7 Quick Questions With Hand Surgeon Brent DeGeorge, MD

June 22, 2026

Brent DeGeorge, MD, is a UVA Health hand and upper extremity surgeon who sees patients with complex hand, wrist, and upper extremity conditions. His expertise includes brachial plexus and peripheral nerve surgery, reconstruction after trauma, microsurgery, and arthroscopy.

Meet a UVA Health Hand Surgeon

Get to know more about DeGeorge and his clinical approach in these 7 quick questions.

1. What has most inspired and shaped your approach to patient care?

I’ve learned a lot from my patients. There's not one answer that fits all in what we do. We see a lot of patients who've had amputations, or people who have limbs that don't work because of nerve problems or paralysis.

When you give that patient something that maybe to another person might not seem meaningful, it can change the way they interact with the world. It can give them new independence and that is super-rewarding. If you see that happen once, you want to recreate that for other people.

2. What's your favorite part of your job?

I love the operating room. We have an awesome group of people at UVA. Our division of hand surgery has seven phenomenal hand surgeons that are absolutely a wealth of information and knowledge. Often we get to operate together in teams, or we're in our orthopedic clinic at Ivy Road or in our outpatient surgery center. Being able to workshop tough problems with my partners to give our patients the best care and be with friends and colleagues makes me happy to come to work every day.

3. What’s your biggest fear as a patient?

Having a problem that somebody can't solve would be my biggest fear.

4. What do you do for stress relief?

I have 9,000 hobbies, and I'm always acquiring new ones. In 2025, I picked up pottery. I've got a couple new guitars. I'm always cooking or doing something new. Rock climbing. The list can go on and on, but I'm a collector of hobbies.

5. Dogs or cats?

Total dog camp. I am a cat owner, and they play a role. I have an awesome cat that patrols for mice and takes that as her job, and she does it well, but the dogs get all the love.

6. Last show you watched? Thumbs up or down?

Bon Appétit, Your Majesty. It’s in Korean and dubbed in the US and it's on Netflix. Total thumbs up.

7. What made you want to become a doctor?

I developed an interest in medicine after my brother was involved in a really bad motorcycle accident when we were kids. My family and I credit the plastic surgeons with getting him back to where he needed to be.