Legendary Photos
Photos can be “legendary” for many reasons. They may represent: a milestone in one’s career or one’s profession, a gathering of special or extraordinary people, the preservation of an important memory, a historic moment in time, the essence of someone special or the visual demonstration of the evolution of a culture or point of view.
The photos included here do all those things for the “women who do orthopaedic surgery.”
They are presented for your viewing pleasure, the memories they evoke and the historical perspective they offer.
You are invited to submit a legendary photo of your own, with a caption, to enhance the collection. Send to the editor via email or use CONTACT page messaging area.
Graduation from residency led to the award of a necktie bearing the residency program’s name. The group includes graduating chief residents, Vicki Ratner and Debra Zillmer along with Senior Residents, Jo Hannafin, Cathy Compito and Mary Irene Flynn (head turned). Dr. Ed Habermann, who had trained more women than anyone else at the time, stands with some of his flock. (Montefiore/Einstein, 1989). The editor’s fellowship program also gifted a necktie.
Dr. Francesca Thompson with husband and Drs. Helen Horstmann and John Gould overlooking canyon (1988).
Command photo of Dr. Alice Martinson from Naval Hospital Oakland, 1987. Captain Martinson was the first female physician and first female orthopaedic surgeon to command a military hospital.
Obituary of Dr. Anna Brady, an often-overlooked pioneer who provided care to injured soldiers as a nurse at Normandy in World War II and later became an orthopaedic surgeon who cared for soldiers in Viet Nam. (Obtained with subscription to the Archives of the Philadelphia Inquirer).
Retired naval hospital commander, Alice Martinson, and partner with the editor (Eureka Springs, Arkansas, 2024).
Dr. Helen Horstmann holding her landmark contribution to the pediatric orthopaedic literature which was published in 2007. Photo from 2024.
Dr. Helen Horstmann being inducted into the AAOS among a sea of men (1982).
Dr. Ann Van Heest, American Orthopaedic Association President, in 2024. She was the second woman to be elected to this post. Dr. Serena Hu was the first in 2022.
Dr. Helen Horstmann and Dr. Ruth Jackson holding infant, Sara Horstmann, at RJOS meeting (1986).
Women at Mayo Clinic graduation celebration surrounding Dr. Frank Sim, a mentor to many women: Drs. Diane Dahm, Holly Duck, Debra Zillmer and Amy McIntosh. (Rochester, MN, 2017)
Some of the early pioneers in orthopaedic sports medicine: Drs. Mary Lloyd Ireland, Elizabeth Arendt, Alexandra Kirkley, Jo Hannifan, Carol Tietz and Rosemarie Morwessel at AOSSM Meeting (prior to 2002).
Dr. Mary Powell, also known as Mary P. Lewis, was the 13th woman to be certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery in 1963. She died at age 98 in 2024 (see obituary below). This photo with one of her mentees, Dr. Yolanda Roth, was taken in 2023.
The Claudia Lynn Thomas, MD award was created in 2024 by the J. Robert Gladden Orthopaedic Society to honor her as the first Africal American Woman to become a Board Certified Orthopaedic Surgeon. Valerae O. Lewis, M.D. was the first recipient of this award, which honors the grit, determination, and academic excellence embodied by them both. (Posted with permission from the J Robert Gladden Orthopaedic Society).
Dr. Ellen Raney (left) who was the first woman to receive the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Section on Orthopaedics Distinguished Service Award in 2020. The award recognizes an individual in the field of pediatric orthopaedic surgery who has contributed to AAP’s mission of excellence in patient care, research and teaching. Dr. Susan Scherl (right) was the second female recipient of the Award.
Women attending the combined AOSSM-AANA Annual Meeting applauding Dr. Jo Hannafin (in front) following her receipt of the Robert E. Leach Sports Medicine Leadership Award. The following day she was inducted into the AOSSM Hall of Fame (2021)
Dr. Laura Tosi, a pediatric orthopaedic surgeon, who championed the effort to encourage orthopaedic surgeons to take their patient’s bone health into consideration while treating them. She emphasized the importance of workup and treatment referrals for those with probable osteoporosis and metabolic bone disease.
Pioneers in Sports Medicine gather in front of the photo of Dr. Alexandra (Sandy) Kirkley (deceased) who was the first woman inducted into the AOSSM Hall of Fame: Drs. Carol Teitz, Letha (Etty) Griffin, Rosemarie (Ro) Morwessel, Jo Hannafin, Mary Lloyd Ireland and Elizabeth Arendt. (1997)
Dr Hannafin was photographed as she was finishing her year as the first female (and only to date) AOSSM president.
(Editor’s Note: Drs. Arendt, Ireland and Hannafin were later inducted into the Hall of Fame as well. Dr Teitz was the first “godmother” for the AOSSM/APKASS traveling fellowship to the Pacific Rim in 2004, Dr. Arendt was the second in 2014 for the AOSSM to ESSKA traveling fellowship and Dr. Hannafin, the third, traveling with the AOSSM/SLARD fellows to South America in 2023).
First book published by Dr. Mary O’Connor (Mayo Clinic Press, 2022).
A very pregnant, Dr. Mary O’Connor doing a revision total hip arthroplasty days before giving birth to her third child. (1998).
AAOS Diversity Award Winners. (Posted with permission from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons).
Kristy Weber, MD in 2019, as the first (and only) president of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. (Posted with permission of AAOS).
A meeting of the minds, San Diego, 2025.
The founding members of the Scoliosis Research Society in 1966 with Dr. Jacquelin Perry shown prominently. (Posted with permission of the Scoliosis Research Society).
Past presidents of the Ruth Jackson Orthopaedic Society at the 40th Anniversary celebration in 2023. (Posted with permission of RJOS).
Past presidents of “The Forum” at the organization’s 25th anniversary meeting. (Posted with permission of The Forum).
Dr. Mary Morden was one of the organizers of the Ruth Jackson Orthopaedic Society and served as the 4th president of RJOS. She died an untimely traumatic death in 2022.
Dr. Lesley Anderson (circled) among her fellow orthopaedic surgery residents at UCLA in 1983. She was the first woman to graduate from the program.
Barbara Stimson, MD, an American, served in the Royal Armed Services Corps in England since women were not eligible for service in the United States Medical Reserves Corp. She achieved the rank of Major. (From the New York Times Archives).
Obituary for Dr. Rosamond Kane who was the first female orthopaedic resident at the New York Orthopaedic Hospital. She eventually left private practice to become Professor of pediatric orthopaedics at Columbia’s College of Physicians and Surgeons. The residents there called her clinic “Baby Shoes.” (From New York Times Archives).
Obituary for Dr. Mary Williams Clark, third Ruth Jackson Orthopaedic Society President, 1985. (From RJOS Newsletter).