Atlanta sports medicine leader leaves lasting legacy.
Growing up in a small steel town in West Virginia, Dr. Letha Griffin couldn’t have imagined the impact she’d make not only on sports medicine, but also on generations of women in health care. The first woman to join the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine in 1978, the board-certified orthopedic surgeon recently capped her 42-year career by being inducted into the AOSSM Hall of Fame. “It was the greatest honor of my life,” Griffin says. Her roles have included senior partner at Buckhead-based Peachtree Orthopedics, board member of the Orthopedic Research and Educational Foundation, serving on the 1996 Atlanta Olympic medical committees and publishing more than 60 academic papers. Griffin has left a legacy of leadership, mentorship and advocacy in orthopedic care. Here, she reflects on her journey.
What brought you to Atlanta?
I studied at The Ohio State University where I earned my bachelor’s, master’s, Ph.D. and medical degrees. After residency at the University of Michigan Hospital and a few years in Seattle, Buckhead-based Peachtree Orthopedics asked me to join the practice in 1981. I thought I’d give it a try for six months, and it turned out to be a great move. I just recently retired in 2023 at 78 years old.
What have been the most significant changes in orthopedics?
When I was a resident in the late ’70s, almost everything required open surgery. Now minimally invasive scopes and small incisions allow faster recoveries and better outcomes. Medicine overall has advanced at a remarkable pace. When I started, it could take hours to look something up; today, answers are available instantly. And the profession has changed, too. My medical school class had only 12 women out of 200 students. Now, about half of all medical school students are women.
What was a main focus of your academic research?
In the ’80s and early ’90s, I concentrated on the prevention of ACL injuries. A group of women orthopedists and I pushed to change sports training methods, the one modifiable factor. Our efforts worked and led to decreased ACL injuries. For example, our research led to new gymnastics rules allowing gymnasts to land jumps with bent knees instead of straight ones, which reduced injuries.
You were Georgia State University’s team physician for decades. What was that like?
I began in 1982 when the athletic trainer asked me to help, and I stayed until 2018. My kids joke they were brought up on the soccer fields and basketball courts of GSU. Initially, I worked with all of the teams and watched both the athletics program and university grow. Athletes talked to me like they would their mother, more easily expressing their pain to a woman physician and not being embarrassed by it. Women make great doctors because we listen and care, which are two very important factors in addition to medical knowledge.
How do you approach mentorship, and what advice do you give to young people?
I mentor in many ways, such as helping young doctors navigate the system and connecting them to professional networks or talking with high school students about careers in medicine. My advice is not to worry if you don’t know exactly what you want to do yet. Try different things until you find what excites you. Whatever you choose, work hard and finish what you start. That determination will open doors you never imagined.
PEACHTREE ORTHOPEDICS
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