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Xuan Luo

Assistant Professor of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation
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Additional Titles

GME well being committee, Orthopedic Surgery

Contact Info

Orthopaedics & Rehabilitation

P.O. Box 208071

New Haven, CT 06520-8071

United States

About

Titles

Assistant Professor of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation

GME well being committee, Orthopedic Surgery

Biography

Dr. Xuan Luo is a fellowship-trained hand and upper extremity surgeon.  He specializes in disorders of the shoulder, elbow, forearm wrist and hand.  He has a particular interest in resident education and surgical training.

He did his undergraduate education at the University of Pennsylvania, where he double matriculated in Biology and Biochemistry Magna Cum Laude, and was a Vagelos Life Science Scholar.  He went onto medical school at Tufts University School of Medicine where he was Alpha Omega Alpha and won the Martin L. Loeb Memorial Prize for best student in surgery.  He went onto orthopedic residency at the Harvard Combined Orthopedic Residency, where he won the Harvard Medical School resident teaching award, and also the best Thesis Day paper award.  He continued his training at the Harvard Hand/Upper Extremity Surgery Fellowship.  Since joining Yale he has been award the Exceptional Teaching Award in 2022 and is on the GME Wellbeing Committee.

Dr. Luo has a particular interest in surgical training and teaching and the well being of the residents he mentors. 


Fellowship:  Harvard Hand/Upper Extremity Fellowship (Brigham and Women's and Boston Children's Hospital)

Residency:  Harvard Combined Orthopedic Residency (Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, and Boston Children's Hospital)

Medical School:  Tufts University School of Medicine

Undergraduate:  University of Pennsylvania

Appointments

Other Departments & Organizations

Clinical Care

Overview

Xuan Luo, MD, is a hand, shoulder, and elbow surgeon who cares for patients of all ages. He treats carpal tunnel syndrome, forearm fractures, and other problems that affect the upper extremities. He has a special interest in degenerative diseases of the hand, including arthritis in the hand and the fingers.

For many new patients, Dr. Luo starts by providing a nonsurgical approach, such as physical therapy or an injection. If those methods don’t help, he may propose a surgical procedure to restore as much function as possible, relieve pain, or at least stop a problem from getting worse.

“I try to be realistic with all of my patients,” Dr. Luo says. “Different conditions affecting the upper extremities will have different amounts of recovery, and while most patients do very well with treatment, some may not recover 100 percent.” He works with other specialists in imaging, physical therapy, and other fields to achieve the best possible results. “At Yale, it helps that we all talk to each other and we provide everything in one place,” he says.

Both of Dr. Luo’s parents were doctors, but he initially wanted to pursue engineering. In college, he began thinking about medicine and soon realized he could combine both of his interests as an orthopedist. “Bones are kind of simple. They're just structure, and tendons are just ropes. They're support,” he says. “And because these parts are simple enough for us to understand, we can put things in to augment a bone that's brittle or broken, or augment a tendon that's not strong enough, or change things around somehow to help the body function better.”

Dr. Luo urges anyone with pain or movement issues in their hand, elbow, or shoulder to seek care from a specialist. “While it is very adaptable, the hand is prone to stiffness,” he says. So, any misstep in treatment, such as wearing a splint for a long time, can sometimes do more harm than good, he adds.

Dr. Luo is an assistant professor of orthopedics and rehabilitation at Yale School of Medicine.

Clinical Specialties

Shoulder and Elbow Orthopedic Surgery; Microvascular Hand Surgery; Hand Surgery

Fact Sheets

Board Certifications

  • Orthopaedic Surgery

    Certification Organization
    AB of Orthopaedic Surgery
    Original Certification Date
    2020

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Get In Touch

Contacts

Appointment Number
Academic Office Number
Clinic Fax Number
Mailing Address

Orthopaedics & Rehabilitation

P.O. Box 208071

New Haven, CT 06520-8071

United States

Administrative Support

Locations

  • Department of Orthopaedics & Rehabilitation

    Academic Office

    47 College Street, Fl 2nd

    New Haven, CT 06510

  • Patient Care Locations

    Are You a Patient? View this doctor's clinical profile on the Yale Medicine website for information about the services we offer and making an appointment.