitioned to online didactics. Responses regarding the effectiveness of online didactics were mixed. One hundred twenty-six (88.7%) respondents stated the pandemic would negatively affect the 2021 National Residency Matching Program match. This study demonstrated that the COVID-19 pandemic greatly affected orthopedic surgery residency training in the United States. Resident operative experience decreased significantly, and most respondents indicated a switch to online didactics. Effects were also felt to extend to fourth-year scheduling and the 2021 National Residency Matching Program match. [ Orthopedics . 2023;46(5):315–319.]

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant F32GM017645

  NIH · $52k

Frequent coauthors

• Kathleen S. Beebe

  Rutgers New Jersey Medical School

  107 shared

• Joseph Benevenia

  Rutgers New Jersey Medical School

  90 shared

• Jennifer E. Thomson

  40 shared

• Francis Patterson

  Hackensack University Medical Center

  33 shared

• Peter D. Gibson

  North Manchester General Hospital

  31 shared

• S Rivero

  29 shared

• Brianna L. Siracuse

  28 shared

• Thomas A. Steitz

  Yale University

  26 shared

Education

• M.D.

  Rutgers, New Jersey Medical School

  2017

• B.S., Cell Biology & Neuroscience

  Rutgers University