Origin Story
I grew up in southeast Denver and went to Cherry Creek High School, not far from where our office sits today. I played rugby at CU Boulder while I figured out I wanted to spend my life fixing the injuries I kept seeing and experiencing on the field. That path took me to Tulane for medical school and residency, where I served as Chief Resident, and eventually back to Colorado for a sports medicine fellowship at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Center.
During that fellowship, I worked as a team physician for the Colorado Avalanche, the CU Buffaloes, the DU Pioneers, and a handful of local high school programs around Denver and Boulder. I treated elite athletes who needed to be back on the ice or the field, and I treated weekend warriors who just wanted to play with their kids without their knee giving out. I learned the same thing from both: an injury doesn't feel small just because you're not a professional athlete. It's still your life on hold.
After my medical training, I came back to Denver to take care of the community I grew up in. I spent years practicing the traditional way: full schedule, ten-to-fifteen-minute visits, insurance approvals standing between a diagnosis and a plan. My patients kept telling me the same thing, in almost the same words: “You didn't rush me. You explained everything. I felt like your only patient.” I heard it so often I started to wonder why that should be rare enough to comment on.
Orchard Orthopedics is what happened when we stopped wondering and started building the practice my patients kept describing, on purpose, for everyone.
Dr. Thon is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon with specialty fellowship training in sports medicine and shoulder surgery at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Center. He was a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, a recipient of the AOSSM Herodicus Society Award, and received the Louisiana Orthopaedic Association Top Research award. He previously served as team physician for the Colorado Avalanche (NHL), the University of Colorado Buffaloes (Go Buffs!), and the DU Pioneers (Go Pios!).
"My mission is simple: give every patient the time, honesty, and access they'd expect if they were my only patient that day, because for that hour, they are."
Core Values
Time, actually spent.
Not scheduled, not promised, actually spent. Every visit runs as long as it needs to.
Honesty over volume.
I'll tell you when you don't need surgery as readily as when you do. My decisions are shaped by your care, not by a quota.
Direct access.
When you schedule surgery with us, you reach me, not a call center. You see me, not whoever's available.*
Care built for your life, not your injury.
Whether you're trying to get back on the mountain, back on the field, or just back to normal, the plan starts with what you want your life to look like.
Team Physician Experience
- Colorado Avalanche (NHL)
- CU Buffaloes
- DU Pioneers
Credentials
- Board-certified orthopedic surgeon
- Fellowship-trained in Orthopaedic Sports Medicine, University of Colorado
- Former team physician, Colorado Avalanche (NHL), CU Buffaloes, DU Pioneers
- Chief Resident, Tulane University Orthopaedic Surgery
- Published research with multiple peer-reviewed articles and book chapters in shoulder and sports medicine
More About
Dr. Stephen Thon
Practice Emphasis
- Sports Medicine
- Arthroscopy
- Rotator Cuff Surgery
- Shoulder Instability Surgery
- Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Reconstructions (ACL Tears)
- Shoulder Replacement
- Cartilage Restoration / Joint Preservation
Experience
- Fellowship
Orthopedic Sports Medicine Fellowship — University of Colorado Sports Medicine Fellowship (08/ 2019–07/ 2020) - Residency
Tulane University Orthopedic Surgery Residency, New Orleans, LA, MD (07/ 2014–06/ 2019)
Education
- Fellowship
Orthopedic Sports Medicine Fellowship — University of Colorado Sports Medicine Fellowship (08/ 2019–07/ 2020) - Residency
Tulane University Orthopedic Surgery Residency, New Orleans, LA, MD (07/ 2014–06/ 2019)
Honors & Awards
- Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society — 2019
- Herodicus Society, AOSSM Annual Meeting — July 2018, San Diego, CA
- Louisiana Orthopaedic Association Best Resident Paper 2018
- Tulane Orthopaedic Research Award — 2018
- AANA Resident Scholarship — 2017
- Tulane Orthopedics Class Case Log Award — 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
Publications
- Belk JW, Thon SG, Hart J, McCarty EC, McCarty EC. Subpectoral versus suprapectoral biceps tenodesis yields similar clinical outcomes: a systematic review. Journal of ISAKOS : joint disorders & orthopaedic sports medicine 10.1136/jisakos-2020-000543
PMID: 34016736 - Thon SG, Branche K, Houck DA, Didinger T, Vidal AF, Frank RM, Bravman JT. “Effectiveness of Latarjet for Anterior Shoulder Instability in Patients with Seizure Disorder.” JSES Int. 2021;5(2):171-174.
PMID: 33681833 - Belk JW, Jones SD, Thon SG, Frank RM. “Trends in the treatment of biceps pathology: an analysis of the american board of orthopaedic surgery database.” Orthop J Sports Med. 020;8(12):2325967120969414.
PMID: 33447620 - Frank RM, Thon SG, Tokish JM, et al. “Management of shoulder instability in 2020: what, when, and how.” Instr Course Lect. 2021;70:3-22.
PMID: 33438901 - Belk JW, McCarty EC, Houck DA, Dragoo JL, Savoie FH, Thon SG. Tranexamic acid use in knee and shoulder arthroscopy leads to improved outcomes and fewer hemarthrosis-related complications: a systematic review of level I and II studies. Arthroscopy. Published online December 2, 2020.
PMID: 33278534 - Salem HS, Park DH, Thon SG, et al. Return to golf after shoulder arthroplasty: a systematic review. Am J Sports Med. Published online July 17, 2020:363546520923070. PMID: 32678680
- Belk JW, Kraeutler MJ, Thon SG, Littlefield CP, Smith JH, Mccarty EC. “Augmentation of Meniscal Repair With Platelet-Rich Plasma: A Systematic Review of Comparative Studies.” Orthop J Sports Med. 2020;8(6):2325967120926145.
PMID: 32596408 - Thon SG, Belk JW, Bravman JT, McCarty EC, Savoie FH 3rd. Regeneten bio-inductive collagen scaffold for rotator cuff tears: indications, technique, clinical outcomes, and review of current literature. Ann Joint 2020;5:41. DOI: 10.21037/aoj.2020.03.04
- Jones SD, Thon SG, Frank RM. “Shoulder and elbow education during COVID19-perspectives from the resident, fellow, and attending level.” Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery. 2020;
PMID: 32446761 - Bohlen HL, Schwartz ZE, Wu VJ, Thon SG, et al. “Platelet-Rich Plasma Is an Equal Alternative to Surgery in the Treatment of Type 1 Medial Epicondylitis.” Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine. 2020;8(3):2325967120908952.
PMID: 32232070 - Thon SG, Seidl AJ, Bravman JT, McCarty EC, Savoie FH, Frank RM. “Advances and Update on Reverse Total Shoulder Arthroplasty.” Current Reviews Musculoskeletal Medicine. 2020;13(1):11-19.
PMID: 31884675 - Wu VJ, Thon SG, Finley Z, et al. “Double-Row Repair for Recalcitrant Medial Epicondylitis.” Orthopedic Journal of Sports Medicine. 2019;7(12):2325967119885608. PMID: 31903395
- Thon SG, O'Malley L, O'Brien MJ, Savoie FH. “Evaluation of Healing Rates and Safety With a Bioinductive Collagen Patch for Large and Massive Rotator Cuff Tears: 2-Year Safety and Clinical Outcomes.” American Journal of Sports Medicine. 2019:363546519850795.
PMID: 31150274
*Herodicus Award, LOA Top Resident Paper Award* - Thon SG, Savoie FH. “Rotator Cuff Repair: Patch the Shoulder.” Arthroscopy. 2019;35(4):1014-1015.
PMID: 30954094 - Bohlen HL, Gargiulo DJ, Thon SG. “Occlusion Outside the Norm: A Unique Case of the Pulseless, Well-Perfused Hand Following Closed Humeral Shaft Fracture.” Orthopedics. 2019;42(2):e279-e281.
PMID: 30540878 - Bohlen HL, Thon SG, Savoie FH. “Management of the Painful Throwing Shoulder.” International Congress for Joint Reconstruction-Online. 2018; Sept.
Book Chapters
- Thon, Stephen G; Williams, Garrett H; Savoie III, Felix H. “Debridement and Releases to Set Up for Revision Success”. The Failed Rotator Cuff: Repair, Revision, Augments, Replacement: ISAKOS consensus book. Savoie FH, Calvo E, Mazzocca AD. Cham, Switzerland: Springer Nature, 2021. Print.
- Williams, Garrett H; Thon, Stephen G; Savoie III, Felix H. “Repair and Augmentation: Overview”. The Failed Rotator Cuff: Repair, Revision, Augments, Replacement: ISAKOS consensus book. Savoie FH, Calvo E, Mazzocca AD. Cham, Switzerland: Springer Nature, 2021. Print.
- Belk, John W; McCarty Jr, Eric C.; Thon, Stephen G; McCarty, Eric C. “Rotator Cuff Anatomy and Blood Supply”. The Failed Rotator Cuff: Repair, Revision, Augments, Replacement: ISAKOS consensus book. Savoie FH, Calvo E, Mazzocca AD. Cham, Switzerland: Springer Nature, 2021. Print.
- Thon, Stephen G; Frank, Rachel. “Complete Distal Biceps Ruptures”. The Management of Biceps Pathology: A Clinical Guide from the Shoulder to the Elbow. 1st Edition. Romeo AA, Erickson BJ, Griffin JW. Cham, Switzerland: Springer Nature, 2021. Print.
- Thon, Stephen G; Mulcahey, Mary K; Savoie, Felix H. “THE ELBOW”. Making the Diagnosis in Orthopaedics: A Multimedia Guide. 1st Edition. Miller MD, Dempsey IJ. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer, February 2019. Print.
- Thon, Stephen G; O’Brien, Michael J; Savoie, Felix H. “Arthroscopic HAGL and RHAGL Repair”. An Atlas of Advanced Shoulder Arthroscopy. 2nd Edition. Imhoff AB, Ticker JB, Mazzocca A, Voss A. Boca Raton: CRC Press, December 2017. Print.
Dr. Thon In The News
Why Patients Choose Me
Patients tell me the same three things, over and over: I don't rush them, I explain everything until it actually makes sense. And they leave feeling like they mattered, not like they were processed. I didn't set out to build a practice around those three sentences, but once I heard them enough times, I realized they were the whole point.
In their own words:
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"Dr. Thon explained everything very well. He answered my questions and listened to my concerns. I did not feel rushed."
– Jim, March 2025 –
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"He genuinely wanted the very best outcome for me and didn't push surgery as the only option."
– Lauren, July 2021 –
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"[Dr. Thon] made an honest review of my condition, and presented several options... assisted me to make the most appropriate decision."
– Marc, February 2025 –
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"He spent quite a bit of time with me and asked questions to diagnose my condition. He thoroughly explained everything so that when I left I felt completely informed."
– Nancy, November 2022 –
Personal Note
When I'm not in clinic, I'm usually outside with my family and our two dogs, taking full advantage of every season Colorado throws at us: hiking in the summer, skiing in the winter. I root for most every Colorado team, Broncos, Avalanche, Nuggets, CU Buffs, DU Pioneers, plus an adopted loyalty to the New Orleans Saints from my Tulane years. If you're active, outdoorsy, or just trying to keep up with your own kids, I probably understand exactly what you're trying to get back to.
