Leon (Lonnie) Paulos, MD
Sports Injuries, Knee and Shoulder Specialist
Salt Lake City, Utah
Dr. Paulos was born in Salt Lake City, Utah in July, 1946. He graduated from the University of Utah and played American football as the starting strong safety for 4 years. He was named to the academic all-conference football team 3 times and was also named to the NCAA Academic All-American Football team, honorable mention. He graduated from the University Of Utah School Of Medicine with honors (AOA). He completed his internship at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, Texas and his orthopedic residency under the late Dr. Sherman Coleman at the University of Utah. He completed a double fellowship with Dr. Fred Allman in Atlanta, Georgia, and Dr. Frank Noyes in Cincinnati, Ohio. Working with Dr. Noyes and his colleagues as an associate and partner introduced him to the importance of academics and research in Sports Medicine Orthopedics and he has been very productive since that time. He has over 100 publications in peer reviewed journals, over 370 academic presentations around the world, been an instructor for over 75 orthopedic instructional course lectures, and has published over 47 books and chapters in his specialties. He also has 30 patents and patents pending for medical devices and procedures.
Dr. Paulos was a pioneer for arthroscopic subacromial decompression and rotator cuff repair in the shoulder, as well as arthroscopic Anterior Cruciate and Posterior Cruciate ligament reconstruction. His pioneering work on knee arthrofibrosis and the clinical entity of Inferior Patellar Entrapment Syndrome (IPCS) has been widely referenced and recognized.
Dr. Paulos has been, and still is, an orthopedic consultant to many high schools, colleges and professional sports teams, as well as the US Olympic Ski Team. His previous positions include Vice President and Medical Director of the Andrews-Paulos Research & Education Institute, Gulf Breeze, Florida; Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at the Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas; Medical Director of The Biomechanics Institute, Salt Lake City, Utah; Founding Partner of The Orthopedic Hospital (TOSH), Salt Lake City, Utah; Associate Clinical Professor, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah: Assistant Professor at the University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio; Adjunct Professor, School of Physical Therapy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah; Adjunct Professor, University of South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama; Research Associate, Department of Health, Leisure and Exercise Science, University of West Florida, Pensacola, Florida.
Dr. Paulos has been AAOS board certified since 1980 and has his CAQ in Sports Medicine. He has trained over 200 post-graduate orthopedic surgeons in his ACGME certified sports medicine fellowships. He sits on many Editorial Boards, committees, and medical consulting panels. He was one of the very first European Traveling Fellows, and has since served as a God-Father in 2009. He and his associates have been awarded the O’Donoghue Research Award; 3M Health Care Award for Applied Science and the National Athletic Trainers’ Association President’s Challenge Award. He is a member of the Herodicus and AOA Societies.
Dr. Paulos and his wife Shannon live in Salt Lake City, Utah and have 6 children and 3 grandchildren between them.
Selected Published Work
Noyes, F.R., Grood, E.S., Butler, D.L., and Paulos, L.E.: “Clinical Biomechanics of the Knee – Ligament Restraints and Functional Stability.” AAOS Symposium on the Athlete’s Knee (Ed. J. Funk), The C.V. Mosby Company, 1980.
Paulos, L.E., Noyes, F.R., Grood, E.S. and Butler, D.L.: “Knee Rehabilitation After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction and Repair.” American Journal Sports Med Vol. 9, No. 3:140-149, 1980.
Paulos, L.E.; Rosenberg, T.D.; Drawbert, J; Manning, J; Abbott, P.: “Infrapatellar Contracture Syndrome (IPCS): An Unrecognized Cause of Knee Stiffness with Patella Entrapment and Patella Infra.” American Journal of Sports Medicine, Vol 15, No. 4:31-341, 1987.
Paulos, L.E., Harner, C.D., Parker, R.D.: “Arthroscopic Subacromial Decompression for Impingement Syndrome of the Shoulder.” Techniques in Orthopedics. Vol. 3, No. 1, April 1988.
Kolowich, P.A.; Paulos, L.E.; Rosenberg, T.D.; Farnsworth, S.: “Lateral Release of the Patella: Indications and Contraindications.” The American Journal of Sports Medicine, Vol. 18, No. 4:359-365, July/August 1990.
Paulos, L.E., Cherf, J., Rosenberg, T.D., Beck, C.L., “Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction with Autografts.” Clinics in Sports Medicine, Vol. 10, No. 3:469-85, July 1991.
Paulos, L.E., Cawley, P.W., France, E.P., “Impact Biomechanics of Lateral Knee Bracing. The Anterior Cruciate Ligament.” The American Journal of Sports Medicine, Vol. 19, No. 4:337-342, July/August 1991.
Grauer, J.D., Paulos, L.E., Smutz, W.P., “Biceps Tendon and Superior Labral Injuries,” Arthroscopy, Vol. 8, No. 4:488-497, 1992.
Evans, I.K., Paulos, L.E., “Complications of Patellofemoral Joint Surgery,” Vol. 23, No. 4:697-710, October 1992, The Orthopedic Clinics of North America – The Patellofemoral Joint.
Paulos, L.E., Kody, M.H., “Arthroscopically Enhanced ‘Mini-Approach’ to Rotator Cuff Repair,” The American Journal of Sports Medicine, Vol. 22, No. 1:19-25, January 1994.
Fenton, P.J., Paulos, L.E., “Posterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction with Allograft Augmentation,” Sports Medicine and Arthroscopy Review, 2:129-136, 1994 Raven Press, Ltd., New York.
Paulos, L.E., Wnorowski, D.C., Greenwald, A.E., “Infrapatellar Contracture Syndrome. Diagnosis, Treatment, and Long-Term Follow-up,” The American Journal of Sports Medicine, Vol. 22, No. 4, July/August 1994.
Felix, N.A., Paulos, L.E.: “Current Status of Meniscal Transplantation,” The Knee, Vol. 10, pp13-17, June 19, 2003.
American Journal of Sports Medicine Editorial Board Spotlight 