Board Certified, Fellowship Trained

Dr. Johnny T. Nelson is a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon, dual fellowship-trained in both shoulder and hand surgery. He graduated Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Dallas, where he played flanker for the university’s rugby football club. He graduated at the top of his medical school class at the University of Texas and was inducted into the AOA medical honors society.  After medical school, Dr. Nelson devoted a year to research at the Laboratory for Regenerative Technologies in Orthopaedic Surgery at Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois, which resulted in numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals.

After completing orthopaedic surgery residency at William Beaumont Hospital in Michigan, Dr. Nelson was selected from hundreds of competitive applicants for a fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh where he trained with the nation's premier hand and upper extremity experts. Finally, Dr. Nelson completed an international shoulder fellowship at the world-renowned Shoulder Unit of the Centre Orthopédique Santy in Lyon, France where he further sharpened his expertise in the fields of shoulder arthroscopy, shoulder instability, and shoulder replacement.

In 2022, Dr. Nelson was the first orthopaedic surgeon in the Raleigh-Durham area to perform ultrasound-guided micro-invasive carpal tunnel release, and in 2023 performed the first ultrasound-guided trigger finger release. He lectures at international meetings, his research is published in multiple peer-reviewed journals, and in 2024 was bestowed a Certificate of Added Qualification in Hand Surgery by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery. He provides patient-centered care to those living in Raleigh, Durham, Cary, Apex, Wake Forest, Clayton, Garner and all of North Carolina.