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At DISC Sports & Spine Center, our team of doctors place patient care above all; part of that process is getting to know your physicians on both a medical and personal level. This month, our featured doctor is Dr. Glenn Lipton.
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“What keeps all of us going is when we actually see right in front of us the tangible results of our efforts,” he said. “We can see patients who are miserable and can’t sleep, who have chronic pain, who can’t get comfortable and no medications have helped.”
“They come to you and you can make a difference in their life—that’s what makes it worth it all.”
Dr. Lipton was born in Lexington, Kentucky, a small university town, surrounded by horse farms and rolling hills. As a Kentucky boy, he played sports, beginning very early.
“If you grow up in Kentucky, it’s mandatory that you play basketball so I played basketball my whole life,” he says, “but I played soccer and swam too.”
He lived in Lexington until he traveled to western Kentucky to attend the University of Louisville, majoring in political science, convinced he was going to be a lawyer or politician.
However, Dr. Lipton’s introduction to the medical field began as a young child; his father is a psychologist and several of his uncles, aunts and cousins are also in the medical field in different disciplines.
“I didn’t really know that was going to be my direction until later,” he said, “until I was in college and I started taking some science classes that were really just the requirement. I just took to it.”
While there, Dr. Lipton enjoyed working in the operating room.
“It was just fascinating and I liked the idea of being able to make a dramatic impact and help people in a tangible way,” he said.
He started his training as an anesthesiologist, working toward becoming an expert in nerve blocks, percutaneous procedures, the use of local anesthetics and how these to do types of techniques.
He trained as an anesthesiologist in Washington, D.C. and Miami, Florida and then worked as an operating room anesthesiologist for a few years, until he headed back to Kentucky and completed a formal fellowship in pain management.
“I went back to my hometown, and my fellowship actually took place at the hospital in which I was born in,” he said.
After the fellowship, he concentrated on 100% pain management and knew he wanted to move out West. He set up a practice in Sedona, Arizona, and stayed there for six years until he came in contact with DISC Sports & Spine Center.
“DISC was a fantastic opportunity to join in with the highest level specialists in orthopedic and spine surgery, physiatry, and the related fields,” Dr. Lipton said.
Dr. Lipton moved to California permanently after spending the last two years going back and forth to wind down the Arizona practice and making sure it’s being left in experienced hands.
“I didn’t want to just leave all those patients without having top level care so it took me a while to organize the transition.”
Last fall, Dr. Lipton married Dr. Sarah Miller, a physical medicine and rehabilitation physician at DISC. In addition, the couple is expecting a baby in the summer.
As an avid college basketball fan, he also tuned in to watch the University of Louisville become NCAA Champions this year during March Madness.
“Sports are fun and I admire the athleticism I see at the highest levels. I like all the major sports, just because it’s fun and I like to stay active myself,” he said.
In the past, Dr. Lipton has run a full marathon, something he may do again in the future. When he worked in Sedona, he regularly hiked and golfed during any free time.
Although he played basketball all through his childhood, Dr. Lipton decided to retire from playing the sport, after he once broke his finger during an organized game.
“I talked with my family who advised me it was time to retire, that I needed my hands,” he said, laughing.
