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Richard Lee, MD

  • Primary Specialty:
    Orthopedic Surgery (Board Certified)
  • Surgery of the Spine
Procedures & Conditions Treated:

Procedures:

  • Anti-inflammatory medicine
  • Artificial Disc Replacement
  • Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion (ACDF) and Instrumentation
  • Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion (ALIF)
  • Bone Grafting
  • Complex Surgical Reconstruction
  • Decompression
  • Discectomy
  • Disc Replacement Surgery
  • Kyphoplasty
  • Laminectomy
  • Laminotomy
  • Lateral Lumbar Spinal Fusion
  • Lumbar Discography / Lumbar Discogram
  • Physical Therapy
  • Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery
  • Pain Medication
  • Posterior Cervical and Lumbar Microdiscectomy / Microdecompression
  • Posterior Cervical Fusion with Instrumentation
  • Spinal Fusion
  • Spinal Fusion Surgery (Bone Graft Substitute, Biologics, Laminectomy)
  • Spine Stabilization
  • Spinal Instrumentation
  • Spine Arthroplasty
  • X-Ray & MRI

Conditions:

  • Arthritis
  • Acute Spinal Fracture
  • Bulging Disc
  • Cervical Fracture
  • Cervical Stenosis
  • Chronic Back & Cervical Pain
  • Compression Fracture from Osteoporosis
  • Degenerative Back and Neck Disorders
  • Degenerative Disc Disease
  • Facet Joint Syndrome
  • Failed Laminectomy Syndrome
  • Failed Back Surgery Syndrome (FBSS)
  • Herniated Disc
  • Kyphosis
  • Myelopathy / Spinal Cord Injury
  • Muscle Strain
  • Neck Sprain
  • Neuropathic Pain
  • Osteoarthritis
  • Osteomyelitis / Bone Infection
  • Osteoporosis
  • Radiculopathy / Pinched Nerve
  • Ruptured Disc
  • Sacroiliac (SI) Joint Pain
  • Sciatica
  • Scoliosis
  • Slipped Disc
  • Spinal Deformities
  • Spinal Fractures
  • Spinal Infections
  • Spinal Stenosis
  • Spinal Tumors
  • Spondylolysis
  • Spondylolisthesis
  • Traumatic Spinal Injury
  • Thoracic Conditions
  • Whiplash

Biography

A southern California native, Richard Lee, M.D., is board certified in orthopedic surgery specializing in minimally invasive surgery of the spine. He treats the entire spectrum of spinal conditions including cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine pathologies. Employing the most current and advanced operative techniques, Dr. Lee performs surgical procedures of the spine with the goal of returning patients to function as quickly as possible.

Dr. Lee’s interest in spinal surgery is a combination of several academic interests during his schooling. In college, he studied neurobiology and was intrigued by the complexity of the human nervous system. His laboratory research included work on the effects of microgravity on gene expression in bone and muscle cells in outer space. These early experiences as an undergraduate student and NASA researcher primed his interest in orthopedic and spinal surgery as a medical student.

“What I enjoy most about spinal surgery is the opportunity to combine science and art to help patients rehab from physically debilitating conditions.”

Dr. Lee attended the University of California at Berkeley for his undergraduate degree in molecular biology. He went on to attend medical school at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. He completed his surgical internship and orthopedic surgery residency at the Yale School of Medicine, followed by a combined orthopedic and neurosurgical spinal surgery fellowship at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Lee resides in Newport Beach and enjoys running and cycling in his spare time.

Education
  • Medical School
  • Albert Einstein College of Medicine (Medical Doctor)
  • Internship
  • Yale School of Medicine (General Surgery)
  • Residency
  • Yale School of Medicine (Orthopedic Surgery)
  • Fellowship
  • Harvard Medical School (Spinal Surgery Fellowship)
Board Certification
  • American Board of Orthopedic Surgery
Awards
  • Doctorate of Medicine with Distinction, Albert Einstein College of Medicine (2003)
  • Alpha Omega Alpha, Albert Einstein College of Medicine (2003)
  • B.A. Molecular Biology with Honors, University of California, Berkeley (1998)
Affiliated Locations
  • Hoag Hospital - Irvine
  • Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian - Newport Beach
  • Hoag Orthopedic Institute
  • Newport Orthopedic Institute - Irvine Orthopedics
  • Newport Orthopedic Institute - Newport Beach Orthopedics