Dr. John T. Capo

 

     John Capo, M.D., is an Orthopaedic Surgeon in the Division of Hand Surgery, RWJ Barnabas Health and Chief of Hand Surgery at the Jersey City Medical Center. 

Dr. Capo is a Board Certified Orthopaedic Surgeon with subspecialty fellowship training in Hand & Upper Extremity Surgery. He has a Certificate of Added Qualifications (CAQ) in Surgery of the Hand . Dr. Capo is regularly selected as one of the top hand surgeons in New Jersey in area surveys and has extensive experience in education and research. His current academic involvements include being the Residency Director of the ACGME accredited 5 year Orthopaedic Residency at Jersey City Medical Center-Beth Israel.

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     He is a member of numerous orthopaedic and hand societies including the AAOS, the New York Society for Surgery of the Hand, the Orthopaedic Trauma Association, and serves as Member of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand Certificate of Added Qualification Testing Committee. He has served as editor of the Upper Extremity Section OKU Trauma 4 (AAOS), and as an author for the Orthopaedic Knowledge Update 11 (OKU 11) the Orthopaedic Technology Review and is a reviewer for numerous orthopaedic journals including the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. He is a leading Continuing Medical Education instructor directing courses in advanced hand trauma techniques, upper extremity masters techniques, and hand, wrist and elbow fracture management.  He is currently the President of the New York Society for Surgery of the Hand.

 

     Dr. Capo was born in New York City and raised in New York and northern New Jersey. He completed his undergraduate education at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in upstate New York, where he studied engineering. Dr. Capo is a graduate of one of New Jersey’s top medical schools, Rutgers – Robert Wood Johnson Medical School formerly the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ). After graduating in the top of his class, he trained under leaders in the field of Orthopaedic surgery, trauma, hand surgery and reconstructive limb surgery, at Penn State University Hospital. After completing his residency, Dr. Capo spent time at the Indiana Hand to Shoulder Center where he completed his Fellowship and mastered state of the art techniques in Hand & Upper Extremity Surgery. Following his formal hand fellowship, Dr. Capo completed an AO Traveling Fellowship to further refine his training. He traveled to Europe where he studied complex conditions of the wrist and hand at the University of Berne, in Berne, Switzerland with Diego Fernandez, MD and Ueli Buchler, MD. Finally he spent additional training in Toronto Canada at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.

 

     Dr. Capo is a fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) and an active member of both the American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH) and the American Orthopaedic Association (AOA). He is currently involved with medical student and resident teaching and was selected 4 times to receive the Medical Student Golden Apple Award for excellence in teaching. At UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School Newark, Dr. Capo served as Chief of the Division of Hand Service from 2001 until 2012 and was Co-Director of the Hand Surgical Fellowship teaching program Dr. Capo has published many clinical research in peer-reviewed journals and scientific presentations at national meetings. He has authored over 200 articles, book chapters and presented at multiple national and international academic meetings. Dr. Capo stays up to date on the latest research and orthopaedic breakthroughs by attending several professional conferences and lectures each year. Dr. Capo has special interest in fracture surgery of the elbow, wrist and hand. He is well known and regarded for his expertise in the treatment of fractures, and received advanced fellowship training in the treatment of complex upper extremity trauma.

 

     Other professional interests include: Technical and operational innovations aimed to improve the treatment of upper extremity trauma; treatment strategies that improve the pain and function associated with arthritis while preserving motion; the use of Xiaflex in the treatment of Dupuytren’s contracture. Conditions Dr. Capo treats: upper extremity trauma; fractures and ligament injuries; sports related injuries in children and adults; chronic injuries and failed surgeries; nerve, blood vessel and tendon injuries; arthritis conditions. Procedures Dr. Capo routinely performs: treatment of Dupuytren’s Contracture using modern techniques; fracture surgery and ligament repair; microsurgery (nerve and small vessel repair); joint replacement and arthritis surgery of the elbow, wrist and hand; reconstructive surgery of the elbow, wrist and hand.