Orthopedic surgeon · Arthroscopy pioneer · Inventor · Author
For more than five decades, Dr. Lanny Johnson has been at the leading edge of orthopedic surgery — performing and documenting some of the earliest arthroscopic procedures in the United States, inventing instruments still used in operating rooms today, and teaching a generation of surgeons through his textbooks and lectures.
First 100 arthroscopic cases reported
U.S. patents in medicine & surgery
Books on arthroscopic surgery
Years in orthopedic medicine
Contributions to the field
Dr. Johnson developed the mechanical rotary shaver and burr — motorized instruments that let surgeons cleanly remove damaged tissue from the meniscus, cartilage and rotator cuff through tiny incisions. Versions of this instrumentation are still used in arthroscopic procedures today.
He developed one of the early fixation systems — first metal, later resorbable polymer staples — that pinned a torn rotator cuff back to bone arthroscopically, sparing patients the larger open incision through the deltoid muscle.
Through six books, many peer-reviewed papers and lectures at orthopedic conferences since 1977, he helped teach the field how to perform arthroscopy of the knee, shoulder, elbow and hip.
Career timeline
1951
Graduates from Royal Oak High School, where he swam, golfed and joined the National Honor Society.
MSU
Honors student who lettered in both golf and swimming.
M.D.
Earns his medical degree in Detroit.
1964
Completes his orthopedic residency, then serves as a Captain in the U.S. Air Force Medical Corps.
1967
Begins clinical practice and teaching in orthopedic surgery — a career in Michigan that would span decades, including service as a clinical professor at Michigan State University’s College of Human Medicine.
1973
Reports his first 100 arthroscopic cases — among the earliest large series in the United States.
1977
Publishes Comprehensive Arthroscopic Examination of the Knee and begins lecturing at orthopedic conferences.
1980s
Develops the motorized shaver and burr and an arthroscopic rotator cuff fixation system; runs his own surgical instrument company for more than 20 years.
1993
Receives the Jack Breslin Lifetime Achievement Award, following the Community Health Care Service Award in 1990.
Today
Focuses on research — including protocatechuic acid (PCA) — through Dr. Lanny Health, and launches Orthopodcast to talk about life after surgery.
Books
1977
C.V. Mosby
1981
Mosby
1982
Ciba
1986
Mosby
1986
Slack
1992
Mosby
Training
Recognition
After decades of clinical practice, Dr. Johnson turned his focus to research — including protocatechuic acid (PCA), work he’s pursued with research partners such as Scripps — and to sharing what he’s learned. Orthopodcast is the newest chapter: honest conversations about what happens after the operating room.
