Sanj Kakar, M.D.

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SUMMARY

Sanj Kakar, M.D., is a specialist in conditions of the hand and wrist. He researches and treats people with trauma and sports injuries and patients needing arthroscopy and complex wrist reconstruction. He is a surgeon-scientist studying illnesses of the wrist including carpal instabilities and ulnar-sided wrist pain. He also explores minimally invasive surgery with artificial intelligence.

Focus areas

• Wrist ligament injury. Dr. Kakar explores and uses innovative computerized tomography scanning to diagnose carpal ligament injury and study the outcome of innovative minimally invasive procedures with biomechanical testing.
• Ulnar-sided wrist pain. Dr. Kakar studies the use of four-dimensional computerized tomography technology with artificial intelligence to detect triangular fibrocartilage complex injuries and guide surgical treatment.
• Motion analysis. Dr. Kakar studies the kinematics of racquet- and stick-handling sports to predict injury patterns in athletes and to be able to prevent injury or guide rehabilitation after an injury or surgery.

Significance to patient care

The goal of Dr. Kakar's research is to improve the way certain conditions are diagnosed, such as wrist ligament and triangular fibrocartilage complex injuries. This may help patients avoid surgeries they don't need. For patients who do undergo surgery, Dr. Kakar and his colleagues are using new minimally invasive surgeries to improve recovery and functional outcomes.

Professional highlights

• American Orthopaedic Association:
  • Member, Emerging Leaders Program, 2006-present.
  • American-British-Canadian Traveling Fellowship, 2015.
  • North American Traveling Fellowship, 2013.
• Associate dean, Mayo Clinic School of Continuous Professional Development, Mayo Clinic, 2024.
• Director, education program, Division of Hand Surgery, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Mayo Clinic, 2024.
• American Society for Surgery of the Hand:
  • Editor, Hand E digital education platform, 2020-2024.
  • Linscheid-Dobyns Excellence in Wrist Surgery Award for best paper: Graesser EA, Kakar S, Yao J, Richard MJ, Gaston RG, Goldfarb CA. Reliability of wrist arthroscopy in the diagnosis and treatment of triangular fibrocartilage complex tears. Annual Meeting of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand, Toronto, Canada, 2023.
  • Sterling Bunnell Traveling Fellowship, 2017.
• Medical director, Mayo Clinic Rochester Accreditation and Regulatory Resources, Mayo Clinic, 2022.
• Teacher of the Year Award, Miller’s Orthopaedic Review Courses, The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, 2022.
• Marshall F. Urist Residents Award, Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons of America, 2005.