Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) is a hospital in New York City that specializes in orthopedic surgery and the treatment of rheumatologic conditions. Founded in 1863 by James Knight, HSS is the oldest orthopedic hospital in the United States and is consistently ranked as the top orthopedic hospital in the United States. Currently, HSS is ranked #1 in orthopedics, #3 in rheumatology and #22 in pediatric orthopedics by U.S. News & World Report. Bryan Kelly serves as the medical director and surgeon-in-chief, and Louis Shapiro serves as its president and chief executive officer. Areas of expertise at HSS include joint replacement, orthopedic trauma, hand and upper extremity surgery, limb lengthening, foot and ankle surgery, pediatric orthopedics, spine surgery and sports medicine. The hospital performs the most knee replacement surgeries of any hospital in the United States. Trauma surgeons treat fractures and other acute injuries at HSS and work within an Orthopedic Trauma Service that also provides coverage at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell Medical Center. HSS physicians with a subspecialty training in the field of spine surgery focus on patients who suffer from congenital or acute spinal disorders as well as from chronic back pain. The sports medicine services at HSS treat athletic injuries of the musculoskeletal system with a special focus on shoulder, elbow, and knee injuries. In addition, orthopedic surgeons at HSS perform limb lengthening, a procedure that uses the body's capacity to create new bone as well as the soft tissues, ligaments, blood vessels, and nerves that surround and support it. HSS also offers professional medical education programs, including continuing medical education lecture series, conferences and symposia. Services are available in person at the New York facility and remotely worldwide through the Grand Rounds partnership "eConsult" platform. The hospital has 327 active medical staff. History HSS was incorporated March 27, 1863, as the Society for the Relief of the Ruptured and Crippled. Dr. James Knight, one of the founders, was appointed Resident Physician and Surgeon. He leased his home, at 97 Second Avenue, just south of Sixth Street, to the society for three years, after which the society purchased it. The hospital opened its doors to the first patient, a four-year-old boy with paralysis, on May 1, 1863. There were 28 beds available, all for children. Adults were treated as outpatients. The poor were treated for free, and the rest at moderate charge. A 200-bed hospital was built