Our Faculty

Tuna Özyurekoglu, MD

Dr. Ozyurekoglu graduated from Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey in 1994. He completed Orthopedics and Traumatology residency in Ankara Emergency Care and Traumatology Hospital in 1998. He is certified in Orthopedic Surgery and Traumatology by the Turkish Ministry of Health. He completed a hand and microsurgery fellowship at Manus Hand Surgery Center, Istanbul, Turkey. He also completed a hand and microsurgery fellowship at the Christine M. Kleinert Institute for Hand and Microsurgery, Louisville, Kentucky in 2001. Later he served as a senior fellow in 2002 and 2003.

Dr. Ozyurekoglu was awarded an educational grant by Danish Government during his residency and had training in hand surgery at Rigshospital of Copenhagen University, Copenhagen, Denmark. He also received the basic science research grant award of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand in 2001. He is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Louisville Department of Surgery, Division of Hand Surgery and the University of Louisville Department of Orthopedics.He is an active member of the American Association for Hand Surgery and the American Society for Peripheral Nerve.

Dr. Ozyurekoglu is the current president of the Christine M. Kleinert Institute for Hand and Microsurgery, and he serves as Principle Investigator and head of Louisville’s Hand Transplant Program.

His special interests include sports and traumatic injuries of the wrist and elbow joints, wrist and elbow arthroscopy and arthroplasty, treatment of the peripheral nerves, and microsurgical reconstruction of upper extremity defects.

Michelle D. Palazzo, MD

Dr. Palazzo is a board-certified plastic surgeon who earned a bachelors and master’s degree in engineering from the University of Illinois. She received her medical degree from Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in 1999. She then completed a residency in General, Plastic, and Reconstructive Surgery of St. Louis University, followed by a Fellowship in Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery of the Breast at Georgetown University in Washington DC. In 2006, she completed a one-year fellowship at the Christine M. Kleinert Institute for Hand and Microsurgery in Louisville, Ky.

In 2015, Michelle Palazzo, M.D., MS, became the program director of the Kleinert Institute for Fellowship, the largest of its kind in the country for hand and microsurgery. Dr. Palazzo served as the 2021-2022 president of the Ohio Valley Society of Plastic Surgeons and the Kentucky Society of Plastic Surgeons. She is an active member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the American Society of Reconstructive Microsurgeons and the American Society for Surgery of the Hand.

Her special interests include soft tissue injuries and tumors of the hand, cosmetic and reconstructive surgery of the breast, fat injections, and body contouring. As a breast cancer survivor since age 34, Dr. Palazzo has a personal interest in managing and treating breast cancer patients who desire breast reconstruction.

Rodrigo Moreno, MD

 

Dr. Moreno graduated from the Colombian School of Medicine “Bosque University” in 1993. He then completed a residency in Orthopedic and Trauma surgery where he received a National Research Award. In 2001, he completed a one-year fellowship at the Christine M. Kleinert Institute for Hand and Microsurgery in Louisville, Kentucky then continued as a Senior Fellow until 2004 and ultimately as Hand Scholar.

In February 2004, Dr. Moreno joined Kleinert Kutz as staff. In addition, he accepted the appointment as physician to the Commission for Children With Special Health Care Needs. He was appointed Assistant Clinical Professor with the University of Louisville Department of Surgery, Division of Hand Surgery.

His special interests include distal radius fractures, long bone fractures, wrist arthroscopy, biceps tendon ruptures, carpometacarpal arthritis, elbow trauma/pathology, and congenital surgery.

Sunil Thirkannad, MD

Dr. Thirkannad graduated from Bangalore Medical College, India in 1990 and completed his Internship in 1991. He subsequently completed his Residency in Orthopedic Surgery in 1996 where he was awarded the Lupin Gold Award and Natarajan Gold Medal. He obtained a Masters Degree in Orthopedic Surgery in 1996 and was certified by the National Board of Examinations in 1997. He completed a Fellowship in Hand and Microsurgery from the National University of Singapore in 2003 and from the Christine M. Kleinert Institute for Hand and Microsurgery in 2004.

Dr. Thirkannad is currently a Clinical Professor in Hand Surgery at the University of Louisville and the Christine M. Kleinert Institute for Hand and Microsurgery. He is a member of many Orthopedic and Hand Societies and has served on the Executive Council of the Indian Society for Surgery of the Hand. He has published many articles in peer reviewed journals and has authored chapters in textbooks, including Sabiston’s Textbook of Surgery. He has developed many new surgical procedures which have been published in peer reviewed journals. He is a reviewer for many journals in the fields of Hand Surgery, Orthopedic Surgery, and Plastic surgery. Dr. Thirkannad is regularly invited to deliver lectures and presentations at National and International conferences around the world.

His special interests include wrist injuries, rheumatoid arthritis, congenital hand deformities, and microsurgery

Elkin J. Galvis, MD

Dr. Galvis was born in Bogota, Colombia. He graduated from the National University School of Medicine in 1999. He then joined the Colombian Air Force where he worked three years in active duty as a medical commissioner officer. After honorable discharge, he began his residency in Orthopedic and Trauma Surgery, and graduated from Javeriana University School of Medicine in 2008. In 2011, he completed a one-year fellowship at the Christine M. Kleinert Institute for Hand and Microsurgery in Louisville, Kentucky. He then continued as a Senior Fellow until June of 2013.

In July of 2013, Dr. Galvis joined Kleinert Kutz Hand Care Center as staff and was appointed Assistant Clinical Professor of Surgery with the University of Louisville School of Medicine, Department of Surgery, Division of Hand Surgery.

His special interests include wrist and hand trauma, arthroscopy of the wrist and elbow, peripheral nerve compression, wrist pathology, and wrist arthritis.

Dr. Galvis’s native language is Spanish.

Monica Pecache, MD

 
Monica Pecache, M.D., completed her post graduate training in orthopedics and sports medicine in St. Lukes Medical Center in Quezon City, Philippines. Immediately after her residency, she spent 3 months in Clermont Ferrand, France under Dr. Pierre Metais among others mainly for additional training in shoulder surgery. She then completed 2 years of hand and microsurgery at the Christine M. Kleinert Institute of Hand and Microsurgery. She has a particular interest in hand and wrist trauma, tendon surgery and malunion correction and sports injuries.
 

Galen Robert Cummings, DO

Galen Robert Cummings, D.O., completed his residency in orthopedic surgery at MountainView Regional Medical Center, Las Cruces, NM in 2023, followed by fellowship training in hand and microsurgery at the Christine M. Kleinert Institute in 2024.

Yousif El Gammal, MD, MSc

Yousif El-Gammal, M.D., MSc, is a skilled orthopedic surgeon specializing in hand surgery, peripheral nerve and brachial plexus reconstruction. Born in Iowa City, IA, and raised in Egypt, he combines insights from both cultures to provide culturally sensitive care. He graduated with high honors from Assiut University Faculty of Medicine in Egypt in 2014 and further advanced his expertise at the Christine M. Kleinert Hand Institute from 2021-2024, becoming an expert in complex surgical techniques. Dr. El-Gammal’s commitment to his field is evident through his involvement in the Brachial Plexus International School and his extensive research contributions.