About Dr. Lenke

Dr. Lenke in his office at The Daniel and Jane Och Spine Hospital, opened in the summer of 2015.

Lawrence G. Lenke, MD: Titles & Locations

  • Professor of Orthopedic Surgery (in Neurological Surgery) with Tenure
  • Chief of Spinal Deformity Surgery
  • Columbia University Irving Medical Center
  • Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
  • Co-Director of Och Spine
  • Surgeon-in-Chief at the Och Spine Hospital at New York-Presbyterian/Allen Hospital

Dr. Lenke's world-renowned practice is devoted exclusively to spinal deformity surgery with an emphasis on complex reconstructive surgery in both children and adults. In the late 1990s, he developed a classification method for Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS), later named the Lenke Classification System. This is still the most widely referenced Scoliosis classification system world-wide.

Profile Video

Educational Background

Dr. Lawrence Lenke graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Notre Dame. He attended medical school at Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago, graduating with AOA honors. He completed his Internship, Residency and Pediatric & Adult Spine Deformity Fellowship Surgery training in the Orthopaedic Surgery Department at Washington University-St. Louis Medical Center. Dr. Lenke remained at Washington University for 24 years, at first as an attending spinal surgeon, then rising from the ranks of Assistant Professor to the Jerome J. Gilden Distinguished Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery in less than 10 years.

RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Dr. Lenke is world-renowned for the surgical treatment of pediatric and adult patients with various forms of spinal anomalies, with expertise in the most complex deformities. Thus, he is a leading authority on such spinal deformities as scoliosis, kyphosis, flatback syndrome, high-grade spondylolisthesis, and major coronal and sagittal malalignment. His recent accomplishments also include:

  • 2023 | Super Doctors | New York Super Doctors 2023. May 14, 2023 edition of The New York Times Magazine
  • 2023 | Castle Connolly Top Doctors | New York
  • 2022 | Castle Connolly Top Doctors | New York
  • 2022 | Harrington Guest Lecture “Optimizing Safety in Pediatric and Adult Spinal Deformity Surgery” | Annual Meeting of The Scoliosis Research Society, Stockholm Sweden, September 15th, 2022
  • 2022 | Scoliosis Research Society Walter P. Blount Humanitarian Award | Presented at the 57th Annual Meeting
    Stockholm Sweden, September 14, 2022
  • 2022 | Super Doctors | New York Super Doctors 2022. January 26, 2022 edition of The New York Times Magazine

See More Honors & Awards

Dr. Lenke & The Spine Hospital Honored

The Spine Hospital Honored at New York-Presbyterian Annual Gala

CURRENT ACADEMIC INTERESTS

Dr. Lenke’s goal has always been to be the top academic spinal deformity surgeon in the world. This internal drive is based on the connection between high-level spinal deformity research and optimizing patient care for those requiring surgery. He is principal investigator of a landmark international research study, “Evaluation of Neurologic Complications Associated with Surgical Correction of Adult Spinal Deformity (Scoli-RISK-1): A Prospective, Observational, Multi-center Study” in collaboration with AOSpine International and the Scoliosis Research Society, which won the Russell A. Hibbs Clinical Award for Best Clinical Paper at the 48th Annual Scoliosis Research Society Meeting in 2013.

Dr. Lenke’s prolific academic career includes publishing over 675 peer-reviewed manuscripts, editing five textbooks on spinal surgery, chairing over 125 spinal surgery meetings and having been an invited Visiting Professor domestically and internationally more than 100 times. His current H-Index is 123, which is the highest of any surgeon at Columbia University.

He has edited several textbooks on spinal deformity surgery, and serves as editor for such notable medical journals as:

  • Spine
  • The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery
  • The Spine Journal
  • The Journal of Spinal Disorders & Techniques and
  • The Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics

He proudly served as president of the Scoliosis Research Society (SRS) in 2010–2011, chaired a Task Force that led to the start of Spine Deformity, the official Journal of the SRS and serves as one of the Deputy Editors. Dr. Lenke has been listed in America's Top Doctors for the past 10 years and Best Doctors in America the past 15 years, consecutively. Dr. Lenke was honored with the North American Spine Society’s 2013 Leon Wiltse Award for excellence in leadership and/or clinical research in spine care. As a reflection of his preeminent surgical skills, he has hosted over 700 spinal surgeons from around the globe to observe his surgeries in the past 25 years and has proudly trained over 115 spinal surgery fellows both from Orthopedic and Neurosurgical residency programs.

While president of the Scoliosis Research Society, he chaired a task force that led to the development of a new journal, Spine Deformity, which debuted in January 2013 as the official journal of the SRS. Dr. Lenke serves as one of the inaugural deputy editors of this new journal. Based on his past academic and clinical achievements, Dr. Lenke offers the latest and safest techniques, giving extra attention to neurologic issues, for surgical correction of even the most severe spinal deformities.

  • View 2023 publication: Corrective Osteotomies for Rigid Spinal Deformities, featuring:
    • The rational, decision-making, meticulous planning, surgical strategies, and outcomes presented for each type of spinal deformity reflect the authors' extensive clinical and surgical experience
    • Step-by-step methodology for treating rigid spinal deformities, including anterior, posterior, and combined approaches
    • Anesthesiological aspects of spine correction in different stages of surgery and the importance of spinal neuromonitoring
    • Reader-friendly algorithms, full color photographs, and radiographic images enhance the understanding of underlying pathologies and treatment strategies
  • View article in Becker’s Spine Review: How to Move the Field Forward, with Dr. Lawrence Lenke >

 

 

Dr. Lenke alongside with founder, Dr. Anthony Rinella, believe it is important for children whose family live in countries that do not have the technology or appropriate training to perform the complex surgeries these children desperately need to live a happy and healthy life, thus; they donate their time through Global Spine Outreach, transforming the lives of patients with complex spinal deformities around the world and helping medical teams learn advanced spinal techniques.
bio-GSOdrs

Dr. Lenke alongside with founder, Dr. Anthony Rinella, donate their time through Global Spine Outreach.