Aruna M. Seneviratne, MD
Dr. Seneviratne is a fellowship-trained orthopedic surgery specialist who treats disorders of the shoulder, knee and elbow, along with all sports injuries. He uses advanced open and arthroscopic techniques to restore damaged joints, ligaments and bones.
He has authored several peer-reviewed scientific articles and book chapters, and his academic work has been presented nationally and internationally at specialty meetings.
Born in Sri Lanka, Dr. Seneviratne grew up in Southern California. He took his undergraduate degree at the University of California and his medical degree at New York Medical College. During his orthopedic residency at the Hospital for Special Surgery he received the Lewis Clark Wagner Award for Excellence in Orthopedic Research. His sports medicine fellowship was at Lenox Hill Hospital, where he helped care for athletes from the New York Jets, the New York Islanders and Hofstra University. He is now part of the team caring for athletes of the US Open Tennis Championship.
He took additional training in complex shoulder problems and articular cartilage injuries through a travelling fellowship to Harvard University, Rush University and the San Antonio Orthopedic Center.
Before his faculty appointment as Associate Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital and Medical School, Dr. Seneviratne was a core member of the Lenox Hill Hospital orthopedic residency programme and sports medicine fellowship.
A technique he developed
Through clinical research Dr. Seneviratne has pioneered several procedures of the shoulder and knee. One is the endoscopic assisted subpectoral biceps tenodesis.
This operation attaches the long head of the biceps tendon to the humerus beneath the pectoralis tendon. It used to be done open, through a large incision. The results were excellent but the morbidity meant a long recovery. Through careful dissection studies, Dr. Seneviratne developed a way to perform the same operation through a 7mm incision using an endoscope. The result is a low-morbidity, rapid-recovery procedure for problems of the biceps tendon and labrum.
Teaching and outreach
Dr. Seneviratne is committed to educating the next generation of orthopedic surgeons. As a faculty member of the Mount Sinai orthopedic residency programme he has trained more than 100 residents and sports medicine fellows over the span of his career.
He also teaches surgeons in his native Sri Lanka, running arthroscopic shoulder surgery workshops and performing pro bono surgery for patients in need there.
Dr. Seneviratne and his wife have two children and live in New York, where they are actively involved in charitable causes. He enjoys travel, hiking and motorsport. Many of his patients know him simply as "Doctor Aruna".
Credentials
Board certification
Orthopedic Surgery, American Board of Orthopedic Surgery, 2007, recertified through 2028.
Sports Medicine subspecialty certification, 2008, recertified through 2028.
Team coverage
Team physician, US Open Tennis Grand Slam Championship.
Education
BS, University of California, Riverside, 1990.
MD, New York Medical College, 1995.
Residency
Orthopedic Surgery, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, 1999 to 2003.
Fellowships
James A. Nicholas Fellowship in Sports Medicine, Lenox Hill Hospital, 2003 to 2004.
Clinical Research Assistant, Hospital for Special Surgery, Department of Sports Medicine, 1998 to 1999.
Research Fellow, Hospital for Special Surgery, Laboratory for Soft Tissue Research, 1997 to 1998.
Affiliations
- American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM)
- Arthroscopy Association of North America (AANA)
- Fellow, American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS)
- New York State Troopers PBA Surgeon
Honors and awards
Lewis Clarke-Wagner Award for Outstanding Resident's Paper, Hospital for Special Surgery, 2003.
New York Magazine Top Doctor in Sports Medicine, 2013 to 2025.
Book with Dr. Seneviratne
Manhattan and Brooklyn, or a remote case review from anywhere.