As an orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Steven D. Taylor specializes in hands, wrists and elbows repairing damage from accidents or over-use, as well as diseases and other conditions.

His interest in hands started with a grandmother who would affectionately hold and squeeze his hands. It continued through working with his hands in the construction industry. His father, a brick mason, typically gave him the hardest summer jobs as a motivator to do well in school. To this day, he still finds himself looking at peoples’ hands.

“Working with the full upper extremity, from the hands, wrist and elbow is technically demanding and academically satisfying,” he said. “I’m very concerned about function and aesthetics because they are equally important to most people. I love to see people come back six months after carpal tunnel surgery and see them unable to find where we’d done the incision. That’s very satisfying to me and pleasing to them as well.”

This kind of result is possible only with minimally invasive surgery techniques, which he uses whenever possible.

Dr. Taylor earned his medical degree from Ross University School of Medicine in Dominica, West Indies, then completed a general surgery internship at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Chattanooga and residency at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. He also completed a fellowship in orthopedic surgery-hand at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine in Albuquerque.

Dr. Taylor is a sports enthusiast, enjoying snowboarding and mountain biking. Most of his off-time is spent with his five young children, including helping to coach their baseball, basketball and football teams.