– By Dr. Roberto Balsameda
The Board of Directors and the Members of the Cuban Society of Orthopedics and Traumatology mourn the death on the night of December 27th, of the eminent orthopedic surgeon Dr. Lawrence Douglas Dorr, MD, in the city of Los Angeles, California.
It was in this city where he developed his professional activity and stood out as an organizer of arthritis and osteoarthritis surgery, treating incapacitating gait conditions.
Lawrence shared his experience with his care and teaching work in numerous developing countries throughout the world, including Cuba, as Founding Director of the Operation Walk project. In this way, he applied the surgical procedures for prosthetic arthroplasties of the hips and knees between 1997 and 2019 in about 500 Cuban patients unable to walk.
Professor Dorr, Larry – as the dear friend was and will be remembered – graduated from the University of Iowa School of Medicine in 1967, specializing as an orthopedic surgeon and in arthritis care at New York University in 1997.
Among his many honors and merits, those that represent not only his quality as a professional but his character and conduct in patient care stand out.
He was President of the American for Hip and Knee Surgery and elected Best Doctor in America in the years 1993, 1995, 2003, 2004, and 2013.
He also served as Chairman of the Board of Excellence in Medicine LLC.
In addition to being the founding president of the Operation Walk non-profit organization, he was also a professor and director of the University of Southern California Hospital in California; Honorary Member of numerous Orthopedic and Traumatology Associations in the World, including the Cuban one; and an outstanding writer and researcher, accumulating more than 200 works between books and scientific publications in specialty journals.
His special character was transferred to literature, publishing four books dedicated to doctor-patient relations.
As a sought-after speaker at scientific conferences and events, he filled multiple chapters of orthopedic teaching.
With deep feelings of affection and respect, we acknowledge and bid farewell to him, who knew how to earn a place in the annals of Cuban orthopedics.
– Cuban Society of Orthopedics and Traumatology
Havana, December 28, 2020
