David Hovis, M.D.

Dr. David Hovis of ORTHOKnox in Knoxville and Athens, Tennessee, is a board certified orthopedic surgeon with a subspecialty certification in sports medicine. He has practiced Orthopaedic Surgery for over 20 years, and has a special ability to connect with patients, diagnose their problems, and return them to an active lifestyle.

Dr. Hovis specializes in shoulders and knees. He performs a high volume of shoulder and knee surgeries every year. As an expert in arthroscopic, minimally-invasive surgery, his clinical focus is on rotator cuff repairs, shoulder instabilities and labral tears, ACL reconstructions, and cartilage restoration procedures.

Dr. Hovis performs MAKOplasty® robotic partial and total knee replacements and has completed the highest volume of MAKO partial knee replacements of any doctor in the region.

After graduating Cum Laude from Duke University with a bachelor of science degree, Dr. Hovis earned his medical degree with honors from Vanderbilt University in Nashville. He then went to Dallas, where he completed a general surgery internship at Parkland Memorial Hospital and an orthopedic residency with honors at the University of Texas-Southwestern.

Dr. Hovis continued his professional training with a sports medicine fellowship at the prestigious Steadman-Hawkins Clinic in Vail, Colorado. While there, he served as an assistant team physician for the Denver Broncos football team.

He went on to complete a traveling fellowship in shoulder surgery at the University of Zurich in Switzerland, where he performed reverse total shoulder replacements years before they were available in the United States.

While serving as a team physician for the US Alpine Ski Team, Dr. Hovis worked closely with the Olympic Committee. His research is published in numerous peer-reviewed journals, including topics on sports medicine and treatments for knee and shoulder injuries.

Dr. Hovis is a member of numerous professional organizations, including the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, the Arthroscopy Association of North America, and the International Society of Arthroscopy, Knee Surgery, and Orthopaedic Sports Medicine. His local affiliations include the Tennessee Orthopaedic Association, the Tennessee Medical Association, and the Knoxville Academy of Medicine.