Following in a family's footsteps is not uncommon for various young professionals. Spine surgeon Thomas Lawhorne, MD, is no different, according to The Brunswick News.
Dr. Lawhorne attributed his aspiration to pursue spine surgery to his father, a fellow surgeon. "I grew up in Georgia, near Columbus, and I got into medicine because my father was a surgeon, but he did vascular surgery," Dr. Lawshorne told The Brunswick News.
After earning his medical degree from Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Dr. Lawhorne completed his residency at New York City-based Hospital for Special Surgery. He went on to complete fellowship training at Chicago-based Rush University.
Throughout his training, Dr. Lawhorne gravitated toward minimally invasive surgery. "It really is the same surgery that everyone else does but with a very small incision, so it takes skill and bit of extra learning to be able to do it," the spine surgeon told The Brunswick News. "But it offers minimal downtime for the patients and helps people recover faster. It is really the next generation of spine surgery."
Dr. Lawhorne then joined Optim Orthopedics in Savannah, Ga. Through Optim, the spine surgeon was able to treat patients across the state and be close to his family.