University Orthopaedic Associates (UOA) is excited 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
• Stephen Kayiaros, MD
• Timothy P. Leddy, MD
• Matthew McDonnell, MD
• James T. Monica, MD
• Carlos A. Sagebien, MD

Gino Chiappetta, MD, 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.

Charles J. Gatt, Jr., MD, 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. Dr. Gatt is a recipient of 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.

David A. Harwood, MD, 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 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.

Stephen Kayiaros, MD, is a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon who specializes in joint replacement surgery. He also holds a subspecialty certification in Adult Reconstruction and Joint Replacement and Orthopaedic Trauma. He is the Director of Total Joint Replacement Surgery at the University Center for Ambulatory Surgery (UCAS) and the Medical Director for the Joint Center at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset. Dr. Kayiaros performs over 600 joint replacement surgeries per year and is considered a pioneer in Anterior Approach Total Hip Replacement, a minimally invasive technique. 

Timothy P. Leddy, MD is a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon who specializes in hand and upper extremity surgery. He has achieved a subspecialty certification in surgery of the hand. Dr. Leddy 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.

Matthew McDonnell, MD is a board-certified orthopaedic spine surgeon who specializes in the treatment of degenerative conditions and traumatic injuries of the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine. Dr. McDonnell emphasizes minimally invasive surgery and motion-preserving techniques. He treats complex conditions such as disc herniation, stenosis, and spondylolisthesis, utilizing advanced technology. He has authored numerous publications in the fields of spine surgery and orthopaedic trauma, published in a variety of peer-reviewed journals.

James T. Monica, MD 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 serves as a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and was elected orthopaedic faculty educator of the year multiple times. He has been named to the New Jersey Monthly Jersey Choice Top Doctors list and Best Doctors in America® for several years running.

Carlos A. Sagebien, MD is a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon with a subspecialty in traumatology. He has won the Jersey Choice Top Doctors award multiple times, including 2019, 2022 and 2023. He is a member of the Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA) and is the director of Orthopaedic Trauma at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.

About the Award

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.