Emory Faculty
Emory Faculty
Eric R Wagner, MD
Orthopedic Surgery, Surgery of the Hand, Hand Surgery
Emory Orthopaedics & Spine Center - Atlanta
21 Ortho Lane, Atlanta, GA 30329About
Eric Wagner, MD, was born in San Francisco, California, but moved to multiple cities in California, Colorado and Texas prior to college. He completed his undergraduate education at University of California, Davis, where he lettered for three years in basketball and majored in biochemistry and molecular biology. He then completed medical school at the University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine.
Following medical school, he completed his orthopaedic surgery residency training at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota (Ranked #2 in by US News and World Report). After residency, Dr. Wagner was selected to train in the top ranked Hand and Microvascular Surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Following this year, Dr. Wagner was selected to the train in the prestigious Harvard’s International Shoulder and Elbow Fellowship at Massachusetts General, and Brigham and Women’s Hospitals in Boston, Massachusetts. As part of the international component of the Harvard fellowship, Dr. Wagner trained with world leaders in shoulder arthroplasty and arthroscopy in Nice, France, and in Annecy, France.
Dr. Wagner sees patients at Emory’s primary Orthopaedic Office at the Musculoskeletal Institute. He also spends a portion of his time at Emory University Orthopaedics and Spine Hospital in Tucker and Grady Memorial Hospital. His clinical areas of specialty include common and complex pathologies from the shoulder through the hand. He specializes in treating many of the most complicated and complex pathologies within the upper extremity, recognized as a national and international expert in the advanced arthroscopy and joint replacement techniques. He has published over 350 peer-reviewed journal articles, delivered over 1000 lectures and presentations at national and international meetings, and authored over 25 book chapters. He serves as the shoulder/elbow associate editor for JAAOS, regional editor for JHS GO, and associate editor for the ASSH Hand.e and Handthology, as well as on multiple leadership positions and committees at the American Society of Surgery for the Hand (ASSH), the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES), the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), and the Georgia Shoulder and Elbow Society (GSES). He served as the co-chair of the ASES Specialty Day at the 2024 AAOS Annual Meeting, the co-chair for the ASSH 2024 Annual Meeting, the ASES Fellows Day Co-Chair in 2025 and 2026, and is the founder and director for the ASES International Journal Club from 2020 through 2026. Additionally, he has received numerous grants to support his clinical and basic science research interests and has received numerous national and international awards (see below) for many of his upper extremity research investigations. For example, he was selected to participate in the prestigious American Orthopaedic Association's (AOA) North American Traveling Fellowship (NATF) in 2021. Furthermore, he won the Gelberman Traveling Fellowship award in 2020-2021 through the American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH). He also won the prestigious 2023 ASES Neer Award for the top clinical research project in the world focusing on shoulder surgery that year.
In his free time, Dr. Wagner enjoys spending time with his family, fly fishing, tango, swing and salsa dancing, skiing, playing and watching basketball, traveling and reading.
MEDIA APPEARANCES
- Fox News Local Television Interview 2019: Association between Mobile Phone Usage and Thumb Injuries
- AAOS Now 2019: The Increasing Burden of Musculoskeletal Care from Rising E Scooter Injuries
- Fox News Local Television Interview 2020: Rising E Scooter Injuries and the Impact on Musculoskeletal Care
- Imaging Technology News (ITN) 2021: The Novel Use of Dynamic Digital Imaging to Evaluate and Treat Shoulder Pathologies.
- AAOS Now 2021: Using Dynamic Digital Imaging Change the Diagnostic and Treatment Algorithms for Shoulder Pathologies.
- Orthopaedics Today 2021 Cover Story: Advancements in Wrist Arthroplasty May Improve Results.
- AAOS Innovation Hub 2022: The Future of Imaging: Dynamic Digital Imaging in the Diagnostic and Treatment of Upper Extremity Pathologies.
- Imaging Today 2022: Emory Healthcare Researcher Wins Two Awards Using Konica Minolta’s AI Analysis Tool With Dynamic Digital Radiography in Shoulder Pathology
- AAOS Innovation Hub 2023: Using Dynamic Digital Radiography to Improve our Diagnostic and Treatment Algorithms.
- Washington Post 2024: What is Avocado Hand? Injuries While Cutting Avocados Are On The Rise.
- San Francisco Radio Station 2024: Avocado Hand.
Languages
- English
Emory Affiliation
- Emory Clinic - School of Medicine Faculty
- Emory Healthcare Network
- Emory Physician Group Practice
Academic Title
- Associate Professor, non-tenure scholarship
Academic Profile
Year Started Practicing
- 2017
Locations
Emory Orthopaedics & Spine Center - Atlanta
21 Ortho Lane
Atlanta,
GA
30329
Similar providers at these locations
Credentials
Education
- Fellowship: Harvard Medical School, Shoulder & Elbow Surgery, 2018
- Fellowship: Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, Surgery of the Hand, 2017
- Residency: Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, Orthopaedic Surgery, 2016
- Medical Education: University of Chicago, MD, 2011
- Medical Education: University of Chicago
Board Certifications
- Orthopaedic Surgery, American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery
- Surgery of the Hand, American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery
Awards
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
2019 John Joyce Award Finalist, International Society for Arthroscopy, Knee and Orthopedic Surgery (ISAKOS) 2019, Las Vegas, NV: “Tendon Transfer Comparison for the Treatment of Posterosuperior Irreparable Rotator Cuff Tears.”
2019 Neer Award Finalist, American Shoulder and Elbow Society (ASES) at American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) Specialty Day 2019, Las Vegas, NV: “Comparison of Open and Arthroscopic Tendon Transfers in the Treatment of Posterosuperior Irreparable Rotator Cuff Tears.”
2018 Robert Cofield Award for Top Podium Presentation at American Shoulder and Elbow Society (ASES) Fellows Conference: “Learning Curve of Superior Capsular Reconstruction”, presented at San Diego Shoulder Institute (SDSI) 2018.
2018 Top Educational Video Presentation, American Academy of Orthopedic Surgery (AAOS) 2018 Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA: “Arthroscopic-assisted Lower Trapezius Transfer for Posterosuperior Irreparable Rotator Cuff Tears.”
2018 Top Paper Presentation, International Federation for Surgery of the Hand (IFSH) 2018 Annual Meeting, Singapore: “Frailty, using the 5-item modified frailty index, in Distal Radius Fractures”
2016 Best Poster for 2016 American Association of Hand Surgery (AAHS) Annual Meeting: “Predicting Failure and Complications in Total Wrist Arthroplasty; review of a 40-year experience” presented as best poster at 2016 Orthopedic Research Society (ORS) Annual Meeting.
2016 Mayo Clinic Patrick J. Kelly Traveling Fellowship Runner-up for Top Basic Science Paper: “VEGF-Mediated Angiogenesis and Vascularization of a Fumarate-Crosslinked Polycaprolactone (PCLF) Scaffold”
2015 Best Paper Award (1 of 3) at the European Shoulder and Elbow Society Annual Conference 2015, Milan, Italy: “BMI as a Continuous Variable in Shoulder Arthroplasty”
2014 Best Poster Award at the Residents and Fellows Section of the 2014 American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH) Annual Conference: “FDS Opponensplasty through Guyon’s Canal”
2014 Mayo Clinic Patrick J. Kelly Traveling Fellowship Award for Top Basic Science Paper: “Ligament Tissue Engineering using a Novel Porous Polycaprolactone Fumarate (PCLF) Scaffold and Adipocyte Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Platelet Lysate”
2014 Mayo Clinic Mark B. Coventry Traveling Fellowship Award for Top Clinical Paper: “BMI as a Continuous Variable Total Hip Arthroplasty”
2014 Best Paper Award in Clinical Investigation at 2014 Mid America Orthopaedic Association (MAOA) Annual Conference: “Total Hip Arthroplasty Survival Stratified according to BMI”
2013 Clinician Scholar Development Program. Selected to participate and represented American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH) at AAOS/OREF/ORS event in Roseville, IL, from October 9-11, 2012.
2011 Leon O. Jacobson Prize for Top Translational Science Paper, “Examining the Inhibition of Osteosarcoma Tumorigenesis and Induction of Osteogenic Differentiation by IGFBP5” Senior Scientific Session, Pritzker School of Medicine
2010 Calvin Fentress Fellowship Award, “Examining the Mechanism Underlying Tumorigenic and Metastatic Inhibition of Osteosarcoma by IGFBP5”, Pritzker School of Medicine
2009 – 2011 Inaugural Pritzker Molecular Research Fellowship, University of Chicago Hospitals and Pritzker School of Medicine
2007 Top Clinical Science Award, “Prognosis Associated with Crohn’s Disease and Colorectal Cancer”, Pritzker Annual Research Conference – Chicago IL
2006 – 2011 Pritzker School of Medicine Scholarship for Full Tuition, Pritzker School of Medicine
2002 – 2003 Top Scholar Athlete, University of California Davis Men’s NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Team
2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Torch Relay Runner – Dallas, TX: Nominated for Inspirational Role in Volunteering and Community Service, after an anonymous nominations and national competition
Professional Memberships
2025 – present American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Shoulder and Elbow Education Content Committee
2025 Co-Chairman of the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgery (ASES) 2025 Fellows Day, San Diego, CA
2024 – present Co-Chairman of the Corporate Advisory Council (CAC) of American Society of Hand Surgery (ASSH)
2024 Co-Chairman of International Wrist Arthroscopy Society (IWAS) Course at the Federation of European Societies for Surgery of the Hand (FESSH) Annual Meeting, Rotterdam, Netherlands, June 27-29, 2024
2024 – present Deputy Editor, Shoulder and Elbow, for Journal of American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery (JAAOS)
2025 – 2028 Guest Editor, Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS) Specialty Update, What’s New in Hand Surgery
2024 – present Nominations Committee Member, American Association for Hand Surgery (AAHS)
2023 – 2024 Co-Chairman of the American Society of Hand Surgery (ASSH) 2024 Annual Meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota
2023 – 2024 Co-Chairman of the American Shoulder and Elbow Society (ASES) Specialty Day at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery (AAOS) 2024 Annual Meeting, San Francisco, California.
2023 – 2024 Co-Chairman of the Annual Meeting Committee, American Society of Hand Surgery (ASSH)
2023 – present Deputy Editor, Handipedia Initiative, American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH)
2021 – present Founder and Chair of American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeon’s (ASES) Virtual Journal Club
2020 – present Editorial Board, Hand.e of American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH)
2020 – present Member of the Research Committee for American Shoulder and Elbow Society (ASES)
2020 – present Member of the Young Members Steering Committee for American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH)
2020 – present Member of the Steering Committee for the Adrian E. Flatt Residents and Fellows Conference in Hand Surgery at the American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH) Annual Meeting
2020 – present Director of Research for the Emory Orthopaedic Surgery’s FOSSIL Program as part of its diversity and inclusion initiative
2019 – present Member of Program Education Committee (PEC) for Emory University Orthopaedic Surgery Residency
2019 – 2024 Editorial Board for Techniques in Hand and Upper Extremity Surgery Journal (THUES)
2019 – 2024 Editorial Board for European Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology (EJOST)
2019 – present Member of the Evidence Based Practice Committee of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH)
2018 – present Member of Young Leaders Group, Emory Orthopaedic Surgery Department
2018 – present Editorial Board for Journal of Hand Surgery GO, American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH)
2018 – present Member of the International Relations Committee of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH)
2018 – present Member, International Wrist Investigators Workshop (IWIW)
2019 American Society for Surgery of the Hand Young Leaders Program
2019 Emory Clinic Young Leaders Development Program, Emory University
2014 – present Member of the Research Management Committee (RMC) of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH)
2015 – present Member of the Emerging Leaders Program, American Orthopaedic Association (AOA)
2015 Resident Leadership Forum (RLF) Participant, American Orthopaedic Association (AOA)
2020 – present Member, American Association for Hand Surgery (AAHS)
2019 – present Associate Member, American Shoulder and Elbow Society (ASES)
2019 – present Member, Congress of the European Society of Surgery for the Shoulder and Elbow (SECEC)
2019 – present Member, Eastern Orthopaedic Association (EOA)
2019 – present Member, Georgia Society for Surgery of the Hand (GSSH)
2019 – present Member, Georgia Shoulder and Elbow Society (GSES)
2019 – present Member, Georgia Orthopaedic Society (GOS)
2017 – present Member, American Orthopaedic Association (AOA)
2014 – present Member, American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH)
2013 – present Fellow, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery (AAOS)
2014 – 2016 Delegate at the American Medical Association (AMA) Annual Meeting representing the American Association of Hand Surgery (AAHS)
2013 – 2018 Member, Mid America Orthopaedic Association (MAOA)
2013 – present Member, American Medical Association (AMA)
2009 – 2011 Member, Admissions Committee, Pritzker School of Medicine – Chicago, IL
2025 – 2028 Guest Editor, Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS) Specialty Update, What’s New in Hand Surgery
2025 – present Editor of the Arthroscopy Association of North America (AANA) Wrist Arthroscopy Comprehensive Examination
2024 Editor, Special Issue on Shoulder and Elbow Arthroplasty and Fracture, Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery (JSES) RRT
2024 – present Deputy Editor, Shoulder and Elbow, Journal of American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery (JAAOS)
2023 Editor, Special Issue on Compression Neuropathies, Journal of Hand Surgery Global Open (JHS GO)
2020 – present Editor, Hand.e of American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH)
2019 – 2023 Editor, European Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology (EJOST)
2019 – 2022 Editor, Nerve Injuries after Orthopaedic Surgeries Textbook
2019 – 2023 Editor, Techniques in Hand and Upper Extremity Surgery Journal (THUES)
2018 – present Editor, Journal of Hand Surgery Global Open (JHS GO)
2020 – present Invited Reviewer, American Journal of Sports Medicine (AJSM)
2020 – present Invited Reviewer, Seminars in Arthroplasty: JSES
2019 – present Invited Reviewer, European Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology (EJOST)
2019 – present Invited Reviewer, Techniques in Hand and Upper Extremity Surgery Journal (THUES)
2018 – present Invited Reviewer, Journal of Hand Surgery Global Open (JHS GO)
2018 – present Invited Reviewer, Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS)
2018 – present Invited Reviewer, Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery (JSES)
2017 – present Invited Reviewer, Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Arthroplasty (JSEA)
2017 – present Invited Reviewer, Journal of Hand Surgery (JHS)
