Purushottam Nagarkar, M.D.

Associate Director, Residency Program, Dept. of Plastic Surgery

Plastic Surgery
Hand Surgery
Mohs Reconstruction

Accepting Virtual Visits or 469-604-9000

Biography

Purushottam Nagarkar, M.D., is an Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center. He specializes in hand surgery, microsurgical reconstructive techniques, and Mohs reconstructive surgery, and sees patients at the UT Southwestern Plastic Surgery Clinic in Frisco.

Dr. Nagarkar earned his medical degree at UT Southwestern, where he also completed his residency in plastic and reconstructive surgery. He received advanced training in hand and microsurgery through a fellowship at the University of California, Los Angeles.

As a hand surgeon, Dr. Nagarkar’s clinical interests include the full spectrum of hand surgery – hand and wrist trauma, arthritis, nerve decompression, Dupuytren's disease, and more. He also specializes in reconstructive microsurgery and breast and body contouring surgery.

He is currently researching strategies to improve resident interviewing, selection, and training using big data analysis. He has developed test preparation and study software for surgical residents, and he created and hosts a plastic surgery education podcast called Leveling Up through the journal Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery – Global Open, on whose editorial board he serves.

Dr. Nagarkar has published extensively in Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, Annals of Plastic Surgery, and the Journal of Graduate Medical Education, among other peer-reviewed journals. He was included in D Magazine's Best Doctors in Collin County list for 2021 and 2022.

Meet Dr. Nagarkar

Get Expert Care from a Multitalented Hand Surgeon at UT Southwestern

Purushottam Nagarkar, M.D., a plastic surgeon at UT Southwestern in Frisco/Plano, has always had a wide range of interests. Before choosing a career in medicine, he was an electrical engineer and worked for several years in management consulting. But medicine inspired him, and specializing in hand and wrist injuries has allowed Dr. Nagarkar to hone his expertise in a field of endless variety.

Dr. Nagarkar is constantly learning and participating in hand and wrist research. He’s currently collaborating on a paper about Dupuytren’s disease, a common genetic hand disease in Americans that causes the fingers to curl into the palm. Their findings on the best way to treat Dupuytren's using surgery and nonsurgical injections is in the process of being published.

In addition, he’s working with a team of specialists to explore how artificial intelligence (AI) applications can examine, evaluate, and diagnose hand and wrist injuries quickly.

Hand Surgery Services Dr. Nagarkar Offers in Frisco, Texas

Dr. Nagarkar specializes in various hand and wrist complications at his Frisco office, including carpal tunnel syndrome, trigger finger, thumb arthritis, tendonitis, scaphoid fractures, distal radius fractures, hand fractures, and general discomfort.

He also treats hand and wrist injuries resulting from sports or work-related accidents. These conditions can significantly impact a person's daily life, and Dr. Nagarkar strives to get his patients back to normal activities as quickly as possible.

Patients often assume surgery is the only option when they’re referred to a hand surgeon. However, Dr. Nagarkar says, “many times there are nonsurgical alternatives, and normally, these are the first steps in treatment.”

Dr. Nagarkar is committed to building relationships with his patients and is proud to bring the benefits of academic medicine to Frisco.

“Our focus is always on taking care of patients,” he says, “and it’s gratifying to provide the people of Frisco/Plano access to the type of high-level, patient-focused care that UT Southwestern is known for.”

Mohs Reconstructive Surgery in Frisco, Texas

Among other plastic surgery specialties at his Frisco/Plano office, Dr. Nagarkar focuses on Mohs reconstructive surgery, a treatment for skin cancer. After the lesion is removed, a specialist is sometimes required to help reconstruct the area.

Dr. Nagarkar uses microvascular reconstruction to take healthy skin, muscles, and tissues from elsewhere on the body to cover the defect and restore function and appearance. For patients who have had failed Mohs reconstruction in the past and who now have a chronic wound, he has the expertise to repair the damaged area.

“Performing hand and wrist surgery and Mohs reconstructive surgery is very satisfying,” Dr. Nagarkar says. “Everything I do aims to return patients to their better selves. That might be helping a patient with rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis regain the ability to use her hands or reconstructing a patient's face after cancer treatment.”

Whether patients are facing an injury or a medical or genetic condition such as Dupuytren’s disease, they can get the expertise and personalized care they need from Dr. Nagarkar.