We apply divergence-type theory (DTT) dissipative hydrodynamics to study the $2+1$ space-time evolution of the fireball created in Au$+$Au relativistic heavy-ion collisions at $\sqrt{{s}_{\mathit{NN}}}=200$ GeV. DTTs are exact hydrodynamic theories that do not rely on velocity gradient expansions and therefore go beyond second-order theories. We numerically solve the equations of motion of the DTT for Glauber initial conditions and compare the results with those of second-order theory based on conformal invariance (Baier-Romatschke-Son-Starinets model) and with data. We find that the charged-hadron minimum-bias elliptic flow reaches its maximum value at lower ${p}_{T}$ in the DTT, and that the DTT allows for a value of $\ensuremath{\eta}/s$ slightly larger than that of the BRSS. Our results show that the differences between viscous hydrodynamic formalisms are a significant source of uncertainty in the precise extraction of $\ensuremath{\eta}/s$ from experiments.