Orthopaedics Milestones at Mount Sinai

1910 – The Orthopaedic department is organized in the Outpatient Department (OPD); 2,015 consults first year; Philip W. Nathan, MD is Chief

1911 - Orthopedic in-patient service established; OPD service expands; Philip W. Nathan, MD still chief of all

1937 – The first edition of Edgar Bick’s Source Book of Orthopaedics is published. This is a classic in the field and went through several editions.

1938 - The first resident, Samuel Rubert, MD graduates from a one year residency

1939 - Robert K. Lippmann, MD and Seth Selig, MD appointed Orthopedists to the Hospital; they serve together until Selig's death in 1941. Lippmann continued as Director until late 1960

1946 - A pediatric orthopedic clinic established

1949 – A separate ward is created for pediatric orthopedic cases

1949 - Residencies in Surgery and surgical subspecialties are altered to conform to changes in residency requirements by Boards. The residency in Orthopaedics is 3 years

1960 – Robert S. Siffert, MD is appointed Director of the Department; when Icahn School of Medicine is created he serves as the first Professor and Chairman of Orthopaedics

1961 – Orthopaedics and the Rehabilitation Medicine Department establish a special weekly Amputee Rehabilitation Clinic

1966 – The Robert K. Lippmann Orthopaedic Research Laboratory is dedicated

1975 – A sports medicine program is established

1983 – The Robert K. Lippmann Chair in Orthopaedics is established

1986 – Michael Lewis is appointed the first full-time chairman of the Department

1989 - A gift from Mr. and Mrs. Peter May endows the Leni and Peter W. May Dept. of Orthopaedics; it is dedicated on June 7, 1990

2008 – The National Football League (NFL) and NFL Players' Assn. announce a Joint Replacement Benefit Plan and pick the MS Orthopaedics Dept. as one of two New York City hospitals & 14 nationwide to do joint replacement surgery

2009 – Mount Sinai is one of five centers around the country designated by the NFL for the surgical and non-surgical treatment of spine issues

2010 - The Mount Sinai Joint Replacement Center debuts. The site has an educational component: the Samuel and Ethel LeFrak Center for Patient Education, which sports HDTV monitors offering video presentations on joint replacement and other surgical information, and computers with information on knee and hip education, safety and rehabilitation.

2012 - An inpatient unit for spine surgery patients called the Spine Inpatient Center opens on GP 8 Center; it is a joint effort of the Orthopaedics and Neurosurgery Departments