Dr. Mark Yaffe(opens in a new tab) is a board-certified, fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon with an additional subspecialty board certification in hand surgery. He treats conditions of the hand, wrist, elbow, and shoulder. Dr. Yaffe specializes in upper extremity trauma and complex fractures, work and sports-related injuries, degenerative and arthritic conditions, nerve and vascular conditions, and biologic injection therapy. He has published on topics including minimally invasive thumb joint arthroplasty, complex hand trauma, biologic injection therapy, and computer-assisted surgery. 

Dr. Yaffe is currently focusing on minimally invasive solutions to the most common hand surgical conditions. He offers a number of conservative surgical procedures with the aim of minimizing pain, cost, and recovery time for his patients, including:

• Minimally-invasive first CMC arthroplasty: First CMC arthroplasty is a procedure that treats arthritis in the base of the thumb. Dr. Yaffe’s minimally-invasive approach involves a single incision rather than two and does not involve cutting or harvesting tendon tissue. This results in less post-operative pain and swelling, allowing patients to return to function earlier.
• Minimally invasive distal radius repair: Dr. Yaffe repairs wrist fractures using smaller incisions and a removable postoperative splint.
• Local anesthetic procedures: Dr. Yaffe offers mini carpal tunnel release, trigger finger release, and hand cyst excision performed under a local anesthetic, eliminating the need for IVs or the cost of an anesthesiologist.

Dr. Yaffe enjoys teaching patients about their injuries and conditions. He wants to ensure that each patient has the information and knowledge that they need to determine what is the best treatment option for them.

As a dedicated orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Yaffe focuses on restoring patients to their optimal functional ability as quickly as possible.

When he’s not seeing patients, Dr. Yaffe enjoys spending time with his wife and two daughters, terrarium design, yoga, and being an eight-time Chicago marathon runner.