The Shoulder, Elbow, Wrist, and Hand Center at Mercy

Dr. Dawn LaPorte is a professor of orthopaedic surgery at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Her areas of clinical expertise are hand and wrist injuries, including ligament injuries, avascular necrosis, arthritis, nerve compression syndromes and Dupuytren’s contracture. Dr. LaPorte serves as the residency program director for the Orthopaedic Surgery Training Program.Dr. LaPorte received her undergraduate degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She completed her orthopaedic surgery training at Johns Hopkins and performed her hand and upper extremity surgery fellowship training at the Curtis National Hand Center.Her research interests include wrist pain, triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC) tears and resident education.Dr. LaPorte is a Member-at-Large of the American Society of Surgery for the Hand (ASSH) and serves on multiple ASSH committees, including the Diversity Committee and the Resident Education Committee. She is also an ASSH 2020 Annual Meeting Program Chair. She serves on the Governing Council of the national Council of Orthopaedic Residency Directors.

Dr. Damon S. Cooney is an associate professor of plastic and reconstructive surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Cooney performs all types of general plastic surgery but specializes in microvascular reconstruction (free flaps). A particular focus of his clinical practice is improving the functional and aesthetic results of head and neck reconstruction.He completed additional fellowship training at the University of Pittsburgh to become an expert in microsurgical techniques for reconstructing the extremities, trunk, breast, and head and neck following traumatic and/or oncological defects. Dr. Cooney earned a Ph.D. from Ohio State University Department of Molecular, Cellular and Development Biology.Dr. Cooney’s clinical and basic research focus is composite tissue allotransplantation (CTA). He is a member of the Composite Tissue Allotransplantation team at Johns Hopkins and helps conduct human hand and face transplantation trials. His laboratory work includes engineering human tissues for reconstructive purposes, nerve regeneration, microsurgical education and inducing tolerance in order to reduce or eliminate the need for systemic immunosuppression in transplantation patients.Dr. Cooney has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters in addition to being a reviewer for plastic surgery journals. He is a founding member of the American Society for Reconstructive Transplantation.

Ryan Katz, MD, is board-certified in plastic and reconstructive surgery and fellowship-trained in hand surgery. His areas of expertise include microsurgery, complex soft tissue and bone reconstruction, nerve and vascular disorders, fractures of the upper extremity, nerve compression and limb salvage. Dr. Ryan Katz practices at The Curtis National Hand Center at MedStar Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore.