Hospital for Special Surgery Honored for Sports Medicine Research

New York, NY—July 15, 2003

Hospital for Special Surgery’s (HSS) Warren R. Dunn, MD, Robert G. Marx, MD, MSc, FRCSC, Thomas Wickiewicz, MD, and HSS epidemiologist Stephen Lyman, PhD won the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine’s (AOSSM) 2003 O’Donoghue Sports Injury Research Award for their research paper on ACL reconstruction.

Since 1981, the AOSSM has been presenting this prestigious award for the best overall sports injury clinically based research or human in-vivo research. Recipients of the award also receive a $2,500 honorarium.

According to Dr. Dunn, principal investigator for this study, “The findings of this research showed that patients who underwent ACL reconstruction were protected against subsequent re-injury of the knee. As a result, re-injury requiring reoperation for these patients decreased by 45%.”

Dr. Wickiewicz, Chief of the Sports Medicine Service, noted, “We based our research on a study of about 6500 patients in which we compared the outcomes of patients who had undergone ACL reconstructions to a group who did not.”

Dr. Thomas Wickiewicz is Chief of HSS Sports Medicine & Shoulder Service, nationally recognized for its leadership in athletic medicine. He has won numerous awards and this will be his third O’Donoghue Award.

Dr. Robert Marx is a clinician scientist at HSS, whose research focuses on clinical epidemiology applied to musculoskeletal disorders. He also serves as Director of its Clinical Outcomes Research Center.

Dr. Warren Dunn, an HSS fellow, is a clinician scientist focusing on outcomes research. Here, on a grant from the AAOS/OREF, Dr. Dunn received his MPH from Columbia University through this Health Services Research Fellowship.

The HSS Sports Medicine Center team of healthcare professionals is dedicated to the care of active and athletic men and women. These renowned physicians, physical therapists, exercise physiologists, athletic trainers, nutritionists and nurses have extensive experience in the care of athletes, professional and amateur alike. They strive to work with active and athletic individuals to prevent injuries, encourage optimal performance, return an athlete to full function in case of an injury or illness, and promote a physically active lifestyle among men and women. The Hospital’s Sports Medicine Center doctors are currently team physicians for the New York Giants football team, the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) and the U.S. Rowing Team.

The American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM), established in 1972, is a national organization of over 1600 orthopaedic surgeons specializing in sports medicine, including national and international sports medicine leaders. The award and paper presentation will take place at the Annual Meeting held in San Diego in July.