Nick Pappas, MD

Nick Pappas, MD Nick Pappas, MD is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon in New Orleans, LA A New Orleans native, he graduated from St. Martin’s Episcopal School (Metairie, LA).
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Nick Pappas, MD is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon with a Certificate of Added Qualifications (CAQ) in hand surgery who specializes in various hand and upper extremity conditions. He then traveled to Princeton University (Princeton, NJ) for college, where he earned a B.A. in Philosophy and pitched for the baseball team. While at Princeton, he played baseball for all four years on a team that

won 2 Ivy League Baseball Championships and made 2 appearances in the NCAA Division I College World Series Tournament. After college, he earned his medical degree from Vanderbilt University (Nashville, TN). He then completed an orthopedic surgery residency at the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA). After residency, he returned to Vanderbilt University to complete a fellowship in Hand, Microvascular, and Upper Extremity Surgery. Dr. Pappas has been in practice for over 10 years. He currently serves as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at both Tulane University and Louisiana State University. He is also a member of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand and serves as a consultant reviewer for the prestigious Journal of Hand Surgery, American. He has an active interest in clinical research with over 30 peer-reviewed publications and multiple textbook chapters to his credit. For a complete up-to-date listing of all Dr. Pappas’s publications, please click the following link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Pappas+n

04/27/2026

🚨 Things that make an orthopedic surgeon’s Ancef pump beat a little faster…

🦵 Tense, firm compartments
→ super tight compartments + pain out of proportion to exam = 🚨 concern for COMPARTMENT SYNDROME
→ Rising pressure → ↓ perfusion → muscle & nerve ischemia
→ ⏳ irreversible damage can start within hours… this is a surgical emergency (fasciotomy NOW)

🩸 Pulseless extremity
→ No pulse ≠ just “check again”… think 🚨 ARTERIAL INJURY
→ Could be laceration, thrombosis, or vascular spasm after trauma
→ Cold, pale limb + no Doppler signal = ⏳ limb viability at risk → urgent revascularization

🔥 Spreading erythema
→ Redness that’s rapidly expanding = not your routine cellulitis 😬
→ Think 🚨 NECROTIZING FASCIITIS
→ Pain out of proportion, systemic toxicity, skin changes (bullae, necrosis)
→ 🦠 “Time is tissue” → emergent debridement + broad-spectrum antibiotics

🚫 Absent motor function
→ Can be 🧠 or peripheral
→ Peripheral: nerve injury (radial, ulnar, median, etc.) from trauma/compression
→ Central: 🚨 stroke or spinal cord pathology

🥪 Device rep forgets lunch
→ The most serious of the bunch 🚨
→ Morale drops immediately 📉

Orthopedics isn’t just fixing fractures 🦴
It’s recognizing the moments where minutes matter ⏳🚨

04/27/2026

Did you know this?

🦴 The inverted top that is easier to remove would also potentially help those with hand arthritis.

04/27/2026

Orthopedic surgeons definitely have our own lingo. Some of these terms sound pretty similar, but they're obviously all different 👇

✅ Tendinitis vs Tendinosis vs Tenosynovitis vs Tenodesis vs Tenotomy

🔥 Tendinitis = acute inflammation of a tendon
➡️ Overuse or sudden spike in activity 🏃‍♂️
➡️ Pain + swelling + recent onset

👉 Tendinosis = chronic degeneration
➡️ Microtears + collagen breakdown over time

🧤 Tenosynovitis = inflammation of the tendon sheath
➡️ The “sleeve” around the tendon gets irritated
➡️ Think trigger finger, De Quervain’s ✋

🔩 Tenodesis = surgical anchoring of tendon to bone
➡️ Reattaches or repositions the tendon
➡️ Common: biceps tenodesis

✂️ Tenotomy = surgical release (cutting) of a tendon
➡️ Relieves tension/pain
➡️ Less fixation, more release

⚠️ Bottom Line:
Orthopedic surgeons may have forgotten some of the internal medicine lingo, but we definitely have our own language when it comes to describing musculoskeletal pathologies and treatments.

💬 Comment NEWSLETTER 📩 if you want weekly, evidence-based ortho breakdowns like this

🚨 Should you consider trying NAD+ SUPPLEMENTS for the supposed anti-aging / longevity benefits? 👉 Do they even work?🗞️ ...
04/26/2026

🚨 Should you consider trying NAD+ SUPPLEMENTS for the supposed anti-aging / longevity benefits?

👉 Do they even work?

🗞️ That is the topic of my free weekly newsletter this week.

✅ Join thousands of other subscribers to my free weekly newsletter in which I give brief, evidence-based assessments of all the latest health trends.

🚨 Click here to subscribe:

http://eepurl.com/iQYOcQ

Thanks,
Nick Pappas, MD
Board-certified Orthopedic Surgeon
Founder, Elevated Health (www.elevatedhealth.org)

04/26/2026

Sorry this video got so long… it’s almost longer than my day!

🚨 Just a disclaimer…this is my routine when I'm not on call (call nights are different obviously). Also, the reverse osmosis water filtration system has prevented us from having to buy bottled water for the past several years, which is a huge money saver ✅

👉 If you’re interested in more information about how I optimize my own health at age 46 or about what it’s like to be an orthopedic surgeon, feel free to follow this account and check out my evidence-based health information company (ELEVATED HEALTH).

🚨 Comment ELEVATE and I'll send you a link to the website for ELEVATED HEALTH, which has my own personal evidence-based assessments of the latest health trends such as red light therapy, vibration plates, weighted vests, and many more.

04/25/2026

As an orthopedic hand surgeon, I never thought of myself as a low-level surgeon, but I guess some people do. I don’t really take offense to it. This stitch is meant to be done in jest by the way (before anybody gets bent out of shape in the comments).

🦴 Even though orthopedic surgeons like myself aren’t operating on vital organs, some of the surgeries can be pretty complicated.

👉 It sounds like the guy in this video is ready to be an ortho bro. Believe it or not, most orthopedic surgeons do 10 years of training total after college before going out into actual practice as an attending. In my case, I did a five-year orthopedic surgery residency followed by a one-year fellowship in hand, upper extremity, and microvascular surgery. It was a long haul but certainly well worth it in the end.

DERM-MAXXING 🧴😎 is what happens when I take a day off from focusing on bone health.Obviously, this post is meant to be a...
04/25/2026

DERM-MAXXING 🧴😎 is what happens when I take a day off from focusing on bone health.

Obviously, this post is meant to be a joke, and some of the recommendations are exaggerated for humor (for example, a little bit of sunlight is good for activating vitamin D in your skin, which helps support bone strength). I'm not a dermatologist. I'm an orthopedic surgeon 🦴

👉 However, what's interesting is that many things that are good for bone are also typically good for your skin (a.k.a. your external periosteum), such as collagen-rich foods like wild-caught salmon or bone broth, vitamin D, quality sleep, and resistance training (yes, it's actually good for your skin).

💪 Any activity that boosts collagen will help both your skin and bones.

04/25/2026

Comment NEWSLETTER for more evidence-based health information, and I'll send you a link to my free weekly newsletter.

🚨 Talking about the risks of BPC-157 gets videos taken down… 🚫
But you can still find it being sold in TikTok Shop 🤔

This is the reality of modern social media—
education gets filtered…
while products still get pushed 💰

Be careful where you get your health information.
Because visibility ≠ accuracy ⚠️

Comment NEWSLETTER 📩 if you want more evidence-based health tips like this—I’ll send you a link to my free weekly newsle...
04/24/2026

Comment NEWSLETTER 📩 if you want more evidence-based health tips like this—I’ll send you a link to my free weekly newsletter 👇

ORTHOMAXXING 🦴💪 isn’t a trend… it’s what your body actually needs to stay strong as you age. Healthy bone and muscle are your true organs of longevity.

You don’t need anything fancy:
✔️ Lift weights regularly
✔️ Eat enough protein 🍗 (at least 0.8 g per kg of body weight per day)
✔️ Get your vitamin D / calcium / magnesium
✔️ Sleep 7–9 hours 😴
✔️ Don’t smoke 🚫
✔️ Stay consistent

🦴 Strong bones aren’t built overnight—they’re built daily.

🚨 As for minimizing both the use of a stethoscope & EKG reading, that is something just specific to orthopedic surgeons. If you know, you know.

04/24/2026

Lots of talk about cannabis lately since it was recently rescheduled from Schedule 1 with drugs like he**in to Schedule 3 with drugs like ketamine and testosterone 💉

This often leads to the question, what exactly is THC?

THC = the compound in cannabis that gets you “high” 🧠🌿

It stands for tetrahydrocannabinol — and it works by binding to receptors in your brain (your endocannabinoid system), altering mood, perception, memory, and pain 🧬

🙋‍♂️ What does THC do?
👉 In low doses: relaxation, pain relief
👉 In higher doses: anxiety, impaired coordination, short-term memory issues

Important distinction:
THC ≠ CBD
CBD is non-psychoactive… THC is what changes how you feel

Like anything in medicine — dose matters ⚖️

🚨 You can remove the THC from your CBD product, which is what I chose to do.

health

04/23/2026

This content creator, Dr. Kevin Reese, claims to be a PhD on his website (it's unclear if that's in nutrition), yet there are no records online stating where he did any of his education, including undergraduate. If anybody knows, feel free to leave the answer in the comments.

👉 He also has other videos on his social media discouraging mammograms, screening colonoscopies, and seeing medical doctors in general, suggesting that medical doctors are not trying to heal you and only push drugs.

🚨 Let me know what you think of this message in the comments.

04/20/2026

Comment NEWSLETTER for more similar health information, and I will send you a link to my free weekly newsletter 🗞️

👉 Starting from the top…

🧬 Taking peptides like BPC-157 which don't have high-quality human data is not advisable at this point, especially those that are being sold on TikTok (and yes, they are currently available on TikTok shop, which is super sketchy).

💪 As for Ozempic and other GLP-1 agonists…if you lose a bunch of weight, you need to make sure you maintain your muscle mass and bone strength through resistance training and a diet rich in protein with appropriate amounts of calcium / vitamin D. Otherwise, your bone density can suffer and lead to fractures.

🚨 Turmeric and ibuprofen are both good anti-inflammatories. I like turmeric and personally take it daily to reduce inflammation. However, it is generally not advisable to take turmeric and ibuprofen together, as that can increase your risk of stomach irritation as well as bleeding.

😷 In general, you should not eat eight hours before surgery to avoid risk of aspiration of stomach contents.

🚶 Simply walking while wearing a weighted vest does not create enough stress across your bones to significantly improve the bone density—stick with resistance training and jumping activities like a drop jump.

🦵You still do need physical therapy after a joint replacement even if you're in shape in order to get your range of motion and strength back.

💉 If you get an injection with a corticosteroid, you need to refrain from strenuous physical activity on that body part for at least three days if not longer.

❤️ As for getting an orthopedic surgeon like me to try to read an EKG, I'm sure there are many other better candidates for doing so.

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