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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Undergraduate: Princeton University (2002)
Med School: Vanderbilt University (2006)
Orthopedic Residency: UPENN (2011) 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

08/06/2026

Did I get these right? Let me know in the comments.

✅ If I missed your specialty, don’t worry there will be a part two.

📩 Enjoy my content? Join thousands of subscribers who receive my FREE weekly newsletter every Saturday! 🎉This week's NE...
08/05/2026

📩 Enjoy my content? Join thousands of subscribers who receive my FREE weekly newsletter every Saturday! 🎉

This week's NEWSLETTER is titled:

“IS IT BAD TO EAT RIGHT BEFORE BEDTIME?” 🌙 🥩 🥘

👉 Each week I break down the complex world of medicine into practical, evidence-based ways to help optimize health—all with a little humor along the way. 🩺

🔥 Curious about topics like:

✅ PEPTIDES 🧬
✅ OSTEOPOROSIS 🦴
✅ WEIGHTED VEST 🎽
✅ RED LIGHT THERAPY 🔴
✅ VIBRATION PLATES 🔊
✅ SUPPLEMENTS 💊
✅ NUTRITION 🥗
✅ FITNESS 💪

…and the latest health trends? I cover them all.

👉 Sign up for free here:
http://eepurl.com/iQYOcQ

Thanks,
Nick Pappas, MD
Board-certified Orthopedic Surgeon

08/05/2026

💬 Comment NEWSLETTER and I’ll send you a link to my free weekly newsletter with similar health information and non-cringey medical humor! 🗞️

🚨 Are peptides such as BPC-157 and TB-500 about to become FDA approved? Not exactly. 👀

There’s been a lot of confusion online, so here’s what’s actually happening. 🧬

✅ A recent FDA advisory committee reviewed seven peptides to determine whether they should remain on the FDA’s list of substances that cannot be compounded.

✅ The committee recommended that six of the seven—including BPC-157 and TB-500—could potentially be compounded in the future.

❌ But that is NOT the same as FDA approval. The FDA itself still needs to vote on these peptides.

📚 The committee also acknowledged that more high-quality human studies are still needed before we can make strong conclusions about their safety and effectiveness.

💡 My take: This is an important regulatory step, but don’t confuse it with proof that these peptides work or that they’ve been approved by the FDA. As always, it’s important to separate the headlines from the actual science.

08/04/2026

Come grab a hold of this learning stick (a.k.a. retractor)!

😷 When I was a brand new medical student 24 years ago (I know I'm old!), one of my attendings told me that when it comes to retraction, whatever position is the least comfortable is probably the one he's going to need me to stay in. The reason is that typically you have to toe in deep to expose the field better, so it certainly can be uncomfortable to retract like that for long periods of time.

👨🏻‍⚕️ He also referred to retractors as “learning sticks”, which I found pretty funny.

🙏 Many thanks to all the medical students who've helped retract during my surgeries over the years. I was once in your shoes. I know it can seem like a thankless job at times, but I certainly appreciate your help.

08/03/2026

Comment NEWSLETTER 📩🗞️ and I’ll send you a link to my free weekly newsletter with similar medical information 🩺 and non-cringey medical humor 😄

💥 Shoulder dislocations are most often anterior and can typically be reduced in the emergency room 🏥. The key to reducing pretty much any dislocation is muscle relaxation 💪 combined with appropriate traction 🤲, although sometimes varying degrees of external or internal rotation 🔄 and added pressure over the dislocated bone may also be required.

🦴 First-time shoulder dislocations can often be treated with physical therapy 🏋️‍♂️, but if there’s recurrent instability 🔁, surgical repair of the torn labrum 🔧 may be required.

🎥 Original video credit: Joey Gentile

08/02/2026

To all the significant others of doctors out there, thank you so much for your service! Be sure to contact your local attorney to get the compensation you deserve 👨‍⚖️.

All jokes aside, being the spouse or partner of a doctor isn’t always easy 🤯

Our training and work schedules can be incredibly demanding, and while we do our best to estimate when we’ll be home, emergencies 🚑, unexpected surgeries 🔬, and patient needs 👨‍⚕️ don’t always follow a schedule.

And yes… sometimes we optimistically say, “I’ll be home in an hour.” 😅

To all of the husbands, wives, partners, and families who put up with our sometimes unpredictable schedules—thank you. 🙌 Your patience, understanding, and support mean more than you probably realize. 👏 I’m especially grateful to my wife and family for always being there, even when my schedule keeps changing. 😊

08/01/2026

🦴 Ever notice that it looks like babies don’t have wrist bones on an X-ray?

Don’t worry—they absolutely do! 👶

The reason you can’t see them is that most of the carpal (wrist) bones are still made of cartilage, and cartilage doesn’t show up on a standard X-ray. So while it may look like the wrist is “missing bones,” they’re actually there—they just haven’t ossified yet.

🩻 As babies grow, those cartilage models gradually get replaced by bone through endochondral ossification, allowing the carpal bones to become visible on X-rays over time.

💡 Here’s an interesting anatomy fact:
• Long bones (like the radius and ulna) develop with primary and later secondary ossification centers.
• Carpal bones are different. They also form by endochondral ossification, but they do not have separate primary and secondary ossification centers. Instead, each carpal bone develops from a single ossification center.

📈 One of the coolest parts? Pediatric orthopedic surgeons and radiologists can often estimate a child’s age just by looking at a hand or wrist X-ray and seeing which carpal bones have ossified. The appearance of these ossification centers follows a predictable timeline as children grow.

🤯 Pretty amazing how much information a single X-ray can reveal!

👇 Did you know babies’ wrist bones are there all along—they’re just invisible on X-rays?

07/31/2026

I mean in all honesty people really do like pizza! 🍕

🚨 Please keep in mind that this is meant to be a joke. However, if you want to get mad at me in the comments and tell me something like “nurses don't DISPENSE medications, they ADMINISTER them,” that's fine 😂

👉 All jokes aside, in my opinion, fixing staffing shortages and improving work conditions need to be at the forefront for any hospital right now. Part of the reason I left the hospital system and opened my own practice is that I didn’t really see much improvement on this front. All I have seen in recent years is an increase in administrators and a decrease in the number of doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers.

✅ If you’re interested in starting your own practice, I do think AI is going to make it easier to do so by lowering overhead tremendously. If you need any guidance, I am offering consulting services (just email me at [email protected] if you're interested).

✅ Also, be sure to follow this account for more useful info on how to start and run your own private practice.

07/29/2026

Did I get these right? Let me know in the comments.

✅ If I missed your specialty, don't worry there will be a part two.

07/28/2026

📩 Comment “NEWSLETTER” and I’ll send you a link to my FREE weekly newsletter, where I simplify the complex world of medicine and share evidence-based health information to help you make more informed decisions about your health. 📚👨‍⚕️

💧☀️ Is plain water always the best way to hydrate? Not necessarily.

Most people think staying hydrated is as simple as drinking more water…but if you’re sweating a lot during the summer, you’re also losing electrolytes like sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium. 🧂🥥

In rare cases, drinking large amounts of plain water without replacing electrolytes can contribute to hyponatremia (low blood sodium), which can become dangerous. ⚠️

👨‍⚕️ Here’s what I personally do:
💧 Drink reverse osmosis water that’s been re-mineralized with sodium, magnesium, and calcium.
🥥 Enjoy coconut water for its natural potassium and magnesium.
🧂 After prolonged sweating, I’ll sometimes add a small pinch of salt or simply eat a meal containing some sodium.

Hydration isn’t just about replacing water—it’s about replacing what you lose. 💦

❤️ Important: If you have heart disease, kidney disease, or have been told to follow a low-sodium diet, don’t intentionally increase your salt intake without first talking with your physician.

Address

2520 Harvard Avenue
Metairie, LA
70001

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

Telephone

+15042262871

Website

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