Joel Solomon, M.D., Ph.D., is the Chief of Hand Surgery and the Program Director of the Hand Fellowship at OHSU. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery, certified by the American Board of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and holds a certificate of added qualification in surgery of the hand (AQSH). Dr. Solomon is broadly trained in the techniques of plastic and reconstructive surgery and has particular interest and expertise in the surgical management of nerve injuries, reconstructive surgery of the hand and upper extremity, reconstructive microsurgery, brachial plexus and oculoplastic surgery.

Dr. Solomon completed his medical training at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, where he also earned a Ph.D., in neurobiology. After general surgery training at Emory University, he completed a plastic surgery residency at Baylor College of Medicine in 1999 and subsequently completed an additional year of fellowship training in hand surgery at Baylor in 2000. Dr. Solomon was formerly a member of the faculty of plastic surgery at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. He was also a visiting scholar in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Mahidol University in Bangkok, Thailand and in the Department of Plastic Surgery at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taipei, Taiwan.

Dr. Solomon specializes in upper extremity surgery. His hand surgery practice is broad and includes the treatment of trauma to the hand and wrist, arthritis of the wrist and digits, congenital deformities of the upper extremity, vascular disorders, and nerve compression. He continues to pursue his longstanding interest in problems affecting the nerves. His training at the Texas Medical Center and at Mahidol University makes him one of the most experienced brachial plexus surgeons in North America.

Dr. Solomon performs a variety of procedures for the treatment of nerve disorders including nerve decompression, neurolysis, nerve grafting, nerve transfer, tendon transfer, and functional free muscle transfer. He also has an interest in facial nerve disorders and has performed facial reanimation. In addition to his clinical interests in nerve disorders, Dr. Solomon is involved in multiple basic science research projects focusing on nerve regeneration and synapse formation.

In his spare time, Dr. Solomon is often spotted with his daughter and Great Pyrenees/Bernese Mountain Dog, Lulu.