AARON KARLEN, MD, FAAOS
Dr. Karlen specializes in the following:
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
- Endoscopic Carpal Tunnel Surgery
- Trigger Finger
- Thumb and Finger Arthritis
- Hand, Wrist, and Elbow Tendon Injuries
- Hand Fractures
- Wrist Fractures
- - Frances W.Dr Karlen saved the use of my wrist and hand. I hate to think where I'd be without him!!!! He's an amazing man as well. - Frances W. - 8/16/2023
- - Gene K.Very down to earth, explained well, did not consider over treatment and was on time. [Dr. Karlen]
- Gene K. - 7/31/2023 - - SandyGreat experience with Dr. Karlen and his assistants, Friendly, professional and very helpful!
- Sandy - 7/25/2023 - - Shelly G.Great Doctor he is absolutely amazing [Dr. Karlen]
- Shelly G. - 7/24/2023 - - Daniel T.Doctors and staff strive to meet the needs of all their patients! We've been very happy with Dr Aaron Karlen and the physical therapists there! - Daniel T. - 7/20/2023
Growing up in Seattle and Hawaii, Dr. Karlen attended high school in Hawaii and college at the University of Washington, with a year in Scotland where he graduated with a BA and BS.
He then returned to Hawaii for law school and graduated with his JD, summa cum laude. From there he continued on to medical school in Hawaii and graduated with his MD and membership in the Alpha Omega Alpha honor society - where he received honors for every grade and was tied with two other classmates for best marks possible.
Dr. Karlen completed his orthopedic surgery residency at the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities and then his plastics and orthopedic surgery hand fellowship at Baylor in Houston.
Dr. Karlen's wife is from Keizer and is an alumni of McNary High School and Linfield University. She is an emergency medicine physician at Salem Hospital. Together, Dr. Karlen and his wife have two children, a Lab Retriever named Kai, and two rescue cats (Mochi and Koa).
Dr. Karlen's hobbies include hiking, camping, and sports (especially soccer and baseball).
Education
- Undergraduate: University of Washington
- Graduate: University of Hawaii at Manoa
- Medical School: University of Hawaii at Manoa, John A. Burns School of Medicine
Medical Education
- Residency: University of Minnesota
- Fellowship: Baylor College of Medicine Integrated Plastic/Orthopaedic Hand Surgery
Board Certification
- American Board of Orthopedic Surgery
- Surgery of the Hand Subspecialty
Professional Society Memberships
- American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
- American Society for Surgery of the Hand
Honors and Awards
- 2012 - Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society
- 2008 - Salutatorian of Law School Class
- 2007 - Hiroaki Kono Foundation Scholarship for Academic Excellence
Publications
- Karlen AI, Clark JJ, Wong LL: Two cases of partial hepatectomy for malignant melanoma. Hawaii J Med Public Health; 2012 Apr;71(4):92-6
- Karlen AI, Solberg EJ, Quanbeck DS, Van Heest AE: Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Rotations and Correlation with Orthopaedic In-Training Examination Performance. J Surg Educ; 2018 Feb; epub ahead of print.