The orthopedic specialty has many influential figures that surgeons look up to. Two surgeons told Becker's Spine Review the leaders they would want to spend time with.
Ask Orthopedic Surgeons is a weekly series of questions posed to surgeons around the country about clinical, business and policy issues affecting orthopedic care. We invite all orthopedic surgeon and specialist responses.
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Please send responses to Carly Behm at cbehm@beckershealthcare.com by 5 p.m. CST Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022.
Editor's note: Responses were edited for style and clarity.
Question: If you could have dinner with one orthopedic leader, who would it be?
Claude Moorman III, MD. Atrium Health Musculoskeletal Institute (Charlotte, N.C.): I would relish the chance to dine with George Bennett, MD, of Baltimore, the father of American sports medicine! Having started my academic career in Baltimore at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (where Dr. Bennett was an alum) and working closely with colleagues at Johns Hopkins, Dr. Bennett's legend lives on to illuminate the way for students, residents, fellows and colleagues.
The Bennett Institute was started at Children's Hospital and served as the centerpiece of Baltimore sports medicine for many years. Bennett treated Joe Dimaggio, Jack Dempsey and Jim Thorpe along with many of the great athletes of the day with great appreciation for their privacy and outstanding care. One notable "lesion" that is still referred to as the "Bennett Lesion" is calcification around the posterior labrum.
Bennett was a great mentor to a whole generation of physicians following their interest and his example into the field of orthopedic sports medicine. The extensive list of disciples included Lenox Baker, MD, who became the longtime team physician and chair at Duke University in Durham, N.C. Dr. Baker started the Duke legacy that included Frank Bassett III, MD; John Feagin, MD; and William Garrett, MD, PhD, who all became American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine presidents and all members of the Sports Medicine Hall of Fame!
I would truly love to hear Dr. Bennett describe in his own terms what it takes to be a great team physician. Certainly he was one of the greatest examples of this for all of us to emulate.
Bruce Gomberg, MD. Northern Light Health (Falmouth, Maine): Ira Kirschenbaum, MD, is a thought leader and innovator. He is the only person I know who continues to create in different orthopedic arenas. He'd pick Morton's Steakhouse to meet, and I'd happily accept.