Jonathan Persitz

Dr. Jonathan Persitz is a dual fellowship-trained orthopaedic surgeon specializing in hand and wrist surgery at Toronto Western Hospital. He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Toronto and a Surgeon Investigator at the Krembil Research Institute.

Graduating Summa Cum Laude from medical school, Dr. Persitz subsequently completed his orthopaedic surgery residency in Yitzhak Shamir Medical Center in Israel, which is affiliated with Tel Aviv University. Throughout his training, he received multiple excellence awards and scholarships for his dedication to education and patient care.
During his training, Dr. Persitz engaged in international fellowship collaborations that honed his expertise. He received training at the Hand and Peripheral Nerves Department at Inselspital, Bern, Switzerland, and at the Hand & Wrist Department at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London, UK, where he had the privilege of collaborating with globally renowned hand surgeons. At the completion of his residency, he received the Israeli National Award and Scholarship in recognition of the highest national score on the Orthopaedic Surgery Board Examination.

Dr. Persitz then pursued advanced training in the Hand and Upper Extremity Surgery Department at Yitzhak Shamir Medical Center in Israel, followed by a fellowship in Hand, Wrist, and Peripheral Nerve Surgery at the Toronto Western Hospital Hand Program.

In addition, he earned a Master of Science (MSc) in Health Systems Research at the University of Toronto’s Institute of Medical Science with training in administrative health data analysis and population-based evaluation of surgical care delivery. His graduate research used large-scale administrative health datasets to evaluate the impact of time to surgery, as well as surgeon- and patient-level factors, on outcomes following distal radius fracture surgery.

Passionate about teaching, Dr. Persitz directs the Hand Program’s educational curriculum, overseeing resident and fellow training as well as program development. In recognition of his teaching excellence, he received the Schroeder Arthritis Institute Education Excellence Award and the University of Toronto Wightman-Berris Academy Individual Teaching Excellence Award (Postgraduate Category) for outstanding teaching and mentorship.

Dr. Persitz has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications, serves as a reviewer for leading orthopaedic and plastic surgery journals, and is a Regional Editor for the Journal of Hand Surgery Global Online. He is also a frequent invited speaker at national and international conferences.

Areas of Specialty and Research Interests

Clinical interests include acute wrist trauma, wrist arthroscopy, complex reconstruction for distal radius malunions, scaphoid non-unions, and ligamentous injuries, as well as the management of base of thumb arthritis and orthoplastic reconstruction for complex hand and wrist injuries.
 
His research focuses on optimizing outcomes and quality of care in hand and wrist surgery. Using health systems and outcomes research methods, he integrates large administrative health data with prospective clinical registries to study access to care, care delivery patterns, and surgical outcomes, with the aim of informing evidence-based improvements in clinical practice and health system performance.