Neal ElAttrache, the surgeon to the stars of sport and screen, can fix it all.  Photograph by Michael Friberg for The New Yorker Everybody in Los Angeles seems to know somebody who knows somebody who’s been treated by Dr. Neal ElAttrache. At least, that’s how it feels in certain circles, especially those populated by athletes, actors, and billionaires. In a closely observed yet roving portrait of the orthopedic surgeon, for this week’s issue, Zach Helfand talks to many of ElAttrache’s patients—Ringo Starr and Shohei Ohtani among them—and follows athletes who’ve gone to the doctor during a vulnerable point in their careers, hoping that he can restore them. “Surgery is perhaps the only time a superstar must relinquish control completely to someone else,” Helfand writes. “I was struck by the way this very modern story—cutting-edge medical techniques, vast sums of money on the line, Hollywood egos—had a very old-fashioned person at the center of it,” Helfand told us, when we asked what makes ElAttrache such a compelling subject. He adds, “ElAttrache is basically a country doctor in Los Angeles. Patients stay over in his home. He’s available through all hours of the night. And he makes house calls, only his involve travelling to a film set in Spain to treat Nicole Kidman. This marriage between technologically advanced treatment and personal care is a kind of medical ideal, but one only a few people will ever have the chance to experience.” Support The New Yorker’s award-winning journalism. Subscribe today » | 
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