LAWRENCE DORR

1941 - 2021

DORR--Dr. Lawrence D. April 13, 1941 - December 28, 2020. On December 28, Dr. Lawrence D. Dorr passed away from complications of pneumonia. He was 79 years old. Dr. Dorr was a world renowned Orthopedic surgeon specializing in hip and knee replacement surgery. His career as a surgeon spanned more than 40 years. During that time he performed thousands of joint replacement surgeries. Patients came from all over the world to see him and they included political figures, captains of industry, professional athletes and stars of stage and screen. Dr. Dorr was an innovator who designed prosthetic knee and hip replacements which have served tens of thousands of additional patients. Besides direct patient care his contribution to the field are unparalleled. He wrote hundreds of articles and book chapters on joint replacement. He was invited to lecture all over the world. Besides designing prostheses he contributed to the use of robotics and computer guided surgery as well as being a pioneer in outpatient joint replacement surgery. He made many contributions to the science of joint replacement surgery. Dr. Dorr always was committed to the advancement of the community of Orthopedic surgeons both educationally and in promoting their services. He served as president of the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons as well as of the specific Hip and Knee Societies. Dr. Dorr has also dedicated his life to teaching young surgeons. He was a professor of Orthopedic surgery at the University of Southern California and at UC Irvine. Over his 40 years he trained dozens of residents and fellows who felt blessed to have had the experience to learn from his expertise, not just surgical technique, but from the relationships he established with his patients. He was demanding but fair with his proteges, and what was best for the patient clearly always came first. Similarly he had a tremendous effect on generations of Operating Room staffs, Orthopedic nurses and physical therapists. He designed an innovative course for surgeons which he ran annually providing live surgical demonstrations with expert commentary, called the Master's Series. Still his work was not finished. More than 20 years ago he realized that the life changing operations which he had contributed so much to were largely only available to patients in the developed world. Beginning with a trip to Cuba in 1997 he founded Operation Walk. This organization brought groups of volunteer clinicians to countries around the world to provide free joint replacement surgery to indigent populations. He worked with long time nurses from his practice, Jeri Ward and Mary Ellen Sieben to establish protocols which made multiple missions possible. He enlisted staff from Los Angeles as well as colleagues, and drew frequently from the legions of surgeons he had personally trained to perform several missions a year that he personally participated in. The idea caught on and surgeon colleagues from other cities formed their own chapters with the guidance of the Los Angeles team. He raised money and obtained contributions from the orthopedic industry to sustain this effort. Today there are more than 20 chapters. More than 13,000 free surgeries have been performed and the lives of people who had no hope of ever being pain free or productive or even functional have been forever transformed. In 2005, the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons recognized Dr. Dorr with their Humanitarian award for his efforts with Operation Walk. The American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons honored him with their Humanitarian Award in 2017. In 2018, surgeons came to Los Angeles from all over the country to celebrate Operation Walk's 20th anniversary, and Dr. Dorr's amazing accomplishments. Always generous with his time and also his money Dr. Dorr and his wife Marilyn endowed the Chairmanship of Orthopedic Surgery at his alma mater, the University of Iowa. With all he had accomplished in medicine, in later life Dr. Dorr became interested in writing novels and went on to write two historical fiction books about the history of medicine. Lawrence Dorr was born in Storm Lake, IA to Everett and Evelyn Dorr. He spent his early life in Iowa-something that made him very proud. He attended Theodore Roosevelt High School in Des Moines and Cornell College He met the love of his life, Marilyn Dorr, at the "Airliner" in Iowa City and they were married in Iowa City, IA in 1966. He attended the University of Iowa medical school. He continued his Orthopedic training at the Los Angeles County Hospital, University of Southern California. During his training, he took three years off to serve his country as a Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy Medical Corps. He then completed a fellowship at the Hospital for Special surgery in New York, where he developed a lifelong friendship with another world renowned surgeon, Dr. Chitranjan Ranawat. He maintained a practice at different Los Angeles area hospitals until 2019, and resided in Pasadena, CA. He is survived by his wife Marilyn Dorr of Pasadena, CA, his sons Mike Dorr, wife Tiffany and Grandson Hunter from Pasadena, CA and Randy Dorr from Salt Lake City, UT, his beloved daughter Kristina Dorr residing in Granada Hills, CA, brothers David Dorr of St. Louis, MO and Jim Dorr of Azuza, CA, his many cousins in Iowa, and his godchildren Katie Callaghan, Josh Brouillette and Andrea Boiardo He also leaves behind his ferocious dog, Bogey. He will be missed by those he trained in fellowship who owe him a debt of gratitude they will never be able to repay. Few men have done as much for so many. Services are pending. Information can be found at www.operationwalk.org The family requests in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Operation Walk Los Angeles, 381 Van Ness Ave., Suite 1514, Torrance, CA 90501.