Geoffrey Konopka, MD, MPH | McGovern Medical School

Biography

Dr. Geoffrey Konopka is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston.

Dr. Konopka specializes in hand and upper extremity surgery. He practices evidence-based medicine utilizing the latest techniques in upper extremity surgery. He treats all upper extremity ailments including fractures, arthritis, nerve compression syndromes, and sports-related injuries.

Dr. Konopka earned his undergraduate degree at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania, where he was a captain of the men’s swimming team. He obtained a Master’s of Public Health degree at George Washington University in Washington, DC, where he worked for the D.C. Primary Care Association. He obtained his Doctor of Medicine from the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University, where he was chosen to join the Gold Humanism Honor Society.

While in medical school Dr Konopka conducted award-winning orthopedic research in the Trauma Training Center, winning first prize at the New York Society for Surgery of the Hand Residents and Fellows Annual Meeting in 2010 and 2011.

Dr. Konopka then performed his internship and residency in Orthopedic Surgery at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth). He completed at fellowship in hand and upper extremity surgery at Jackson Memorial Hospital at the University of Miami Medical School.

A published author and medical illustrator, Dr Konopka has published and illustrated research on orthopedic trauma, microsurgery, degenerative arthritis of the hand, pediatric hand surgery, hand tumors, and more. He has presented his research at the local, national, and international level.

Dr. Konopka is interested in providing the best available, research-based medicine to his patients and community.

Education

Undergraduate Degree: Bachelor of Arts in Biology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania
Masters Degree: Master of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington, DC
Medical Degree: Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York
Residency: Orthopaedic Surgery Residency, McGovern Medical School, formerly The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) Medical School, Houston, Texas
Fellowship: Hand Fellowship, University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami, Florida

Areas of Interest

Clinical Interests

Hand Surgery
Endoscopic Carpal Tunnel Release
Endoscopic Cubital Tunnel Release
Tendon and Nerve Repair
Arthroscopy
Joint Resurfacing
Joint Replacement
Fractures
Arthritis
Degenerative Joint Conditions

Publications

Publications:

Konopka G, Panthaki Z. Treatment of tumors of the hand. Introductory Atlas of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery: A Procedural Manual. New York, NY: Thieme; 2017, in preparation for publication

Konopka G, Ritchey A, Ambrose C, Galpin M, Munz J, Achor T, Choo A, Gary J. Are cephalomedullary interlocking screws superior to standard interlocking screws in subtrochanteric femoral fractures with an intact lesser trochanter? Current Orthopedic Practice. Accepted for publication

Prasarn M, Horodyski M, Scott N, Konopka G, Conrad B, Rechtine G. Motion generated in the unstable upper cervical spine during head tilt-chin lift and jaw thrust maneuvers. The Spine Journal. Oct 22, 2013

Tang P, Kilic A, Konopka G, Regalbuto R, Akelina Y, Gardner T. Histologic and functional outcomes of nerve defects treated with acellular allograft versus cabled autograft in a rat model. Microsurgery. July 16, 2013

Tang P, Swart E, Konopka G, Raskolnikov D, Katcherian C. Effect of Capitate Morphology on Contact Biomechanics After Proximal Row Carpectomy. Journal of Hand Surgery. July 2013

Kilic A, Ojo B, Rajfer RA, Konopka G, Hagg D, Jang E, et al. Effect of white adipose tissue flap and insulin-like growth factor-1 on nerve regeneration in rats. Microsurgery. May 7, 2013

Swart E, Konopka G, Gardner T, O J, Greisberg J. A Rat Model of Chondrocyte Death After Closed Intra-Articular Fracture. Journal of Orthopedic Trauma. Mar 27, 2013

White NJ, Sorkin AT, Konopka G, McKinley TO. Surgical Technique: Static Intramedullary Nailing of the Femur and Tibia Without Intraoperative Fluoroscopy. Clinical Orthopedics and Related Research. March 3, 2011

Kilic A, Konopka G, Akelina Y, Regalbuto R, Tang P. Ipsilateral, Cabled Sural Nerve for a Sciatic Nerve Defect: An Experimental Model in the Rat. Journal of Neuroscience Methods. February 11, 2011

Illustrations:

Gogola, GR. “Constriction Band Syndromes,” in: The Pediatric Upper Extremity. Eds: Joshua Abzug, Scott Kozin and Dan Zlotolow. Springer, New York, 2014.

Swart E, Konopka G, Gardner T, O J, Greisberg J. A Rat Model of Chondrocyte Death After Closed Intra-Articular Fracture. Journal of Orthopedic Trauma. Mar 27, 2013

Karl J, White NJ, Strauch R. Percutaneous reduction and fixation of displaced phalangeal neck fractures in children. Journal of Pediatric Orthopedics. 2012.

Vitale MA, White NJ, Strauch RJ. A percutaneous technique to treat unstable dorsal fracture-dislocations of the proximal interphalangeal joint. Journal Hand Surgery America.2011, Sep;36(9):1453-9.