Skip to content
David J. Mitten, M.D.

David J. Mitten, M.D.

Orthopaedics & Physical Performance

5 out of 5 stars
UR Medicine Faculty The University of Rochester Medical Faculty Group (URMFG) consists of over 900 specialist and primary care providers spanning 19 departments. URMFG is certified by the National Committee for Quality Assurance.
Accountable Health Partner Accountable Health Partners (AHP) is a network of over 2,000 community and UR medical faculty and a dozen leading hospitals throughout the region. AHP offers a full range of care.
Accepting New Patients

Contact

Locations

About Me

I care for people of all ages who have conditions that affect the hand, wrist, elbow, and shoulder. These include fractures and dislocations, tendon and ligament injuries, arthritis, nerve and blood vessel injuries, and tumors. I manage common conditions, such as carpal tunnel syndrome and trigger f...
I care for people of all ages who have conditions that affect the hand, wrist, elbow, and shoulder. These include fractures and dislocations, tendon and ligament injuries, arthritis, nerve and blood vessel injuries, and tumors. I manage common conditions, such as carpal tunnel syndrome and trigger finger, as well as rare ones, such as congenital hand deformities.

Orthopedic surgeries require a high level of technical expertise and experience in managing challenging conditions. My patients may be infants with congenital malformations, older adults with incapacitating osteoarthritis, professional athletes with sports injuries, classical musicians with overuse syndromes, or workers injured in occupational accidents.

I work closely with patients to create a treatment plan that will lead to a quick recovery. Often, treatment simply consists of therapy, a cast or splint, or an injection. If surgery is required, I use the convenient and efficient Clinton Crossings Procedure Rooms for outpatient surgical procedures when possible. The Procedure Room team of nurses and technicians that assist me are experts in the care of patients undergoing outpatient procedures. I also work closely with our specially trained hand and upper extremity therapists in the Hand Rehabilitation program to direct your post-surgical care and to ensure a fast and successful recovery. When bracing is ordered, our hand therapists are prepared to fashion custom orthoses on site the same day as your appointment.

At the UR Medicine, we get to know our patients, so we can personalize our approach and tailor treatment to each individual. I try to impart to residents and fellows the importance of making a connection with patients. Listening to my patients helps me to better understand their needs and expectations.

Certified Specialties

Orthopaedic Surgery - American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery

Faculty Appointments

Professor - Department of Orthopaedics (SMD)

Professor - Department of Surgery, Plastic Surgery (SMD) - Joint

Credentials

Residency & Fellowship

Fellowship, Mattel Children's Hospital at UCLA Medical Center. 1997 - 1999

Residency, Orthopaedics, University of Rochester Medical Center. 1993 - 1997

Internship, Surgery (General Surgery), University of Rochester Medical Center. 1992 - 1993

Education

MD | University of Rochester School of Medicine/Dentistry (USA). 1992

Awards

2017 Sherman Award for Excellence in Patient Engagement (for innovation in Healthcare). 2017

Meliora Award - PROMIS Team. 2016

AOA. 1992

Doctor of Medicine with Honor. 1992

Tau Beta Pi. 1988

Research

I perform hundreds of surgeries a year and am committed to research and education. I stay up to date on the latest advances in treatment through professional society membership. I have presented academic work at national conferences and have published numerous journal articles. My goal is to help pa...
I perform hundreds of surgeries a year and am committed to research and education. I stay up to date on the latest advances in treatment through professional society membership. I have presented academic work at national conferences and have published numerous journal articles. My goal is to help patients recover quickly and safely. I pride myself on ensuring that patients understand their condition and all treatment options, so they can make informed decisions. I aim to individualize care for my patients.

Publications

Journal Articles

Polarimetric imaging of peripheral nerves: an intraoperative aid.

Liao H, Mitten DJ, Knox WH

Biomedical optics express.. 2025 February 116 (2):679-689. Epub 01/27/2025.

GEORGE®: A Pilot Study of a Smartphone Application for Huntington's Disease.

Waddell EM, Dinesh K, Spear KL, Elson MJ, Wagner E, Curtis MJ, Mitten DJ, Tarolli CG, Sharma G, Ray Dorsey E, Adams JL

Journal of Huntington's disease.. 2021 10 (2):293-301. Epub 1900 01 01.

An Electronic Medical Record-Based Discharge Disposition Tool Gets Bundle Busted: Decaying Relevance of Clinical Data Accuracy in Machine Learning.

Greenstein AS, Teitel J, Mitten DJ, Ricciardi BF, Myers TG

Arthroplasty today.. 2020 December 6 (4):850-855. Epub 10/14/2020.

Preoperative PROMIS Scores Predict Postoperative PROMIS Score Improvement for Patients Undergoing Hand Surgery.

Bernstein DN, Houck JR, Gonzalez RM, Wilbur DM, Miller RJ, Mitten DJ, Hammert WC

Hand : official journal of the American Association for Hand Surgery.. 2020 March 15 (2):185-193. Epub 08/03/2018.

Convolutional Neural Network for Second Metacarpal Radiographic Osteoporosis Screening.

Tecle N, Teitel J, Morris MR, Sani N, Mitten D, Hammert WC

The Journal of hand surgery.. 2020 March 45 (3):175-181. Epub 01/17/2020.

Patient-reported outcomes use during orthopaedic surgery clinic visits improves the patient experience.

Bernstein DN, Fear K, Mesfin A, Hammert WC, Mitten DJ, Rubery PT, Baumhauer JF

Musculoskeletal care.. 2019 March 17 (1):120-125. Epub 01/07/2019.

The Cost of Patient-Reported Outcomes in Medicine

Judith F. Baumhauer, MD, MPH, Christopher Dasilva, BS, David Mitten, MD, Paul Rubery, MD & Michael Rotondo, MD.

New England Journal of Medicine Catalyst. 2018; .

Efficacy of PROMIS Pain Interference and Likert Pain Scores to Assess Physical Function.

St John MJ, Mitten D, Hammert WC

The Journal of hand surgery.. 2017 September 42 (9):705-710. Epub 07/12/2017.

Large-scale clinical implementation of PROMIS computer adaptive testing with direct incorporation into the electronic medical record

M. O. Papuga C. Dasilva A. McIntyre D. Mitten S. Kates J. F. Baumhauer.

Health Systems. 2017; 6(15): 1-13.

Google Glass as an Alternative to Standard Fluoroscopic Visualization for Percutaneous Fixation of Hand Fractures: A Pilot Study.

Chimenti PC, Mitten DJ

Plastic and reconstructive surgery.. 2015 August 136 (2):328-330. Epub 1900 01 01.

The effect of informed consent on results of a standard upper extremity intake questionnaire.

Buckley T, Mitten D, Elfar J

The Journal of hand surgery.. 2013 February 38 (2):366-71. Epub 01/03/2013.

Remodeling of murine intrasynovial tendon adhesions following injury: MMP and neotendon gene expression.

Loiselle AE, Bragdon GA, Jacobson JA, Hasslund S, Cortes ZE, Schwarz EM, Mitten DJ, Awad HA, O'Keefe RJ

Journal of orthopaedic research : official publication of the Orthopaedic Research Society.. 2009 June 27 (6):833-40. Epub 1900 01 01.

Adhesions in a murine flexor tendon graft model: autograft versus allograft reconstruction.

Hasslund S, Jacobson JA, Dadali T, Basile P, Ulrich-Vinther M, Søballe K, Schwarz EM, O'Keefe RJ, Mitten DJ, Awad HA

Journal of orthopaedic research : official publication of the Orthopaedic Research Society.. 2008 June 26 (6):824-33. Epub 1900 01 01.

Freeze-dried tendon allografts as tissue-engineering scaffolds for Gdf5 gene delivery.

Basile P, Dadali T, Jacobson J, Hasslund S, Ulrich-Vinther M, Søballe K, Nishio Y, Drissi MH, Langstein HN, Mitten DJ, O'Keefe RJ, Schwarz EM, Awad HA

Molecular therapy : the journal of the American Society of Gene Therapy.. 2008 March 16 (3):466-73. Epub 01/08/2008.

Treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome: is there a role for local corticosteroid injection?

Gooch CL, Mitten DJ

Neurology.. 2005 June 2864 (12):2006-7. Epub 1900 01 01.

The Cost of Patient-Reported Outcomes in Medicine

Judith F. Baumhauer, MD, MPH, Christopher Dasilva, BS, David Mitten, MD, Paul Rubery, MD & Michael Rotondo, MD.

.

Ratings & Comments

At URMC, we believe that patients should be empowered to make the right decisions regarding their personal healthcare. To do so, transparency is critical. URMC partners with Press Ganey, to survey our patients about all aspects of their care experience. We are now putting this pertinent information at your fingertips by displaying star ratings for our providers along with anonymous patient comments on our website. This will help you make better-informed choices about how and with whom you seek care. Click here to learn more about the surveys used to generate this vital information. Learn more about our survey process.

Ratings

Concern the care provider showed for your questions or worries

4.9 stars

Care provider's efforts to include you in decisions about your care

4.9 stars

Explanations the care provider gave you about your problem or condition

4.9 stars

Likelihood of recommending this care provider to others

5.0 stars

Care provider's discussion of any proposed treatment (options, risks, benefits, etc.)

4.9 stars

Patient Comments

Dr. Mitten has already been recommended to my of my family and friends

Dec 26, 2024

Dr. Mitten is WONDERFUL. The best type of Dr to have: listens, calmly informs, kind, friendly, intelligent, reassuring, takes time with you, sense of humor, warns before taking action.... Much to praise.

Dec 13, 2024

Highly recommended

Nov 22, 2024

Doctor Mitten offers a level of care well beyond my expectations; the best I have seen in my 80 years of living. He gets a rating of 20 from me on a scale of 1 to 10. I am blessed to be under his care.

Nov 17, 2024

5.0 stars

Good

Oct 31, 2024

5.0 stars

Dr Mitten is the best. He is kind and listens to all my concerns.

Oct 30, 2024

5.0 stars

Dr. Mitten and his nurse practitioner are the best you could ever ask for.

Oct 12, 2024

5.0 stars

Took a great deal of time with me to explain istep by step details on what to expect & ensure I understood all details and answered all of my questions, very comfortable and at ease . I did not feel rushed and left pletes good feeling & complete understanding.

Oct 01, 2024

5.0 stars

I recommend Dr. Mitten to all my friends with hand issues.

Sep 24, 2024

5.0 stars

Treatment fully explained.

Sep 23, 2024