7 Quick Questions With Sports Medicine Surgeon Charles Su, MD

August 24, 2026

As a UVA Health orthopedic sports medicine surgeon, Charles Su, MD, cares for a wide range of athletes and active individuals. His specialties include hip, shoulder, and knee surgery.

Su is also the team physician for James Madison University and Monticello High School.

Meet a UVA Health Orthopedic Surgeon

Get to know more about Su and his clinical approach in these 7 quick questions.

1. What has most inspired and shaped your approach to patient care?

I think taking things on an individualized basis and meeting my patients where they are. There's not a cookie cutter solution for every single patient, but I strive to get a sense from the patient of what their goals are and the type of activity level that they're trying to get back to. And then seeing some of my patients as they recover and push through their rehab after surgery is really inspiring.

2. What's your favorite part of your job?

The two major things that get me excited to come to work every day are taking care of patients and the opportunity to work with medical students, residents, and fellows, and train up the next generation of orthopedic surgeons.

3. What’s your biggest fear as a patient?

A lot of it has to do with fear of the unknown and not having a clear diagnosis as far as what is causing your pain or your symptoms. I think that's why as a provider, I try to spend a lot of time kind of going through their history, their physical exam, and their imaging with them so that they can see for themselves with their own eyes what type of injury that they have. We also make use of a lot of 3D models in our clinic to help our patients better understand the anatomy of their condition.

4. What do you do for stress relief?

I spend a lot of time with my family. We enjoy food and spend a lot of time cooking together and going out to try new restaurants when we can.

5. Dogs or cats?

Neither. No pets.

6. Last series you watched? Thumbs up or down?

I just completed Alone on Netflix. It's a survival series in the Arctic Circle, so that was pretty cool. Thumbs up.

7. Best advice you've ever heard?

One of my mentors in residency said that if you're green, you're growing. If you're ripe, you're rotting. That to me captures this idea of continuous education and improvement, that you've never mastered any particular thing. And once you do, you're probably falling behind. That's one of the mantras that I live by.