In March, New York City-based Hospital for Special Surgery and HSS Long Island orthopedic and sports medicine surgeon David Dines, MD, was awarded a lifetime achievement award from Long Island Business News.
It was one of many accolades that Dr. Dines has earned throughout his 45-year career, in which he has served as medical director of the HSS Education Institute and has held the position of co-chief of the shoulder fellowship at HSS since 2017.
Dr. Dines is also well known for his work with professional athletes, working with the Association of Tennis Professionals Tour, the Long Island Ducks minor-league baseball team and the New York Mets.
In 2024, he earned a lifetime achievement award from the Middle Atlantic Shoulder and Elbow Society.
Dr. Dines spoke with Becker’s about his long career, his achievements and the advice he would give to other surgeons coming up in the field.
Question: How has your work led you to receive a number of distinguished lifetime achievement awards?
Dr. David Dines: During my more than 40 years in practice, I have been able to follow my passions for patient care, research, and education, especially in the area of the shoulder. Over that time, I have been the co-developer of a number of contemporary shoulder arthroplasty systems starting with a modular anatomic shoulder replacement system in 1990 with Dr. Russell F. Warren. In subsequent years, we have gone on to develop all aspects of the comprehensive anatomic and reverse shoulder systems with a leading medical device company. It is through these shoulder arthroplasty innovations, both in development and clinical practice, that I came to be considered a thought leader in shoulder arthroplasty.
In addition, in my work in sports medicine, specializing in shoulder, I have served as associate team physician for the New York Mets baseball team, the medical director for the ATP Men’s Tennis Tour and the United States Tennis Association. It was through these relationships that I developed a strong interest in the athlete’s shoulder, co-authoring and presenting a number of papers on this subject. It has also been through these clinical endeavors that I’ve been recognized for my work in shoulder education and research. In this vein, I’ve been honored to educate more than 400 orthopedic residents and 300 sports medicine and shoulder fellows over my career. This is one of the most important aspects of my professional career, in my own mind, and I believe this led to one of the crowning achievements in my professional life: being named president of the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons in 2005-2006.
Through these varied endeavors, I have been invited to make over 1,000 presentations both nationally and internationally. I am fairly certain that it is this volume of work in my career as an orthopedic shoulder surgeon, which has led to the many achievement awards that I’ve received, both nationally and internationally, from important sub- specialty societies and shoulder meetings.
Q: What advice do you have for younger surgeons looking to earn this level of esteem in orthopedics?
DD: My first bit of advice would be to be sure that you truly have a passion for whatever subspecialty you might endeavor to follow. Developing a practice, be it academic or private, requires time, empathy and conscientiousness. However, you must try to balance this with a happy family life. Try to create and maintain close colleagues to share your experiences with, especially for advice when needed. Never stop learning and seeking opportunities for growth, both professionally and personally. No matter how successful you become, do not lose sight of the importance of concern and care for your patients.
Esteem from colleagues comes from taking care of patients at the highest level, education of colleagues and trainees, and relevant research in areas of interest. These are very important criteria to gaining prestige and esteem from orthopedic colleagues; however, this should not be done at the expense of patient care or your family.
Q: What new orthopedic tech are you keeping an eye on this year?
DD: In terms of improvements in shoulder care and treatment, especially related to arthroplasty, I think we’re in a very good place. Ongoing research in implant design, pre-operative planning, technology, and even AI in diagnosis and treatment of best practices is at the forefront of contemporary research and innovation.
Q: Is there anything else you’d like to expand on?
DD: Frankly speaking, while awards and recognition are certainly important, I think that the best way to gain success in orthopedics is to love what you do, respect and take good care of your patients, always help and educate your colleagues, and most importantly, take good care of yourself and your family. The rest will follow.
