Sophia A. Traven, MD

“I believe movement is essential to quality of life. My commitment is to provide excellent surgical care and compassionate guidance so my patients can return to the activities that matter most to them.”

Dr. Sophia Traven is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon who is skilled in joint replacement and trauma surgery. She specializes in hip and knee arthroplasties, including robotic-assisted procedures, and orthopedic trauma care. Additionally, she is skilled in fracture care around existing hip, knee and pelvis arthroplasties and complex trauma involving the upper and lower extremities.

Dr. Traven was drawn to orthopedics because of the opportunities to restore mobility and independence for patients. Seeing how joint replacement and fracture care can give someone their life back has always inspired her.

She served as an orthopedic surgeon for the U.S. Air Force, with roles as chief of Orthopaedics and Deployment Readiness. Her military honors include the Air Force Commendation Medal, the Humanitarian Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the Korean Defense Service Medal.

Dr. Traven is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society and a former clinical professor at Walter Reed National Military Medical School, Baylor University and UC Davis Medical Center.

She has received the OTA-Military Travelling Fellowship, the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society Young Investigator Award, the Faculty Excellence Award for Clinical Medical Student Education from the Medical University of South Carolina, the Southern Orthopaedic Association Best Paper Award, the Ruth Jackson Orthopaedic Society-NYU Langone Research Scholarship, the John Arthur Siegling Society Best Paper Award, the Eastern Orthopaedic Association Best Paper Award, the South Carolina Orthopaedic Association Best Research Poster Award and the American Orthopaedic Association Best Poster in Adult Knee Reconstruction.

Her current research is centered on advancing care for pelvic and acetabular fractures, improving outcomes in hip and knee replacement and addressing fractures that occur around joint replacements. Additional work focuses on complex challenges such as deformities and nonunions involving the pelvis, hip and knee.

Dr. Traven received her bachelor’s degree at St. Mary’s College of Maryland and her medical degree at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. She completed residency at the Medical University of South Carolina. She then completed a fellowship in orthopaedic trauma at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and a fellowship in arthroplasty and adult reconstruction at the University of California Davis Medical Center.