Ask-a-Doc:
Who is Dr. AJ Julka?

My name is AJ Julka. I’m a hand, wrist, and elbow surgeon. I joined JIS Orthopedics because they’re a world-class organization, and it was somewhere I could do hand, wrist, and elbow surgery at the highest level. 

I started at Ohio State University Medical School. I’m originally a Cleveland native. Iwent to the University of Michigan for orthopedic surgery, and then did an additional year of specialized training in hand, wrist and elbow surgery at the Cleveland Clinic. 

I live right here in Columbus in Upper Arlington. My wife is a Columbus native as well, so we’re right back at home. 

The first class that I ever did was human anatomy. And the most fascinating part of human anatomy to me was the hand. The hand, wrist and elbow really play into each other. For most patients that have hand problems, there’s some relation to the elbows or other areas as well. So I just became drawn to that for the anatomy. 

As hand, wrist, and elbow surgeons, we do quite a bit of joint replacements as well. We treat joints with a whole host of things, including joint replacements, joint debridement—like arthroscopy—as well as other joint reconstructive procedures. So, it really fits into orthopedics quite well. 

JIS Orthopedics has been world-class, internationally known for joint replacements for a long time because they’ve been a small group—they’ve been very slow to hire new surgeons. They’ve only wanted the best here. We get to have hand, wrist, and elbow surgeons who can really control the whole division.

If you would like to know more about Dr. Julka or any other physician on our team, be sure to contact us at JIS Orthopedics. Our specialists in New Albany and St. Clairsville, Ohio look forward to providing you with quality care. Schedule a visit with us today!