Scott W. Wolfe, MD

Dr. Scott Wolfe was recruited to Hospital for Special Surgery from Yale University, where he directed the Hand and Upper Extremity section at Yale University for ten years. Dr. Wolfe specializes in the treatment of wrist fractures and injuries, as well as complex nerve and brachial plexus reconstruction. At Hospital for Special Surgery, Dr. Wolfe served as Chief of the Hand Service from 2003 until 2011 and is Director of the Hand Surgical Fellowship teaching program. He has authored over 100 publications relating to hand and upper extremity surgery. Dr. Wolfe is Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at the Weill Cornell Medical College and is an Attending Orthopedic Surgeon at Hospital for Special Surgery.

Read more about Dr. Wolfe on his personal website, www.scottwolfemd.com.

Appointments

Attending Orthopaedic Surgeon, Hospital for Special Surgery
Chief Emeritus of the Hand and Upper Extremity Service, Hospital for Special Surgery
Director, Center for Brachial Plexus and Traumatic Nerve Injury
Professor of Orthopedic Surgery, Weill Cornell Medical College

Specialty

Orthopedic Surgery

Subspecialty

Hand
Wrist
Elbow
Nerve

Special Expertise

Wrist fracture treatment and early rehabilitation
Percutaneous fixation of scaphoid fractures
Reconstruction of scaphoid nonunions
Brachial Plexus reconstruction
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Awards

Sterling Bunnell Traveling Fellowship, 1997-98
The Wayne O. Southwick Teaching Award, June 7, 1996
The Wayne O. Southwick Teaching Award, May 14, 1992
The T. Campbell Thompson Award for Orthopaedic Excellence, 1984
"Best Doctors in New York," New York Magazine, 2010, 2011

Specialized Centers

• Center for Brachial Plexus and Traumatic Nerve Injury
  

Education

Undergrad: Johns Hopkins University, 1980
Medical School: Cornell University Medical College, 1984

Residency

Roosevelt Hospital General Surgery, US, 1984-85
Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, US, 1986-89

Fellowship

New York Orthopaedic Hospital, The Annie C. Kane Hand and Microsurgical Fellow, US
Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, US

Certification

The American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery
Certificate of Added Qualifications, Surgery of the Hand
Microsurgery, Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center

State Licensure

New York, Connecticut  

Scott W. Wolfe, MD has contributed to the following articles on HSS.edu:

Selected Publications

(of 103 peer-reviewed)

Wolfe SW, Barrie KA, Merrell GA. Letter regarding "Influence of locking stitch size in a four-strand cross-locked cruciate flexor tendon repair". J Hand Surg Am. 2012 Jan;37(1):188; author reply 188-9.

O'Shea K, Feinberg JH, Wolfe SW, Imaging and electrodiagnostic work-up of acute adult brachial plexus injuries. J Hand Surg Eur Vol. 2011 Nov;36(9):747-59. Epub 2011 Sep 15. Review.

Gyuricza C, Carlson MG, Weiland AJ, Wolfe SW, Hotchkiss RN, Daluiski A., Removal of locked volar plates after distal radius fractures. J Hand Surg Am. 2011 Jun;36(6):982-5. Epub 2011 May 14.

Stoecklein HH, Garg R, Wolfe SW., Surface replacement arthroplasty of the proximal interphalangeal joint using a volar approach: case series. J Hand Surg Am. 2011 Jun;36(6):1015-21. Epub 2011 May 6.

Garg R, Merrell GA, Hillstrom HJ, Wolfe SW., Comparison of nerve transfers and nerve grafting for traumatic upper plexus palsy: a systematic review and analysis. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2011 May 4;93(9):819-29. Review.

Crisco JJ, Heard WM, Rich RR, Paller DJ, Wolfe SW., The mechanical axes of the wrist are oriented obliquely to the anatomical axes. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2011 Jan 19;93(2):169-77.

Garg R, Hammoud S, Lipman J, Wolfe SW., Preoperative computer-assisted design templating of complex articular olecranon osteotomy: case report. J Hand Surg Am. 2010 Dec;35(12):1990-4.e1. Epub 2010 Nov 18.

Henn RF 3rd, Kuo CE, Kessler MW, Razzano P, Grande DP, Wolfe SW., Augmentation of zone II flexor tendon repair using growth differentiation factor 5 in a rabbit model. J Hand Surg Am. 2010 Nov;35(11):1825-32.

Leventhal EL, Moore DC, Akelman E, Wolfe SW, Crisco JJ., Carpal and forearm kinematics during a simulated hammering task.
J Hand Surg Am. 2010 Jul;35(7):1097-104.

Orr CM, Leventhal EL, Chivers SF, Marzke MW, Wolfe SW, Crisco JJ., Studying primate carpal kinematics in three dimensions using a computed-tomography-based markerless registration method. Anat Rec (Hoboken). 2010 Apr;293(4):692-709.

For more publications, please see the PubMed listing.  

Research Description

The Development and Implementation of a Non-invasive Markerless Registration System to Study in Vivo Carpal Kinematics

The eight small bones of the carpus exhibit complex but coordinated motions during wrist flexion-extension and radioulnar deviation. Small perturbations in these coordinated motions, such as might be caused by fracture or ligament injury, can result in changes in joint loading and progressive carpal collapse and degenerative arthritis. Previous techniques to study carpal motion have been limited by the need to place invasive markers. We developed a technique using high resolution computed tomography to accurately identify and reconstruct surface contours and analyze rotation and translation of each bone throughout all planes of wrist motion. We have identified a plane of motion that requires almost no contribution from the proximal carpal row, and propose that this so-called "dart-throwers" plane may represent the functional plane of wrist motion and may have evolutionary significance.

Clinical Trials

• Development and Testing of the Hand Surgery Expectations Survey
• Open Label Trial for Treating Carpometacarpal Osteoarthritis: PILOT STUDY - Sub-study on Normal Controls
• A Study of Hyaluronan (Synvisc) for the Treatment of Osteoarthritis in the Thumb: Randomized Control Trial
• Removal of Volar Plates after Distal Radius Fracture