Accepting new patients

Joel S. Solomon, M.D., Ph.D. (he/him)

Accepting new patients

  • Associate Professor of Surgery
  • Associate Professor of Surgery, Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, School of Medicine

Specialty

  • Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
  • Plastic Surgery

Clinical focus

  • Brachial Plexus Injury
  • Hand Surgery
  • Microsurgery
  • Nerve Surgery

Locations and contact

I see patients at
Tall building with the ariel tram to its left
Center for Health & Healing, Building 1

About me

Dr. Joel Solomon is chief of the hand surgery service within the Department of Surgery and the program director of the hand surgery fellowship. Dr. Solomon is board certified in plastic surgery and holds a certificate of added qualification in surgery of the hand. He is broadly trained in the techniques of plastic and reconstructive surgery  and has particular expertise in the surgical management of nerve injuries, reconstructive surgery of the hand and upper extremity, reconstructive microsurgery, brachial plexus, and occuloplastic surgery.

Dr. Solomon completed his medical training at Washington University in St. Louis, MO, where he also earned a Ph.D. in neurobiology. After general surgery training at Emory University, he completed plastic surgery training at Baylor College of Medicine and subsequently completed an additional year of fellowship training in hand surgery at Baylor.

Dr. Solomon was formerly a member of the faculty of plastic surgery at The University of Alabama in Birmingham and was 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. Common procedures include carpal tunnel syndrome  and Dupuytren’s Contracture. 

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. He 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. Dr. Solomon 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. 

Languages spoken

  • English

Education and training

  • Degrees

    • B.A., 1984, Johns Hopkins University
    • M.D., Ph.D., 1993, Washington University
  • Residency

    • General Surgery, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 1993-1996
    • Plastic Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 1996-1999
  • Fellowship

    • Hand Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 1999-2000
  • Certifications

    • American Board of Plastic Surgery, 2001; recertified 2010
    • American Board of Plastic Surgery CAQ in Hand Surgery, 2002; recertified 2010

Memberships and associations:

  • American Society for Surgery of the Hand
  • Oregon Society of Plastic Surgery (past president)
  • American Council of Academic Plastic Surgeons
Read faculty profile

Insurance

Before scheduling an appointment

  1. Check your network. If you have health insurance,  call your company to find out if the OHSU Health location or provider you plan to visit is part of your network.
  2. Ask what you will pay. Your insurance company can tell you what your costs are likely to be.

If you schedule an appointment and your health insurance does not include OHSU Health, you may have to pay more than if you go to a provider in your insurance network. 

Visit our billing and insurance page for more information.

Ratings and reviews

Overall: 4.7 out of 5 (161 Ratings, 63 Reviews)

The patient ratings score is an average of all responses to the question "How likely would you be to recommend this provider to your family and friends (on a scale of 0 to 10)" on our nationally-recognized NRC patient surveys.

  1. Skilled. Professional. Extremely experienced. Personable.

  2. Very attentive, understanding, and helpful

  3. Dr. Solomon was very thorough with exam and explanation of findings.

  4. Very helpful and overall very responsive to questions and concerns. Very friendly and personable.

  5. Everything went great. Even better than we had expected. The staff were very professional, thorough, friendly and caring.

  6. Professional and personal

  7. Everything runs smoothly

  8. Friendly, not overly prone to surgical remedies

  9. Very professional, helpful and informative

  10. Dr. Solomon was absolutely wonderful! He was caring, attentive, and expedient. Great bedside manner, making me feel very comfortable while administering a steroid shot for my wrist.

  11. Personable (not all surgeons are known for this), has given me realistic expectations.

  12. Attentive, professional and compassionate

  13. Everybody was fantastic start to finish :)

  14. Very informative and willingly answered my questions.

  15. Fast informative

  16. Good

  17. He listened and explained the situation well.

  18. Dr. Solomon is an excellent listener and considered my history and symptoms as he performed his exam.

  19. Good calm presence. Humorous

  20. Dr. Joel Solomon is so thorough with his testing & exams!!THANK YOU!!!

  21. Listened to my concerns and seemed eager to help resolve my issue.

  22. Berry good

  23. He was cool

  24. Very thorough and good communication. Was familiar with my past medical history at the appointment. Clear oh medical plan going forward.

  25. Very thorough, thoughtful examination.

  26. Very positive

  27. My hand surgeon.

  28. Very professional and thorough; good interactions between myself and resident as well as between Dr Solomon and resident

  29. He's very personable (not something all surgeons are known for) and explained the procedure and the recovery process, seems concerned about my satisfaction with the recovery so far, interacts with the occupational therapist with suggestions for my ongoing therapy.

  30. Everything was so easy and explained in a way that I could understand.