Doctor's Bio
Dr. Wagner completed his orthopaedic surgery residency training at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. After residency, Dr. Wagner did a Hand and Upper Extremity Surgery at the Mayo Clinic and then a Shoulder and Elbow Fellowship at Harvard’s International Combined Program, with international leaders in Nice and Annecy, France. Dr. Wagner is now practicing at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, specializing in complex upper extremity pathologies.
His main clinical interests are in the realm of shoulder and upper extremity surgery, including complex rotator cuff pathologies, shoulder and elbow tendon and muscle transfers, primary and revision shoulder and elbow arthroplasty, recurrent shoulder instability (E.g. Ehlers Danlos Syndrome or Hyperlaxity), scapular pathologies, thoracic outlet syndrome, the paralytic shoulder, and advanced wrist and elbow arthroscopy. He has published over 340 peer-reviewed journal articles, delivered more than 950 presentations at national and international meetings, authored over 25 book chapters, and edited three textbooks. He is the Shoulder and Elbow Editor for JAAOS, an Associate Editor for JHS GO, an Associate Editor for Handthology and the ASSH Hand.e, and serves on multiple committees at the AAOS, ASES and ASSH.
He served as the co-chair of the ASES Specialty Day at the 2024 AAOS Annual Meeting and the co-chair of the ASSH 2024 Annual Meeting. He received the prestigious North American Traveling Fellowship through the AOA and the Richard Gelberman Traveling Fellowship through the ASSH. Additionally, he has received numerous grants to support his clinical and basic science research interests and has received numerous national and international awards for many of his upper extremity research investigations. For example, he won the 2022 ASES Neer Award in the clinical research category.
Board Certifications
American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery
Affiliations
Emory
Education & Training
- Medical School: University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine
- Residency: Mayo Clinic
Fellowships
Harvard University
Awards and Honors
- 2024 Emory Researcher Appreciation Day Top Clinical Researcher Award, Emory School of Medicine 2024
- 2024 American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH) Best Paper Award for Top Clinical Research Investigation at Annual Meeting, 2024: Arthroscopic Pectoralis Minor Release and Infra-Clavicular Brachial Plexus Decompression for Neurogenic Thoracic Outlet Syndrome: A Novel Treatment for an Old Problem
- 2024 American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH) Top 5 E-Posters Award at Annual Meeting, 2024: Suture Tape Tension Band for Olecranon Fracture Fixation: Early Outcomes of a Novel Technique
- 2024 American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH) Top 15 E-Posters Award at Annual Meeting, 2024: Lower Trapezius Tendon Transfer Shows Superior Restoration of Shoulder Biomechanics Compared to Reverse Shoulder Arthroplasty for Massive Irreparable Rotator Cuff Tears: A Dynamic Radiography Study
- 2024 First Place at Georgia Orthopaedic Society 2024 Resident Competition. “Arthroscopic-Assisted Lower Trapezius Transfer vs. Superior Capsular Reconstruction for Treatment of Massive Irreparable Rotator Cuff Tears.” Georgia Orthopaedic Society Annual Meeting. Sept 2024
- 2024 Third Place at Georgia Orthopaedic Society 2024 Resident Competition. “Interfragmentary Screws Versus Intramedullary Screw for Proximal Phalanx Fractures: A Biomechanical Study in Matched Hands.” Georgia Orthopaedic Society Annual Meeting. Sept 2024
- 2024 SOA/OREF Resident Top Paper Presentation Award Winner: Arthroscopic-Assisted Lower Trapezius Transfer vs. Superior Capsular Reconstruction for Treatment of Massive Irreparable Rotator Cuff Tears. SOA. Miami Beach, FL. July 20, 2024.
- 2024 Emory Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Clinical Teaching Award, Best Lecturer for 2023-2024.
- 2024 Emory Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Teaching Award, Best Research Collaborator for 2023-2024.
- 2023 Best Poster Award at the American Society of Surgery for the Hand (ASSH) 2023 Annual Meeting: “Oral Medrol Dosepack in Total Shoulder Arthroplasty: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial”
- 2023 British Elbow and Shoulder Society (BESS) Ian Kelly Prize 2023 – awarded to the presenter of the second highest scoring paper for: “Artificial intelligence automated analysis of scapula dynamics using dynamic digital radiography: A validation and reliability study”
- 2023 Emory Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Teaching Award, Best Research Collaborator for 2022-2023.
- 2023 Emory Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Teaching Award, Best Clinical Lecturer for 2022-2023.
- 2023 First Place at Georgia Orthopaedic Society 2023 Resident Competition. “Methylprednisolone Taper is an Effective Addition to Multimodal Pain Regimens after Total Shoulder Arthroplasty: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial.” Georgia Orthopaedic Society Annual Meeting 2023. Sept 2023
- 2023 Southern Orthopaedic Association President’s Top Resident Paper: “Methylprednisolone Taper Reduces Acute Pain and Opioid Consumption after TSA”
- 2023 Charles S. Neer Award 2023, Best Clinical Paper of the Year in the Field of Shoulder Surgery: “Methylprednisolone Dosepack is an Effective Addition to Multimodal Pain Regimens after Total Shoulder Arthroplasty: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial”
- 2023 Atlanta Magazine Top Doctors (Orthopaedic Surgery Subspecialty) Award 2023.
- 2022 Emory Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Teaching Award, Best Research Collaborator for 2021-2022.
- 2022 Emory Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Teaching Award, Best Clinical Lecturer for 2021-2022.
- 2022 Presenter’s Choice Award Winner 2022 OREF Eastern Region Resident Research Symposium: “Artificial Intelligence Automated Analysis of Scapula Dynamics using Dynamic Digital Radiography: An Initial Reliability Study.”
- 2022 Best Overall Paper Runner-Up, 2022 OREF Eastern Region Resident Research Symposium: “Artificial Intelligence Automated Analysis of Scapula Dynamics using Dynamic Digital Radiography: An Initial Reliability Study.”
- 2022 Atlanta Magazine Top Doctors (Orthopaedic Surgery Subspecialty) Award 2022
- 2022 Presidential Keynote Speaker at the Mexican Orthopaedic Association Annual Meeting for the Shoulder and Elbow Section, April 27 to May 1, 2022.
- 2022 American Orthopaedic Association (AOA) North American Traveling Fellowship (NATF) Award for 2022
- 2021 Best Paper of the Year 2021 Award from JHS GO: “Management of Acute Distal Radioulnar Joint Instability Following a Distal Radius Fracture: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis” published in Volume 3, Issue 3 of The Journal of Hand Surgery Global Online (JHS GO)
- 2021 American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH) Richard H. Gelberman Award for 2020-2021, International Traveling Fellowship
- 2021 Kelly Day Research Award 2021, Emory Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, 2nd Place: “Novel Measurement of Scapulohumeral Rhythm Using Dynamic Imaging”
- 2021 Thomas E Whites Resident Award, Georgia Orthopaedic Society (GOS), 2nd Place, Annual Meeting 2021: “Post-operative Glucocorticoid use in Shoulder Arthroplasty: Results of a Randomized-Control Trial”
- 2020 American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH) Best Paper Award for Top Clinical Research Investigation at Annual Meeting, 2020: “Opioid Free Distal Radius Surgery: Methylprendisolone is 50% of the Way There!”
- 2020 Emory Researcher Appreciation Day Top Clinical Researcher Award, Emory School of Medicine 2020
- 2020 Georgia Orthopaedic Society 2020 Thomas E. Whitesides Resident Award (2nd Place): Biomechanical Evluation of Scapholunate Reconstruction Techniques.
- 2019 Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS) Award for 2019. “What reconstructive technique provides the best functional outcome following oncologic intraarticular resection of the proximal humerus?”
- 2019 First Alternate for the American Orthopaedic Association (AOA) North American Traveling Fellowship (NATF) for 2019
- 2019 European Society for Surgery of the Shoulder and Elbow (SECEC) Top Paper Finalist 2019, Copenhagen, Denmark: “Needle Arthroscopy vs. MRI: a prospective, blinded, randomized controlled trial.”
- 2019 Emory Researcher Appreciation Day Top Clinical Researcher Award, Emory School of Medicine 2019
Locations and Directions
Grady Memorial Hospital
Phone: (404) 616-1000
Location:
80 Jesse Hill Jr Drive SE
Atlanta, GA 30303
Publications
- Trends in Epidemiology and Reimbursement for Nerve Exploration and Reconstruction After Brachial Plexus Injury in the United States From 2009 to 2019.
McQuillan TJ, Heo K, Jagiella-Lodise O, Monir JG, Wagner ER, Zelenski NA
Journal of hand surgery global online. 2026;8(1):100829.
PMID: 41311644 - Evidence-Based Management of Common Hand and Wrist Injuries: Tips, Pearls, and Controversies.
Gottschalk MB, Wagner ER, Carlson MG, Zhang D, Stein AB, Tsai EY, Sinclair MK, O'Shaughnessy MA, Shin S
Instructional course lectures. 2026;
PMID: 41289454 - Treatment of Rotator Cuff Tears: Around the World From Partial Thickness to Irreparable.
Hussain ZB, Blevins KM, Seilern Und Aspang J, Wagner ER
Instructional course lectures. 2026;
PMID: 41289450 - Arthroscopic Graft Reconstruction for Nonrepairable Scapholunate Ligament Injuries.
Chambers SB, Wagner ER
Arthroscopy techniques. 2025;14(10):103820.
PMID: 41220649 - Social Media and Wellness: Evolving Trends in Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Representation.
Chandasir A, Chopra KN, Greene NL, Gorsky AL, Seilern Und Aspang J, Khawaja SR, Gottschalk MB, Dempsey AL, Hernandez-Irizarry RC, Wagner ER
Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Global research & reviews. 2025;
PMID: 41217964 - Dynamic assessment of deltoid stiffness using shear wave elastography: a reliability study in healthy adults.
Seilern Und Aspang J, Vazquez FL, Zhou JY, Hardrick J, Hussain ZB, Taub SM, Arnold BR, Gottschalk MB, Wagner ER
JSES reviews, reports, and techniques. 2026;6(1):100581.
PMID: 41216337 - Proficiency and Difficulty Scoring Tools for Finger Replantation.
Chung KC, Heiman A, Malay S, , Geis ER, Wang L, Yoon AP, Benitez TM, Han Z, Giladi AM, Fleming IC, Gray DJ, Zelenski NA, Gottschalk MB, Wagner ER, Desai KR, Griffin AM, Sabapathy SR, Shanmugakrishnan RR, Chandrasekar S, Adkinson JM, Gardiner RE, Das De S, Sebastin SJ, Premnadh H, Teo J, Jain SA, Colvell K, Ross PR, Valenti AC
JAMA network open. 2025;8(10):e2540453.
PMID: 41165706 - Implementing Objective Monitoring Approaches to Capture Daily Opioid Usage and Postoperative Outcomes.
Getz TE, Wagner ER, Gottschalk MB, Miller AH, Giordano NA
Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.). 2025;
PMID: 41165584 - Updates on Radial Head Arthroplasty in Trauma.
Monir JG, Wagner ER
Hand clinics. 2025;41(4):473-484.
PMID: 41106923 - A supplement, not a substitute: Accuracy and completeness of ChatGPT responses for common elbow pathology.
Fiedler B, Ghilzai U, Ghali A, Goldman P, Coello P, Gottschalk MB, Wagner ER, Ahmed AS
Shoulder & elbow. 2025;
PMID: 41064043
PLANNING
PREPARING FOR YOUR VISIT
Whether you’re a patient or you’re visiting one, a little planning beforehand can make your visit to Grady easier and more comfortable. Here, you’ll find everything you need to prepare for your visit, including an appointment checklist, admissions information, dining options, and much more.