University Orthopaedic Associates (UOA) is once again proud to announce that our surgeons were honored with the Jersey Choice Top Doctors award, presented by New Jersey Monthly magazine. Jersey Choice Top Doctors awards are presented to New Jersey physicians who are voted by their peers as being the most competent and compassionate in their field.

This year’s UOA award winners include:

• Gino Chiappetta, MD
• Charles J. Gatt, Jr., MD
• David A. Harwood, MD
• Timothy P. Leddy, MD
• Matthew McDonnell, MD
• James T. Monica, MD
• Carlos A. Sagebien, MD

Dr. Chiappetta is a board-certified orthopaedic spine surgeon. His personal philosophy of care is to offer individualized treatment to each of his patients based on their unique medical and recovery needs. He uses only the latest minimally invasive and robotic surgery techniques to ensure his patients experience minimal downtime so they can get quickly back to good health and the quality of life they deserve. Dr. Chiappetta was named to the 2024 Select Surgeons Bone & Joint list, and is the Clinical Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

Dr. Gatt is a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon with a specialty in sports medicine. He provides sports medicine services to athletes at Rutgers and Rider University and many area high schools. He is devoted to helping athletes get back their activities as quickly as possible. In 2020, Dr. Gatt received the Edward J. III Excellence in Medicine Award for his role in developing an implantable medical device called MeniscoFix™ that can help restore mobility to patients with severe meniscal knee injuries.

Dr. Harwood is a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon who specializes in joint replacement and arthritis surgery. He is a Clinical Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and was elected for inclusion in Best Doctors in America®. He is also the Section Chief of Orthopaedics at Saint Peter’s University Hospital. Dr. Harwood stays highly active with clinical trials that evaluate new treatments for degenerative knee diseases so he can help his patients experience relief and recovery from their conditions.

Dr. Leddy is a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon who specializes in hand and upper extremity surgery. He believes patient education is a vital component of care, and strives to ensure all his patients thoroughly understand their conditions along with proper pre and post-operative care techniques. Dr. Leddy aims to use the latest and most modern techniques available in hand surgery, and has achieved a subspecialty certification in surgery of the hand. He is a published author in peer-reviewed journals, is a reviewer for the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, and gives regional and national lectures on orthopaedics.

Dr. McDonnell is a board-certified orthopaedic spine surgeon who specializes in degenerative conditions and traumatic injuries of the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine. Disc herniation, stenosis, and spondylolisthesis are some of many conditions he treats. Dr. McDonnell is dedicated to listening to each of his patient’s needs so he can develop a highly individualized treatment plan that helps them achieve quick, full recoveries. He has authored numerous publications in the fields of spine surgery and orthopaedic trauma that are available in a variety of peer-reviewed articles.

Dr. Monica is a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon who specializes in surgery of the hand and upper extremity as well as open and arthroscopic shoulder surgery. He believes that open communication and collaboration between the surgeon and patient is essential to achieving a successful outcome. Dr. Monica continues to be an active contributor to peer-reviewed journals and he has presented his work at a number of regional, national, and international scientific meetings. Dr. Monica serves as a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and he was elected orthopaedic faculty educator of the year in 2013 and 2022. He has been named to the New Jersey Monthly Jersey Choice Top Doctors list and Best Doctors in America® for several years running.

Dr. Sagebien is a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon with a subspecialty in traumatology. He has won the Jersey Choice Top Doctors award multiple times including 2022, 2019 and 2023. He also earned the Select Surgeons Bone & Joint award in 2023 and 2024, is a member of the Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA), and is the director of Orthpaedic Trauma at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. He is affiliated with Saint Peter’s University Medical Center and RWJ University Hospital in Somerset. Dr. Sagebien has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals and has spoken at a large number of regional and national scientific meetings in his field.

Research for the Jersey Choice Top Doctors award is commissioned by New Jersey Monthly magazine and carried out by Ringwood, NJ research firm Leflein Associates. Leflein Associates asks every doctor licensed in New Jersey for five years which of their colleagues they would trust to treat their own families. Doctors with the most responses receive the award.

Join us in congratulating our surgeons on achieving orthopaedic excellence! If you have an orthopaedic injury or condition, request an appointment with our team of experts.