2024 George W. Brindley, MD Lectureship
Mark Frankle, MD

Dr. Frankle has been with Florida Orthopaedic Institute since 1991 and received his fellowship training at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He is board certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery and specializes in shoulder and elbow surgery. In response to encountering a subset of patients for whom there was no effective treatment, Dr. Frankle is the surgeon responsible for bringing reverse shoulder arthroplasty to the United States. His original implant design utilized a lateralized center of rotation which was revolutionary compared to the accepted standard in Europe and it took many years of presenting his durable results to garner acceptance of his work from his peers. He has consistently devoted himself to the refinement of surgical technique and implant design to optimize the device to treat an ever-expanding list of surgical indications. His surgical outcomes remain an enduring testament to the viability and utility of shoulder arthroplasty, both anatomic and reverse. The tenets of his implant design for reverse prostheses are now mirrored by every major orthopaedic implant manufacturer, the surgery he pioneered for American patients is now one of the fastest growing surgical procedures in the nation, and he now holds numerous patents on implants, including anatomic total shoulder, reverse total shoulder prosthetics and suture removal systems. Dr. Frankle’s ingenuity and dogged commitment to improving patient care have garnered him worldwide acclaim as the preeminent expert on reverse shoulder arthroplasty.

One of the most active researchers in the field of shoulder and elbow surgery, Dr. Frankle has authored more than two hundred peer-reviewed articles in professional journals, has published a textbook on reverse shoulder arthroplasty, maintains ongoing research projects, and is consistently invited to present his findings at countless professional orthopedic conferences. He also reviews the Journal of Orthopaedic Research, Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma, Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery, Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, Orthopedics, BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, and BMC Surgery. This list expands every year.

Dr. Frankle currently serves on the Executive Board of the Society of American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons and is a recent past President of the Society. He is the director of the Biomechanical Shoulder and Elbow Research Lab at the University of South Florida College of Engineering. He is also the director of the Shoulder and Elbow fellowship program, a collaborative effort between the Florida Orthopaedic Institute and the Foundation for Orthopaedic Research and Education responsible for the training of 3-4 surgical fellows every year. The program currently boasts 70+ alumni. His work is often nominated for and has received the prestigious Charles S. Neer award for Basic Science from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

Dr. Frankle enjoys setting aside time for researching and finding new ways to innovate and progress orthopedics from a surgical perspective. His implementations continue to act as stepping stones that improve overall orthopedic care.