A conversation with Baron S. Lonner, MD

In this issue, Spine Surgery Today poses five questions to Baron S. Lonner, MD. Since 1999, Dr. Lonner has been the Director of Scoliosis and Spine Associates in New York City. Baron S. Lonner, MD, is a Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine, Chief of the Division of Spine Surgery in the Department of Orthopedics at Mount Sinai Beth Israel and Director of the Spine Institute of New York. Dr. Lonner is also attending surgeon at both Mount Sinai Roosevelt and The Mount Sinai Hospital.

Baron Lonner

Dr. Lonner attended Boston University School of Medicine in Boston, where he completed the accelerated 6-year medical program. During medical school he was honored for his work on congenital scoliosis. Since then, scoliosis remained as a focus of Dr. Lonner’s continued training at such institutions as The Cornell University Medical Center and Hospital for Special Surgery, as well as during his residency at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center.

In 1998, Dr. Lonner received the Attending of the Year Award for outstanding patient care and teaching at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in the orthopaedic residency program.

Dr. Lonner specializes in the surgical treatment of pediatric and adult patients with scoliosis, kyphosis and other spinal deformities through reconstructive surgery. Moreover, he is one of the most experienced leaders throughout the world in minimally invasive surgery using spinal endoscopy for scoliosis and other spinal deformities.

In addition to his extensive experience with innovative surgery, Dr. Lonner has been recognized for his unprecedented patient care and community service. For several years, he has traveled around the world as a surgeon volunteer to treat patients with spinal disorders, as well as to provide training for doctors and other medical personnel in countries in need of assistance, particularly in Ghana.

Nonoperative treatment is also an integral part of Dr. Lonner’s practice. In collaboration with Vasantha Murthy, MD, whose expertise lies in nonoperative treatment and bracing, he provides patient care for any magnitude of spinal deformity or degenerative conditions of the spine.

Spine Surgery Today: What was the defining moment that led you to your field?

Baron S. Lonner, MD: I have always been interested in the performance of the human body, its form and function, which perhaps stems from my passion for participation in sports. This, for sure, is what led me to be interested in pursuing a career in orthopedic surgery. When I was a medical student at Boston University in my second year, I realized it would be important for me to gain knowledge and experience in the field of orthopedic surgery through research as a means of confirming my genuine interest in this area. I sent a letter to a number of chairman of orthopedic surgery residency training programs to find an opportunity to perform meaningful research and was privileged to receive a response from John Hall, MD, of Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard’s pediatric hospital. Dr. Hall was one of the driving forces in modern scoliosis surgery. I performed research on the surgical treatment of congenital scoliosis with Dr. Hall and Michael Millis, MD, work that I later presented at the Scoliosis Research Society. This 2-year period of time, in which I performed research and attended conferences while completing my medical school studies, cemented my fascination with the spine and in particular the care of the patient with scoliosis. This was reinforced by extensive experience in the treatment of spinal deformities that I had under Stanley Hoppenfeld, MD, during my residency.

Spine Surgery Today: What area of research in spine surgery most interests you right now? Why?

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Lonner: I am most interested in research on patient-based outcomes in spinal deformity surgery. The focus on patient-reported outcomes over the past decade or more has resonated with me. My team and I have validated two outcomes questionnaires that are directed towards patients with scoliosis. One is the Body Image Disturbance Questionnaire for Scoliosis, recently published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, which measures the psychosocial impact of scoliosis on the patient based on body image disturbance. The other questionnaire is the TAASQ, the Truncal Anterior Asymmetry Scoliosis Questionnaire, which measures the impact of the frontal deformity that the patient sees in the mirror on psychosocial functioning. We intend to study these outcome instruments along with body surface topographical measurements that we obtain using light rays directed at the patient. My group and I have been studying 10-year outcomes in patients who underwent scoliosis surgery, assessing radiographic parameters of motion segment degeneration as a surrogate for MRI evaluation, as well as outcomes following surgery for Scheuermann’s kyphosis.

Spine Surgery Today: What advice would you offer a medical school student today?

Lonner: My advice for medical students is to follow your passions when choosing a career path. Do not be driven solely by the financial implications of your choice although that inevitably does figure into one’s decision-making given the realities of student debt and other financial burdens. Most important to one’s fulfillment is to find a career in which you are excited about the conditions you treat, enjoy the interactions with patients and envision a future of innovation. Find time for research, as this brings to life your chosen specialty and allows you to ask and answer important clinical questions on behalf of your patients.

Spine Surgery Today: What do you enjoy doing to relax?

Lonner: Spending time with my two sons is the ultimate activity for me. I enjoy exercise and challenging myself physically and mentally. I have run two marathons and swim quite a bit. My longest swim was 6 miles off the shore of Coney Island in Brooklyn. That was a 4-hour swim. One of the most fun days of my life was participating in the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon a couple of years ago in San Francisco in which contestants jump off a ferry near Alcatraz Island, swim 1.5 miles in San Francisco Bay, bike 18 miles, and then run 8 miles up and down the hills of San Francisco.

Spine Surgery Today: What is up next for you?

Lonner: I have nearly 20 years under my belt in the practice of spine surgery. In the upcoming years my focus will be on studying the value equation, taking into account cost of care and the benefit to the patient, in the treatment of the spinal deformity patient and its implications to society. This entails studying outcomes, both early and long-term, mitigating complications, improving efficiencies and innovating better ways to manage patients in the future. I would like to continue my mission work abroad in which underserved patients in countries such as Ghana are treated but perhaps, more importantly, local surgeons are mentored so they can care for the patients in need in their countries. I have done 16 mission trips to various countries and intend on continuing this work. The Scoliosis Research Society is the preeminent society that fosters the optimal treatment of the patient with spinal deformity. I have recently joined the Board and intend on serving in this society throughout my career and hope to help contribute to international outreach and patient-centered care. Finally, I would like to continue to educate and train medical students, residents, and fellows and allied health care providers as I have done over the past 20 years.

For more information:

Baron S. Lonner, MD, can be reached at 820 2nd Ave., Suite 7A, New York, NY 10017; email: blonner@nyc.rr.com.

Disclosure: Lonner receives royalties from DePuy Spine, owns stock in Spine Search, Paradigm Spine, is a consultant to DePuy Spine, has speaking and/or teaching arrangements with DePuy Spine and K2M, is on the Board of Directors of Spine Search, is on the Scientific Advisory Board of DePuy Spine and receives grants from DePuy Spine, AOSpine, John and Marcella Fox Fund and OREF.