Meet Christopher Peer, M.S., M.D.

Orthopaedic Surgery & Sports Medicine

Dr. Chris Peer keeps people moving whether they are a professional athlete or simply an individual who wants to stay active.

Science and medicine are advancing at an increasing pace.  With a scientific background, Dr. Chris Peer is finding the latest developments in science and medicine and applying these to help people live their most active life.  Whether this involves progressive non-surgical techniques to keep your joints as healthy as possible using Regenerative Medicine and Orthobiologics to restore the most comfortable joint all the way to cartilage restoration using ex vivo cartilage cell expansion and reimplantation (MACI technique), meniscus transplants or at the end of a joint’s life replacing it using computerized custom 3-dimensional design or robotics,  Dr. Chris Peer continues to be a leader in Knee and Shoulder Care throughout the continuum. 

You can be confident that Dr. Chris Peer has all the knowledge, skills, technology and compassion to give you the very best knee and shoulder care available to anyone.

Current Positions:

  • Effective January 1st 2024, Dr. Peer accepted the appointment to Chief Medical Officer of the Kansas City Orthopaedic Institute.

    “I’m excited to participate in hospital leadership, to continue the legacy of our first CEO, Dr. Charlie Rhoades, and to help steer KCOI into the future.”

  • Since December 2018, Dr. Peer accepted the appointment to Director of Urgent Care at the Kansas City Orthopaedic Institute.

    “We have great plans as we continue to provide the best orthopaedic care for our patients. As always, it remains an honor and a privilege to serve.”

  • Dr. Peer has been practicing as an Orthopaedic Surgeon at the Kansas City Orthopaedic Institute since 2015. He is Board Certified in Orthopaedic Surgery and has a Sub-Specialty Certificate in Orthopaedic Sports Medicine. He can provide an experienced perspective for your knee or shoulder problem.

  • Dr. Peer has been the Associate Director for the UMKC Orthopaedic Sports Medicine fellowship since 2017. Training site director to train specialty surgeons in sports medicine.

  • Since 2016 Dr. Peer has been the assistant clinical professor for the University of Missouri Kansas City. This is a teaching appointment in the department of orthopedics to teach residents and sports medicine fellows.

Dr Chris Peer wants you to live your best life and feels it is an honor to help.

Orthopaedic Care for Shoulder & Knee

Dr. Chris Peer is a Board Certified Orthopaedic Surgeon.  He has won numerous awards, accolades, and academic and teaching appointments.  He is currently Associate Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Fellowship Director for a year-long training program in advanced sports medicine techniques for other Orthopaedic surgeons.  Dr. Chris Peer is a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, and is double Certified in Orthopaedic Surgery as well as Orthopaedic Sports Medicine by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery. He has been teaching at an annual arthroscopic surgery course for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons in Chicago since 2015. 

Leading In Technology

Dr. Chris Peer believes in the continual advancement of the latest developments in research and medicine.  He uses his background in science and cell biology combined with his extensive experience in knee and shoulder surgery to critically evaluate the latest technical developments.  For example, Dr. Chris Peer was the first U.S. surgeon to adopt and apply a novel, research based technique utilizing Brain Lab 3 robotic navigation after meeting with a New Zealand surgeon researcher in early 2020.  He continues to apply these concepts to robotic assisted total knee replacement surgeries.  Dr. Peer is one of only two surgeons to have been selected in the Kansas City region to utilize the novel meniscus replacement implant and have been trained in its use awaiting the pending FDA approval. As the research in Orthobiologics and Regenerative Medicine have evolved, Dr Peer has been using injections of Hyaluronic Acid and Platelet Rich Plasma for treatment of non-surgical injuries and arthritic and degenerative problems. 

Lipogems & Regenerative Medicine

Dr. Peer will be using this Lipogems (https://understandlipogems.com/ ) system initially in the operating room in conjunction with arthroscopic techniques and will be transitioning this system to use in the office for nonsurgical treatment of knee arthritis in the near future.

Where Science, Medicine, and Innovation meet.

Background & Education

  • Dr. Chris Peer completed his college training with a Bachelor’s in Biology and a Minor in Chemistry at Virginia Tech. This was followed by a Master's degree in Microbiology studying electron transport and the energy conservation system in methanogenic bacteria.

  • Masters in Microbology from the department of biochemistry and anaerobic microbiology. Published on the electron transport and biochemistry of methane production.

  • He continued his education at the National Institutes of Health Foundation for the Advanced Education in the Sciences while completing a 2-year research Fellowship at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland. While there he worked extensively and published research with the late Dr. Michael Sporn. Dr. Sporn then moved to Dartmouth Medical School and brought only Chris Peer with him from his former lab to continue his research in novel cancer treatment and therapeutics.

  • After years in research, Chris Peer then went on to obtain his medical training at Georgetown Medical School in Washington, DC and from there embarked on his career in Orthopaedic Surgery.

  • Orthopaedic residency is an intense 5-year training program. The University of New Mexico is one of the busiest trauma hospitals in the US. Dr. Peer was Chief Resident on the Ortho-Trauma service in 2005.

  • Additional training in knee and shoulder training and arthroscopic sports surgery. Assistant to the head team physician of the Kansas City Chiefs.

  • Mayo Clinic

    Oregon Health Sciences University

    Washington Hospital Center

    Dartmouth Medical School

AWARDS & SPECIAL APPOINTMENTS

  • Alpha Omega Alpha - Medical Honor Society

  • Phi Kappa Phi - Graduate Honor Society

  • Georgetown Medical School Class Vice President

  • Instructor for Gross Anatomy - Georgetown Nurse Anesthetist School

  • Public Health Service Externship at NIH

  • Orthopedic Externship at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester 1999

  • Orthopedic Externship Oregon Health Sciences University

  • Orthopedic Externship Washington Hospital Center

  • Orthopedic Externship Dartmouth Medical School

  • Fellowship National Cancer Institute 1993-1995

  • Phi Sigma - National Biological Society

  • Robert Hayes Academic Award

  • Staff Leadership Award

  • Resident Instructor of the Year

  • Franklin Dickson Academic Achievement Award

  • AAOS Evaluations Committee

  • AAOS Orthopedic Learning Center faculty in Orthopedic Surgery

  • Associate Director UMKC Orthopedic Sports Medicine Fellowship

  • KCOI Urgent Care Medical Director

  • KCOI Executive Committee